Editorial: Don't diss our bright superstars

In the past few days I've heard a lot of criticism about Kiwis who are celebrating success in their own worlds.

It seems many of us are quick to attack. We criticise someone who is doing well, who is sought after by another country or is doing their thing the way they want to - the term haters comes to mind.

It makes me wonder why we are so quick to judge and why we don't celebrate the success of others.

The criticism pretty much started after Shane Cameron's fourth-round knockout of Monte Barrett on Thursday night. While we all loved the fact he had won, many thought it was cast aside by the battle between The GC star Rosie Arkle and Auckland socialite Jaime Ridge.

People were criticising the fact that these women, who weren't athletes, were given an undercard opportunity while real female boxers missed out. Others also criticised each one for their skills or lack thereof.

But why are they being criticised? The organisers or the promoter would have realised that fight was money-making gold. They're both women who are two current celebs we either love or hate, and both men and women obviously wanted to see it.

If someone is unhappy with the fact women boxers aren't selected for these fights they should take it up with the organisers or the promoters. But let's be honest, they're there to make money and it's unlikely those female boxers would have drawn the crowd these two celebs did.

It's clever marketing and everyone involved did their job.

They got in the ring, they trained, they fought and they got paid for it. Good on them.

The next night, social networking sites were fluttering with criticism of Sonny Bill Williams not passing the ball in those final seconds of the Chiefs game against the Crusaders. He even publicly apologised for not passing the ball via Twitter.

Sure, if he had they may have scored a try and possibly won, but it's not certain and it's also not the reason they lost. One person shouldn't be attacked for a team's loss; one person can't make a team.

He was also expected to announce today his deals with Japanese rugby before heading back overseas to play league ... insert more criticism over loyalty.

He's a boxing champ, played for a winning Rugby World Cup side and why shouldn't he try to achieve more in other sports? He's obviously ambitious and there are plenty of others in many other industries who would do the same - leave a job for one with more opportunities or better money.

Obviously we have talent in New Zealand that is highly sought-after so why aren't we celebrating that? Why don't we congratulate people for their successes rather than try to bring them down?

If we can't, maybe we should keep quiet.

What do you think?

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