Thread: Essendon Drug Saga

Clarkie and dawes would love this lot

coach: Here fellas inject this stuff it was left in the waiting room.
player: is it illegal?
coach: yes its a vitamin supplement
player whats in it?
coach; don't know it was left in some guys waiting room
player: how do you know it safe?
coach: it was a doctors waiting room

Lived Essendon and trained at windy hill. The nice players and staff did give me a hard time about my black and white dog and good team. The worst bit about this is how now rather than facing up to or rebutting allegations the management is dragging the saga in to the muck of legal waffle to hide rather than deal with the even the error they (essendon) acknowledge.

Not pretending to be able to sort the truth from the waffle but clearly the legal escalation is hurting the AFL and is bring the lot into disrepute. QCs threatening injunctions to avoid penalties being imposed now to settle this! They should be ashamed of themselves. I am.

this about sums it up http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...-1226694571576

This is the jist (in my opinion) of the 32 pages of charges against Essendon:

Essendon injected its players with 15 different drugs. None of which appear to be illegal. They also give them vitamin C and B via drips, which is legal. Some drugs are at the cutting edge of science with long term effects and clinical studies inconclusive. The AFL claims these actions didn't ensure the safety of their players.

The club doctor expressed concern about the drug program – going as far as to say it could be a huge media incident and bring down the club. In response to this Essendon created an approval process for drugs – where by all information about the drug, including its legality and clinical studies, would have to go to the club doctor who would then give approval for the drug. However behind the doctors back Hird and others seemed to think the doctor was out of touch with the cutting edge science drugs and was holding them back. Essendon did not follow their own approval process, and gave all the drugs, except AOD9604 without the doctor’s approval. Even its approval is questionable because Dank withheld information to the doctor which could have influenced his decision in approving it. The AFL claims these actions didn’t ensure the safety of their players.

AOD9604 is questionable . The AFL does not seem to know if the drug is illegal or not. It is a cut down version of an illegal drug with the muscle stimulating part removed.

One of the drugs given to players was imported from Mexico after it magically healed a patient. There is no record of what this drug is. The AFL claims these actions didn’t ensure the safety of their players.

Dank had player’s blood tested to check for an illegal drug – they were all clean. The AFL seems to imply he was checking to see if they could get caught drug cheating.

Essendon support staff were injected with a banned drug. And this drug was kept at Essendon. Essendon paid for this drug and had their money refunded later, but still kept the drug. Players were not injected with this drug, so its use was legal. AFL claims because there were adequate locks/storage/documents of drugs that it didn't ensure the safety of people at the club.

Hird took prescription medication from Dank, without a prescription. This supposedly enhanced his concentration but gave him side-effects. AFL claims these actions didn’t ensure Hirds safety.

Several of the drugs Essendon took were peptides. Very early on the AFL had told Essendon that Peptides were at the cutting edge of legality, and told Essendon to inform them of any dealings with these drugs, as they had the potential to bring the game into disrepute. Essendon did not do this. So the AFL is charging them with bringing the game into disrepute for using drugs on the border line of legality.

Bomber Thompson seems to have nothing to do with it. He is only mentioned at all because apparently he was on the panel who approved Dank for employment.

Most disturbing of all is the suggestion that other AFL clubs also have drugs problems. Dank, Robinson and Hird seem to believe that other clubs were way ahead of Essendon in their drug programs. Collingwood is specifically mentioned. Essendon’s intention was to push the limits so that they would surpass – not just catch up to – the existing drug program in other clubs. There believe that they were so far behind started the whole program back in 2011.

Tldr?:
-Essendon injected players with a lot of drugs, all legal.

-Staff took drugs that were illegal for players, but otherwise legal.

-The health effects of drugs are not known and Essendon was told by the AFL to talk to them before using the drugs – which they didn’t.

-Essendon will probably win any legal battle as there doesn’t seem to be any proof that Essendon players actually took an illegal drug.

-AOD9604 is the only questionable drug taken by players

From the Courier Mail, Jon Ralph & Grant Baker, Friday, 23rd August.

Bombers sweet to walk;

Essendon players could be free to walk to a new club because of the catastrophic failure to provide proper medical care at Windy Hill last year. Legal advice suggests players would have little problem voiding contracts, and could enter the draft without Essendon receiving compensation. The AFL players association has lashed Essendon after the AFL charge sheet revealed a litany of concerns. Leading Melbourne lawyer ,Justin Quill confirmed the players could walk away. " There is a requirement for Essendon to provide a safe workplace and there is an argument it didn't do that because of the supplement program. The follow on is that there is an argument that Essendon has breached its duty to its players and is therefore effectively like a breach of their employment contract. That could allow players to walk away. "

It was reported that a Mother of an Essendon player , in an interview on Triple M, said her son would consider leaving the Club, and consider suing Essendon for long term health effects, or launching a class action. She said " For him to be used and to be injected with substances that may not be illegal, but could be banned for substances that are labelled not for Human consumption or not for human use and the club to completely disregard it and to inject my son, I find appalling"

Now I am not naïve enough to believe that this is a one off, and only the AFL is guilty of a blatant disregard of a duty of care. Whatever sport or team is involved in this now opened can of worms, the management should be investigated, castigated, & in fact, thrown out. Bob

it all gets revealed tonight

Essendon belted!

Out of finals (officially 9th)
no round 1 draft pick (until end of round)
huge fines all round,
no afl involvement for HIRD for 12 months...
CORCORAN out for 6 months

what happens with the dodgy bastard that gave all the drugs out??

Im not sure this addresses all the problems raised..

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-08-2...ndon-penalties


Essendon found guilty for bringing the game into disrepute
By Callum Twomey and Ashley Browne8:27pm AEST Tuesday, August 27, 2013

THE AFL has slapped Essendon with the biggest penalty in the game's history, kicking the Bombers out of the finals and handing them a $2 million fine for the club's governance failures last season.

After two days locked in talks at AFL House, AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick announced the punishments on Tuesday

The Dons have been banned from the first two rounds of this year's NAB AFL Draft, as well as two rounds of the 2014 draft for their part in bringing the game into disrepute for the supplements scandal that has overshadowed this season.

It is the heftiest financial penalty ever imposed on a club, surpassing the $931,000 fine handed to Carlton in 2002 for breaching the salary cap.


Bomber coach James Hirds has been suspended for 12 months effective last Sunday, while football manager Danny Corcoran has been suspended for six months, with two months of that withheld at this stage.

Essendon senior assistant coach Mark Thompson has been fined $30,000.

Club doctor Bruce Reid has decided to contest his charge and will face the AFL at 10am on Thursday.

A swift conclusion to the saga seemed unlikely last week when the AFL last week released details of the charges against the club, prompting Essendon and Hird to hit back with a stinging attack on the League.

Hird also launched court action against the AFL.

But since those heated public statements, the AFL and club had been working on a "package" penalty, which Little said on Saturday night the club was trying to get agreed.

Click here for full coverage of the Essendon supplements saga

Chairmen and presidents from rival clubs had also urged Essendon to reach a resolution as soon as possible.

All were at the hearing on Monday and Tuesday as the parties tried to reach a resolution with the commission under immense media scrutiny at AFL headquarters.

In February, the Bombers called on the AFL and ASADA to investigate the supplements used at the club from the end of 2011 and through 2012.

ASADA's interim report was handed to the AFL early this month, and later the league's general counsel Andrew Dillon stated "there is no specific anti-doping rule violation attributed to any individual player" and that no infraction notices would be issued, but that it was an on-going investigation.

On August 13, Dillon announced charges against Essendon, Hird, Reid, Corcoran and Thompson in relation to the saga.

Each party was charged with engaging in conduct that is "unbecoming or likely to prejudice the interests or reputation of the Australian Football League or to bring the game of football into disrepute, contrary to rule 1.6".

There have already been casualties at the club as a result of the scandal.

Chairman David Evans and chief executive Ian Robson have resigned, former high performance manager Dean Robinson was stood down before also resigning.

Paul Hamilton, who was the club's football manager through 2012, also quit the club at the end of last season.

disgrace, bloody soft by the AFL

its a flapping disgrace that he get a year off. he flaps up the game for the rest of us and get a slap on the wrist. bloody outraged i am.

hird should go hang himself but noooo, EFC go rehire him for another 2 year. contract extension!