Are the AFL a bunch of softco.ks when it comes to drugs??

[JCOJ]

I personally think they are.

Let's take cycling - they haven't had a good record to say the least, but at least they are now doing something about it.  If a rider gets caught, 2 years automatic suspension.  They are now keeping blood passports of every rider so they can now track their history for sudden bursts of improvement.  The riders need to sign 'clean contracts' with their teams where if they get caught they get immediately fired. 
Alberto Contador got two years for a tiny bit of clenbuterol in his system, which with the amount that was in his system was not performance enhancing, and only three labs at the time could have picked up that miniscule amount.  At the time he was one of the best riders in the world.  The UCI said tough - go take your two years.

The AFL:  They have a hush hush three strikes policy.  Let's not forget that taking drugs (any kind) is an illegal activity to begin with.
A player admits to using a banned substance - nothing happens, and is allowed to keep his 'best and fairest' medal which in the year he won it he was on the substance.
A report is done by ASADA and the AFL let the players get off (so far) - weak.

I now have a great respect for cycling as it is now as clean as it has ever been, the AFL on the other hand....

[xcvator]

And people look at me as if I'm a weirdo when I tell them I am not interested in Aussie Rules Football  simply too much cya and no leadership 

[Bird]

[broncos11]

I agree.
Having been involved in sport at a high level myself I find the AFL's 3 strikes your out policy disturbing and just sweeping serious issues under the carpet. To me it also condones illegal drug use as just a minor slip up and not that bigger deal? I also think that Demetrio is a world champion at sweeping things under the carpet for the so-called good of the game. I think one of the main problems is that in the AFL the clubs really run the game, ie Pies, Bombers etc National governance is minimal at best and this latest fiasco is proof of that. Essendon seems to have no issue with their threatening of the AFL
I wonder what the Melbourne Storm think of this when, due to bad governance with salary cap breaches, they not only lose competition points but also a premiership!!!!
This is just my opinion and I have never played AFL but I do really enjoy the game. I am just looking at it from a sports fan view.
It will be very interesting to watch the Cronulla saga also unfold and whether there is any copycatting??

Dave

[Bird]

See the Bombers shoot up, up

Some peptides and growth hormones

Bombers are a blight on the game

Now they join Lance Armstrong in shame

See the Bombers shoot up up

The boys from ASADA are here

Living in denial, samples in a vial

As the bombers shoot up

[Kangaron]

Whilst I agree with most of the above, this is only an Interim report, and is ongoing.
Glad I made to move back to local footy years ago.
As soon as they stopped having a beer after the game and handed out jelly beans, I was gone.

[Cloud Basher]

Interesting take on things.

Let me ask you this.  You are a player at one of these clubs.  They say inject this drug for reason X.  You immediately say "no way this might get me banned". Team doctor, coach etc say, it is all good, look we have this letter from ASADA stating it is legal.  You read the letter, sign the consent form and get pumped full of drugs.

If indeed the rumours of the above are true, what more could the team have done?  I reckon the AFL is absolutely pissed because ASADA or WADA or someone told Essendon that these drugs were not banned and Essendon has proof of this.  Essendon undertook their due diligence. If the drugs they had taken were indeed banned then it would be an open and shut case and they would be screwed.  the AFL would have thrown the book at them.  This "game into disrepute" charge is the only thing the AFL can do to give the public perception of doing SOMETHING! This charge will likely stick because it is subjective.  Little or no factual evidence is required.  All that is needed is the perception of something wrong.  If these was indeed something wrong then they would go for a drug charge.  They haven't because they can't!   There is more to this than a team administering supposedly banned drugs.  The AFL may be sweeping this under the carpet, but I don't think so.  It is too big now to do so.

That is just my take anyway...

Cheers
CB

[Bird]

Interesting take on things.

Let me ask you this.  You are a player at one of these clubs.  They say inject this drug for reason X.  You immediately say "no way this might get me banned". Team doctor, coach etc say, it is all good, look we have this letter from ASADA stating it is legal.  You read the letter, sign the consent form and get pumped full of drugs.

If indeed the rumours of the above are true, what more could the team have done?  I reckon the AFL is absolutely pissed because ASADA or WADA or someone told Essendon that these drugs were not banned and Essendon has proof of this. 

If the bumblers and Dank have proof, this could have all been ****ed off in March 1 month after it came out..  it isn't hard to create a fake letter - specially when you have been stalling for over 1/2 a year.
Anyway, ignorance is no excuse according to WADA and ASADA and POQ.

[dazzler]

I think the three strikes is for recreational drugs not performance drugs.

[Barry G]

...
Anyway, ignorance is no excuse according to WADA and ASADA and POQ.

And that is the whole problem.  If anything is in your system then you are stuffed.  How it got there doesn't matter.  Likewise, doesn't matter what 'due diligence' a player might do - and the average 20 something wouldn't have the first idea of where to start - is anything is in their system then they are guilty.

[Bird]

And that is the whole problem.  If anything is in your system then you are stuffed.  How it got there doesn't matter.  Likewise, doesn't matter what 'due diligence' a player might do - and the average 20 something wouldn't have the first idea of where to start - is anything is in their system then they are guilty.

There is a young girl (maybe now high school) that my son did Karate with for years... She now has about 8 national/international/world titles..

She is now under the guise of the Australian Institute for Sport - remember she is only ~12-14yrs old...

I was talkin to her old man the other day, and SHE is being tested for stuff regularly!!!!!!

If she has a simple cold or cough or sore throat, they have to call up the Institute to ask if the medicine they are giving her is ok...

So much for kids being kids.

[crackacoldie]

I think you could take the "when it comes to drugs" out of the title and the the answer would be yes!

[Cloud Basher]

Lost,
That is the exact point here.

Essendon asked ASADA if the drugs were legal, they were told yes, so they used them.  It is the same as the girl going to the AIS.  She rings the AIS to ask if they were legal and they say yes.  If she gets tested and they are found to be illegal is her or her parents responsible or is the AIS responsible.

In Essendons case this has gone even higher to ASADA.  Like I said there is more to this otherwise they would have had the book thrown at them earlier.  Me thinks ASADA is in butt covering mode.

Cheers
CB

[dazzler]

In Essendons case this has gone even higher to ASADA.  Like I said there is more to this otherwise they would have had the book thrown at them earlier.  Me thinks ASADA is in butt covering mode.

Its the governance of the program the club are in the poo about.  Correct governance would have meant that the coachs and management knew everything that was being injected.  This would have been in the way of weekly reports to the coach from the high performance team and this would have been reported to management fortnightly or monthly. 

[JethroT]

Time to toughen up, every other sport has 12 to 24 month bans in place,  Even Warnie got 12 months for a weight loss drug, they didn't even buy his dumb card, and no Essendon player could be that dumb.

Regards

[Malcolm Tugless]

If the sh*t fits, wear it.

It a bit like when that purple team from another code got caught out fiddling the books, but ironically neither the players nor the head coach had any idea it was going on. Give me a break.

Same story, different crime ... at the end of the day any head coach worth their salt is all over everything that goes down or circulates around the player group.

Me thinks ASADA has little to no hard evidence to pin on the players (yet), that's why they came out at that atrocious press conference earlier in the year. A move that wrongly threw a shadow over all Australian sports. They hoped their actions would unnerve a few players into coming forward, but failed to do so.

With their gambit failing to procure any stool pigeons, they've settled for the distant second prize of charging those in charge with failing their charges. Whoopy do ... but more than likely a true assumption.

What I don't get is this three strikes crap in regards to recreational drugs. Whilst the vast majority of so called performance enhancing drugs are legal, and only banned from sport. Its hard to find a recreational drug that is deemed legal in the eyes of the law. Yet the loons in charge of the knock-on-a thon thinks its just fine and dandy for players to get caught out charging around town on Bavarian marching powder ... makes no sense.

[Bird]

Essendon asked ASADA if the drugs were legal, they were told yes

Actually the Bumblers didnt ask - Dank did...

Dank has a letter to prove this but wont show anyone (I'd say he hasnt got the photoshop of the letter head correct yet)...

If the bumblers have this mysterious letter I'm sure they would have shown it too - back in March... I don't think it exists.

So me thinks he is full of Shit.

[macca]

Funny I thought ASADA  said they had nothing they could pin on the players, yet . You would reckon after 6 months trying they could at least work that out. I'm with cloud basher

[Cloud Basher]

Dazzler,
That is exactly the point.  They, the coaching staff, team doc and players, did know what was being injected.  They had a document or had at least seen a document that said It was legal.  The document was from ASADA.  So why the hell would they NOT use whatever they can.  The AFL is a billion dollar business.  You win, you make more money.  So the teams do everything in their power to win.  If they are told - by the governing body that regulates drug use in sport, that something was legal, why the hell wouldn't they use it, if they thought they could get an edge.

All I can see here is a teacup and some clouds.  ASADA have nothing, the AFL has nothing but has to be seen to do "something" so they use their "coverall" charge of bringing the game into disrepute.

Like I said if there was a real case to answer the charge would not be bringing the game into disrepute.  But they have nothing, so no case on drugs to answer for.

Cheers
CB

[Bird]

Maybe the reason they have nothing yet is they dont know what the **** it was.... Which is even worse.

Essendon club officials have been unable to tell ASADA or their players what drugs some of them were given when they were injected with a substance bought in Mexico by a Melbourne man suffering from muscular dystrophy.

The revelation that some players were injected with an unknown substance purchased overseas and not intended for use by sportspeople has prompted health concerns among the relatives of some of the injected players.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/bombers-injected-with-mystery-mexican-substance-20130814-2rx6m.html#ixzz2bztglCZP

[nbd73]

Essendon, as a club, issued a statement the other day saying there were various "management" issues, systems etc that needed to be changed within their club > WTF is this load of garbage? Says nothing, just hot air. And if they need to "fix" things then there us an admission that something was not being done correctly, or within the rules or spirit of the competition they are part of. This is the team I follow, but the utter BS that this farcical saga has become has got to be stamped out so they can clean their act up. If it takes 5 years to recover so be it, better that than continue under a cloud, whether its proven against individual players or not. I am sure Lost would rather see them sacked from the comp all together, his posts say as much, but this is just jealousy methinks!!

[03GV]

The meeting between the AFL and Essendon went like this....

AFL - Well we really don't have anything on you and with this media beat up we better look to do something. So we'll whack you with bringing the game into disripute and then you fight that charge and we'll let you off. We have to do this so we don't look like idiots.


What I love is this Richard Ing's leech, this guy must be loving it. channel 7 keep putting him on and having for his inside information? WTF he hasn't said anything we don't know.

He was even sacked from Asada!

From 2010.

THE long-time head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency, Richard Ings, will be dumped as part of a federal government cleanout of senior staff.

Ings, who first made headlines as a 22-year-old tennis umpire who took on John McEnroe, was forced to reapply for his position last year after a damning independent review found ASADA was riddled with infighting and mistrust.