Essendon affair

[Matt80]

On Sen today they were saying the indications are that the afl will "stand down" players issued with notices.

If that is the case, and the notices are issued before Thursday?s selection, will they have to forfeit the game on Friday night? You would assume that a huge part of their list would have been impacted by the program.

That will be a disaster for the AFL.

Will the AFL let Essendon sign temporary players from State Leagues so they can at least field a team, while this is being sorted.

[southsideswan]

It was reported that early last year the NRL investigated a contingency plan for Cronulla if a large number of players were unable to play. It involved all of the other Clubs "loaning" players for the season (s). Seems more like fantasy league then reality.

[Matimbo]

On Sen today they were saying the indications are that the afl will "stand down" players issued with notices.

Yes, that's possible. In a typical employer/employee issue, the employer can send the employee on some sort of leave while an issue gets dealt with e.g. a company wouldn't want an employee accused of assaulting a co-worker turning up for work in the interim. But I don't see this applying to Bombers players.

Then there is the instance of high profile cases where the person continuing in their position will be seen as damaging to the organisation e.g. the recent spate of NSW politicians standing down whilst corruption accusations get dealt with. However, in these cases it is the individual who decides (albeit under pressure from his political party) to stand down.

If the Bombers players and club execs opposed an AFL stand down order, the AFL would in effect be banning the players before they were given opportunity to defend themselves. This would put the AFL at risk of being sued by any player who successfully defends their charge. The AFL won't want to risk this ... but they also can't have a team playing that has a majority of players under a drug charge.

I'm thinking once again there is some heavy behind the scenes negotiations going on between the AFL and Bombers execs.

[Jewels]

David Zaharakis is going to be a busy boy!

[liz]

David Zaharakis is going to be a busy boy!

He'll have a few to share the workload with - Dustin Fletcher, Brendan Goddard, Joe Daniher

[Reggi]

It was reported that early last year the NRL investigated a contingency plan for Cronulla if a large number of players were unable to play. It involved all of the other Clubs "loaning" players for the season (s). Seems more like fantasy league then reality.

That would be the final straw. I would hate one of our own players.

Ot sure if we should give them Mitchell or Lloyd

[Mug Punter]

A main thing that puzzles me about this affair is what response will ASADA make when a player says, "I asked the club doctor and he said it would be OK. I've done my due diligence. Are you seriously suggesting I should embark on a crash course in biochemistry?"

It won't matter squat. The ASADA code is a code of strict liability - seems harsh but it has to be so to avoid "the dog ate my homework" excuses.

Of course the players in question will have one almighty legal claim upon their employer, Essendon Football Club and I suspect James Hird personally as those people have clearly breached their duty of care.

Time for His Smugness to face the music....

[Doctor J.]

Well it's about time, they've issued them
let the games begin, and the truth come out.
Wonder if Hird will bother coming back from France

[Ludwig]

It's hard to see how this will not end with a suspension of Essendon. I think the rules provide for that in the case of systematic doping. Dragging it out for another year or two will only turn the pain into a long torture. It's unfair to the Essendon players, those who received show cause notices and the others, to force them to endure an extended period of uncertainty.

The AFL should try to bring this to some conclusion this year and not allow it to drag into yet another season next year. The AFL should use this as an opportunity to fix a few problems. Essendon should be expelled from the competition. The Bulldogs and the Saints should merge and sent off to Tassie. Let's get back to a 16 team competition. The big problem is the TV deal and stadium agreements.

What a shame that this blight has to come at a time when the Swans are a major force in the competition. Wouldn't it be nicer if we could all have our focus on the footy?

[chalbilto]

It's hard to see how this will not end with a suspension of Essendon. I think the rules provide for that in the case of systematic doping. Dragging it out for another year or two will only turn the pain into a long torture. It's unfair to the Essendon players, those who received show cause notices and the others, to force them to endure an extended period of uncertainty.

The AFL should try to bring this to some conclusion this year and not allow it to drag into yet another season next year. The AFL should use this as an opportunity to fix a few problems. Essendon should be expelled from the competition. The Bulldogs and the Saints should merge and sent off to Tassie. Let's get back to a 16 team competition. The big problem is the TV deal and stadium agreements.

What a shame that this blight has to come at a time when the Swans are a major force in the competition. Wouldn't it be nicer if we could all have our focus on the footy?

Won't happen because of TV and stadium deals. After all of the COLA grief that Sydney have copped and innuendo regarding Buddy & Tippett, I am not unhappy that Essendon are in this predicament, it's a pity that it isn't Collingwood (because of Eddy!) . I feel sorry for the players as I believe that they were just doing what they were told to do and unwittingly they have, in all probability, ingested banned substances. The coaching staff are the ones who deserve the harshest retribution for what they allowed to occur.

[R-1]

Team sanctions including suspension or expulsion of teams is allowed but discretionary for sporting bodies under the WADA Code. If Essendon are punished further it'll be the usual range of fines, draft and premiership point penalties. They won't be treated like Festina.

[Ampersand]

Bit rich for Essendon FC to claim to be concerned for player welfare after they spent nearly 2 years injecting them with god knows what.

This latest legal action is nothin but a delaying tactic. If Essendon's lawyers had a legitimate issue with the legality of the joint ASADA-AFL investigation they would have challenged it last year well before the investigation even commenced.

Essendon FC have been punished but the players have not. They need to be. The last thing we want is to create an environment where athletes can claim plausible deniability about what is injected into their body and defer responsibility to coaching staff. A six month ban is more than fair. I feel sorry for them but their anger should be entirely directed at their coaching and administrative staff not at ASADA or the AFL. I guarantee all players in the AFL will be taking much more notice of what is put into their bodies over the next few decades as a result of this.

[dimelb]

This article by Brendan Schwab argues that Australian sport in general needs to cut loose from WADA, and specifically that the AFL needs to continue its focus on the club rather than the individual players. I'm inclined to agree, and I think the club made the wrong move in continuing Hird's salary at the same level as when he was coaching, when Hird seems to be the main one who drove the process. I'd be interested to see what others think.

Why Australian sports must cut ties with WADA

[Xie Shan]

Here is Martin Hardie's interview on the Today Show last week explaining the basis for Essendon's Federal Court challenge. Whether they are successful or not will depend on the evidence available, but either way it is going to be some time before this is resolved.

Martin Hardie on ASADA + AFL Today Show 13.6.14 - YouTube

[stellation]

What I don't understand with all of this is simply how long it has all taken.