Bombers - gonski !

[barry]

Another thread killed in "general footy chat" graveyard.

[AnsweredPrayers]

I agree. They obviously knew what they were doing was wrong or they would not have kept it secret. Lets not pretend they are children. Most of them are are grown men.

[Kumarangk]

I agree. They obviously knew what they were doing was wrong or they would not have kept it secret. Lets not pretend they are children. Most of them are are grown men.

I agree to this up to a certain point.The established star players sure but the the younger up and coming were really under pressure to do it and , as the stars did it ,if they didn't it would be the end of their career , at least at Essendon..The playing group had to make a stand , and they didn't.

Gee , James Hird has really come out of this caked in mud. One wonders how his lawyer wife let him do it . Perhaps he fessed up to her after it hit the fan and all she could do was damage control.

[i'm-uninformed2]

One story I've never seen written on this is - 34 players done, Zaharakis is renowned for refusing to take needles so he's excused. But who and what is the story of the other players on the list at the time as to why they weren't injected?

[Conor_Dillon]

No sympathy at all for the players, they kept the injections a secret from ASADA and the club doctor so they definitely knew it was cheating...not a single one of them bothered to call the WADA hotline to double check either. Then on top of that there's the repeated lies about Dank not attending certain away games which was proved false.

I don't think it's fair at all that the bombers aren't receiving any further punishment from the AFL...it's farcical if they end up with a number one draft pick as a result of doping. It's also laughable that the AFL are granting them salary cap and list concessions and that the players still get paid.

[Mel_C]

I couldn't stand listening to Fitzpatrick and Gil during their press conference. I know it's not the same thing as the Essendon situation but I still feel cheated that we were banned for doing NOTHING wrong!

[CureTheSane]

They're just going to do all they can to avoid further legal action from Essendon.

If I knew the Swans could take an ex-bomber and then upgrade a rookie if the worst eventuated, then I would have been all for it.
Clubs that took Bombers knew the risks, rolled the dice and lost.
The AFL are endorsing 'get out of jail free cards' for gamblers!!!!

[Scottee]

Bombers fallout.

Plenty of discussion about this in other forums but it would be nice to have an informed and civilized discussion about this on RWO.

I have just been watching ABC news and an interview was had with Peter Jess who advised Jobe Watson and manages three other involved players.

He said it like it is and called a spade a spade. In short he blamed the AFL for the current mess and called for Fitzpatrick and McLachlan to resign, said the costs would be in the order of 30 to 50 million and noted that the Thymosin program started in 2012 after it had been banned on January 1st of that year. The club was either ignorant of this or knowingly undertook an illegal drugs regime.

He said that In 2011 the Bombers met with the AFL about starting a peptides program and the AFL gave it tacit support.

He also said that there will be no other alternative but for the players to sue and that the AFL should show some leadership and avoid the litigation be developing a support scheme for the effected players.

Certainly can't argue against the call for resignations. If the game is to move forward this MUST HAPPEN!

[YvonneH]

One story I've never seen written on this is - 34 players done, Zaharakis is renowned for refusing to take needles so he's excused. But who and what is the story of the other players on the list at the time as to why they weren't injected?

They denied Joe Daniher was in 'the programme' as he was only 17 at the time. Maybe their other recruits (18 year olds) were also 'excused' or not deemed worthy by the great James Hird.

[wolftone57]

I think the players have been given bad advice from the beginning. They were told the substances they were taking were safe and approved. They should have checked. That is part of the ASADA/WADA code. Each sportsperson is responsible for what they put into their body. Why at no stage did players not question this and therefore report the Essendon program to the Players Association. Then the club gave them poor advice in telling them to fight the charges. If they had taken an early plea they would still be playing. Mind you the AFLPA has a lot to answer for here too as they should have advised players to take the plea. The AFL only made matters worse with their Kangaroo Court. That judgement was never and still won't pass muster in any court in the land. It was a joke.

The legal team for the players must have been supplied by the club they were so irrelevant. The players have been given suspect advice at every turn. They have been hoodwinked, pressured and maybe lied to by the Essendon football club, their coach, fitness advisers, the AFL, the AFLPA and possibly their legal representatives. These young men let themselves down by not following the ASADA/WADA rules to the letter by not getting clarification of the substances they were taking and their legality. But in saying that the Essendon Football Club was lying to them in telling them they were not taking anything illegal. This is a sorry saga and will go down as the most infamous incident in AFL history. The club should be banned for two years from earning points as a result. Heads should roll at the AFL including McLachlan and Anderson.

[Scottee]

It's going to be interesting when the players sue. Questions that are going to be asked are going to include whether the players were coerced into the program. Did the players get told that only players on the program would get a game? We're they fed a lot of BS about the legality or safety of the substances? We're they told they were being given something else? Why didn't the AFL or the AFLPA act if they knew about the program? Was the AFL providing an unsafe workplace?

This is not over by a long shot!

[Nico]

I am with CTS. They got what they deserved. I want to know.....did Hird get paid a $1m, with the AFL sanction, to keep quiet.
Essendon have form from when they cheated on the salary cap, so could be termed serial cheats.
The fact that it has come out that the players lied on their declarations to ASADA - on who's advice given it is a group lie.
Player managers have been rather mealy mouthed about all this in the last 24 hours. How many of them knew and why didn't they blow the whistle.
The doctor knew what was going on. Why did he just sneak into the background and plead and whinge "client confidentiality" to save his doctors ticket. Talk about lack of integrity.
And the sleeper; this could go on forever given that it is now proven. Young players coerced (draftees and new rookies) into taking these drugs and the chance that they may contract a fatal or degenerative disease as a consequence. We already know that athletes have died prematurely as a result of taking performance enhancing drugs.
What hold does Fitzpatrick have over the AFL? This bloke does what he wants. I am not convinced AD acted alone in handling the situation, and believe he resigned his job because he didn't want his future to be compromised by the outcome. It appears to me he probably wanted to handle this differently, but Fitzpatrick and his "money mates" at Essendon and "the clique" over ruled him.
Blind loyalty? more like dumb stupidity on the players part and pure cheating by the club and coaching staff. I wonder if Mark Thompson will now review his coaching career.
I hope they get flogged every week. Feel sorry for Craig Bird. Maybe he will now get a pay rise given the massive gap in their salary cap.

[Doctor]

Whether it seems fair or not, ultimately the players are the ones who take the field and they are the ones responsible for being clean. If they are misled by their club and end up suspended then they can take action against them.

[Conor_Dillon]

Whether it seems fair or not, ultimately the players are the ones who take the field and they are the ones responsible for being clean. If they are misled by their club and end up suspended then they can take action against them.

But the players have been found guilty by the CAS as individuals, which means they are responsible for their own actions and what they put in their own body. I don't understand how on top of those findings that they would have a legal leg to stand on in terms of taking action against the club? They weren't forced to be part of the program.

[Nico]

But the players have been found guilty by the CAS as individuals, which means they are responsible for their own actions and what they put in their own body. I don't understand how on top of those findings that they would have a legal leg to stand on in terms of taking action against the club? They weren't forced to be part of the program.

Sounds like they might have been manipulated or coerced. Anyone know if this is the biggest systematic team doping scandal worldwide?