The Bombers ASADA/WADA Saga

[whatboutbob]

Phwoar. Some club bigwigs lining up to have a crack at the Bombers:

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/rivals-urge-essendon-to-accept-penalties-20140616-zs9z2.html

Mods, is it time for a bombers-only thread? I'd like to pick and choose when I have to read about the ongoing saga. Soz if there is already one that can be bumped.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Phwoar. Some club bigwigs lining up to have a crack at the Bombers:

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/rivals-urge-essendon-to-accept-penalties-20140616-zs9z2.html

Mods, is it time for a bombers-only thread? I'd like to pick and choose when I have to read about the ongoing saga. Soz if there is already one that can be bumped.

Good idea!

Any ASADADADA stuff can go in here.

 

[luthor]

Little and Essendon are looking after Essendon and using the players as pawns ,then putting up the smokescreen of "looking after the players" .Cynical in the extreme. It was Essendon that put the players in this position in the first place, not ASADA, WADA, the AFL, the media or the bogeyman.

Vossie's suggestion that taking the pragmatic line of accepting a 6-month sanction (if you're a player) is a far better line than the bullshit that Little and Co. are now peddling in the guise of "looking after the players"

 

[luthor]

This is interesting:-

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/danks-stunning-admission-20140613-zs7ea.html#ixzz34WURlgBE

And say what you like about Caro, I believe that this piece is right on the money:-

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...d-of-lengthy-legal-stoush-20140613-zs6zp.html

 

[blynd_freddie]

Interesting that they are re-hashing stories/news from April 2013?

 

[Skoob]

This, from Paul Little the other day, stood out to me;

Little said the club’s board decided unanimously to launch the action after being “left with no alternative but to fight to protect the reputations of our players”.

I read it not as a moral, ethical or legal, right thing to do, but more correctly that the club has no other choice (besides disaster).
From a business point of view, the club has to try everything to scuttle ASADA's case because they know they are potentially in so much hot water. Not only do they face the loss of players for a period of time, but one would think they would also then face legal action from those players. Players (some) would undoubtedly consider leaving the club (I would) and outside players would be reluctant perhaps to come to the club.

I would hope that players having their legal bills paid by the club don't enter an agreement (if even legal) to not take action against the club. All signs point to Hird being the mastermind of the programme that got them here, whether innocently or not; he is at least guilty of gross negligence that has brought his club to its knees. I doubt he'll ever coach again.

left with no alternative

I agree with little on this. Unfortunately, sitting back and taking whatever whack they deserve is not really an option for them as a board. They are really in the s**t. Fortunately, it is unlikely to save them.

 

[Dom PC]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/la...andal-court-told/story-fni0fee2-1226957272153

And the suing's begin... horrifying to think what Essendon's legal bill will be for the next couple of years.

 

[whatboutbob]

Interesting that they are re-hashing stories/news from April 2013?

The re-hashed content for me underscores that not much has changed. Dank's interview goes to the core of the issue - that he had no idea that TB4 was banned and then tried to backpedal faster than TheBrownDog after offering over-generous odds.

Some of the new little tidbits in the article do really bring it home though.

As some have mentioned, the Bombers attacking the process seems to be all they've got left because they can't prove they're innocent. If that fails then I suspect (and hope) events will unfold pretty quickly thereafter.

 

[MacMum]

How can they tell or be allowed to tell ASADA to freeze investigation into the case? Surely ASADA won't fall for that.......would be like bribery.

...or a wanted criminal telling police to back off because he doesn't like them investigating his activities.

 

[Football Pope]

Evidence has been gathered implicating Essendon and Cronulla sports scientist Stephen Dank in wide-scale Medicare fraud and forgery.

According to a Fairfax report, Victoria Police detectives and Medicare investigators have documentary evidence and witness testimony that allegedly shows Dank forged and photocopied doctor’s signatures so that he could refer patients to pathology clinics.

If proved, it could see Dank face criminal charges and a possible jail term.

http://www.newsdocument.com/news/rush-hour-the-stories-you-need-to-know-today-newscomau

 

[POBT]

How can they tell or be allowed to tell ASADA to freeze investigation into the case? Surely ASADA won't fall for that.......would be like bribery.

...or a wanted criminal telling police to back off because he doesn't like them investigating his activities.

More like a criminal arguing that prosecutors can't use critical evidence that was illegally seized without a warrant. It might stink but the fundamental rules around procedural fairness and natural justice are there to protect us.

NB - not a comment about the case at all but if the process was fundamentally flawed then the players/club are entitled to challenge it and they are entitled to have the matters against them held over while the legal argument is resolved.

 

[James North]

ASAGA

 

[Skoob]

ASAGA

Boy, if that's one of Tairy Greene 's jokes, he's Ghana be pissed.

 

[whatboutbob]

Boy, if that's one of Tairy Greene 's jokes, he's Ghana be pissed.

USA funny.

 

[AFLQLD]

It is a sad state of affairs for the garden variety supporters of the club who must wonder what the hell has been, and is, going on there. I am sure it would be distressing for them.

The deniers on the other hand who continue to preach the gospel according to Hird have played their role in destroying the reputation of their club for a generation.

Sometimes you just have to admit that you did wrong. The truth will set you free.

 

[Tairy Greene]

Boy, if that's one of Tairy Greene 's jokes, he's Ghana be pissed.

USA funny.

Patter thieves the lot of ya!!

 

[MICKYCONLAN]

Shouldn't ASADA send a Show Cause notice to.. the AFL? Aren't they ultimately responsible? Shouldn't the players sue the AFL for providing an unsafe Workplace?

 

[Viceregal]

Shouldn't ASADA send a Show Cause notice to.. the AFL? Aren't they ultimately responsible? Shouldn't the players sue the AFL for providing an unsafe Workplace?

Shhh - don't give them any more ideas!

 

[MacMum]

They should sue their club imo..... the AFL has guidelines for all clubs to follow, it is then up to the club to follow them.

 

[Kevvo]

If Essendon was successful in getting an injunction over the evidence gathered in the dual investigation, couldn't and wouldn't ASADA re-run the same set of interviews with players, and still have access to any of its evidence gathered since that dual process ended?

I base this on the assumption the appeal couldn't result in an injunction over any further evidence gathering relating to the same conduct. If that's the case, short of players radically changing their story, I imagine it would just take an additional few months to get back to much the same point we're in. The credibility of all parties is so tied up in this, it's hard for me to imagine that an injunction over the interviews to date would spell the end of ASADA's investigation.

 

[Fatcat08]

Shouldn't ASADA send a Show Cause notice to.. the AFL? Aren't they ultimately responsible? Shouldn't the players sue the AFL for providing an unsafe Workplace?

ASADA's juristiction is largely over individuals. The WADA and ASADA codes specifically state the individual is responsible for what is put in their body, full stop. Every athlete knows it especially high level athletes. Now if they've been lied to about what they are taking then that gives the leeway. However athletes can't claim that they didn't know it was illegal, technically they're required to do their own research on what they're taking.

 

[whatboutbob]

Are there any precedents for WADA or a national anti-doping body suspending the bulk of an elite sports team?

I assume cycling...any others?

 

[Hollow Knight]

Delistment time is going to be a challenge for the Bombers this year if the ASADA thing is still going.

What if you want to delist some of the 34 simply because they aren't up to it football wise...you lose a lot of control and loyalty, especially as the ASADA stain limits their options elsewhere.

 

[MacMum]

Interesting angle there TBD...hadn't thought of that.

...ooo, they are in so much strife from so many different angles....love watching them dig themselves deeper and deeper in it.

 

[Panthera]

Are there any precedents for WADA or a national anti-doping body suspending the bulk of an elite sports team?

I assume cycling...any others?

WADA has the power to suspend a team from competing if 2 or more of it's players have been convicted of doping.

From memory, this happened to a National Women's soccer team in recent years; resulting in them being suspended from a World Cup.