Hird to have his say

[Strapping Young Lad]

I wonder if Hird will be asked by Tracey to explain what was meant by the "AOD financials" text.

And...

"UN skills"

"This is what we're dealing with"

"Not as good as us in that area!!"

 

[CD Xbow]

I'm actually looking forward to watching Tracy embarrass herself tommorow on national TV. Now the rest of the nation can see what a hirdite looks like in all its glory. Shares in koolaid to triple overnight

Hope she has the baby photos from France.

 

[Randomizor]

Unhindered by contractual obligations or court proceedings, James Hird speaks exclusively to "Big Footy" about what really happened during Essendon’s disastrous 2012 season.

“Of all of the questions asked by fans in response to Tuesday’s shocking and unfair decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, one stands out: Were you actually coach of Essendon during the 2012 and 2013 seasons?

Today is my first chance to publicly answer this question, unconstrained by the contractual obligations a coach must observe and free of pressure applied by the AFL. I can finally offer a more detailed explanation to 34 young men and their families. Players who absolutely do not deserve this fate.

To put it simply, when I was offered the job of Head Coach at Essendon in September 2010, I didn’t take the job. At least not in any real sense. Sure, I was around the club a bit. I headed press conferences after most/all games. And I took full credit for wins, when we had them. But it’s a leap to say I was in any way in charge of the playing group.

Yes, I taught them about sacrifice, about love for the club, about hard work and trust. I told them about the importance of dying for the club and for the coach. Really, actually dying if necessary. I taught them about winning at all costs. And some hair colouring techniques.

I also demanded loyalty – total unquestioning loyalty. And in return I promised to get to know each and every one of the players personally, to find out what made them tick, what they wanted to achieve, what motivated them to be great players.

So as you can see, I was pretty hands-off.

In 2012 I hired Dean Robinson, and in turn Stephen Dank. I don’t intend to go through every detail of every interaction I had with them, lest I inadvertently give away useful information that sheds light on what actually took place that year.

We got Mark Thompson back in and he told me that the playing group were too small and would be thrown around like rag dolls by the top teams.
I said then, "I'll be buggered if we're going to sit around for five years waiting for these blokes to bulk up a bit" " I didn't say anything more other than "Mark and Macca conduct some drills"

But what I can say is that it was the club’s Sliding Doors moment. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the movie Sliding Doors? Basically it’s about how Gwyneth Paltrow misses a train, setting off two parallel realities, one where she catches her husband having an affair, the other where she doesn’t. In our case we set up a program to inject 34 players with human growth hormone. The similarities are undeniable.

(How different Essendon’s 2013-15 seasons would have been had that selfish a-hole on the train held the door open for a few more seconds when I was trying to get back to Toorak one night after work. We can only dream).

So as it’s pretty plain to see, I wasn’t really coaching at Essendon in 2012. I ran the odd handball drill, offered a tip here and there about tanning. But that was it. Dean Robinson was in charge of our football club. And as a guy with an impeccable background as a rodeo performer, that made sense.

I circulated the Essendon organisational structure today just to clear up any misunderstandings about reporting lines. But really, there shouldn’t be any surprises. As Head Coach I reported directly to Thomas Bellchambers.

So, in summary, who was really responsible for the injection program that led to 34 players getting suspended for a season? Quite simply, everyone else. The staff, the media, the AFL, and to some extent – let’s be totally honest here – you the members!

But was I in any way responsible, even in some small way? To believe that, you’d also have to believe that I had some kind of senior role, or at least some level of influence at the Essendon Football Club. And that is the stuff of conspiracy theories. You might have to speak to someone in the Windy Hill Car Park to know the answer to that, except they didn't have one at the time. Do you know how difficult it was to actually park near the ground? I spent most of my time at the Moonee Ponds Town Hall clearing up parking tickets. I had no time to do anything else!



Someone has to see the humourous side.

Laughed so hard at the Bellchambers bit

 

[gavaniacono]

Nothing to be confused about.
When the story broke 3 years back if you removed the bullshit stories of media and club spin themselves, what was clear was essentially Dank himself was the only one that really knows what happened. Anything since by other interested parties closely involved or not involved at all like journalists saying they knew either something banned was taken or nothing banned was taken was all hogwash. No one really knows except Dank. Hird just always doing spin as he is partially responsible and cannot accept the truth of the matter is he really does know himself, so all talk of "nothing harmful or illegal was given to players" has always been bullshit. Been the most laughable aspect of all the speculation gone on. I barely read much of any articles once I realized the only person that really knows is Dank and everything everyone else that said be they Little, Hird, Thompson, Caroline Wilson, big footy posters etc etc is guess work at best. Dank has claimed he could prove the players innocence. He has done nothing for anyone but himself. My best guess and it is only a guess, is the idiot injected them with what he thought was not banned and then at some stage realized it either might be or was and I suspect that is when paperwork games started happening. If Dank could prove their innocence he would have done so unless he is such a prick he does not care and just wants to thumb his nose at agencies like ASADA and WADA for his own deluded ego trip. So the guy is a prick even if he did not inject them with anything harmful. Worse still if he has.

Anybody that thinks Hird can shed more light are kidding themselves. The guy is being an idiot only making things worse. If he said I did not know what was taken and I am an idiot for putting myself in that position and the club I coached then I might have a little bit of respect for him.

Top shelf!

 

[blueboy1960]

can you show me where CAS stated this?

MMm you must be a legal eagle. Lets see what did CSA say banned for 24 months for being naughty boys is that right. Essendon banned for 2 years for drug cheats. Thats pretty obvious right can you concede that!! Now why do i say that Hird was directly responsible, hear me out. Who at the club at the time of this period were players walked across the road to some doggy room to be injected with orange juice would have directed this. The board dont think so the CEO nope the doctor well we know that he tired to stop this who Hird. Dr Ried and the club was silenced by one man James Hird. Come

 

[gavaniacono]

I fear Hird is having a break down. Incoherent. A bit rambling. Nonsequitous. He needs help. I'd suggest he, Francis and Hardie could get a 3 for 2 discount at the Mental Anomaly Retreat where Sheeds, Percy and Crackers spent some time.

 

[mxett]

MMm you must be a legal eagle. Lets see what did CSA say banned for 24 months for being naughty boys is that right. Essendon banned for 2 years for drug cheats. Thats pretty obvious right can you concede that!! Now why do i say that Hird was directly responsible, here me out. Who at the club at the time of this period were players walked across the road to some doggy room to be injected with orange juice would have directed this. The board dont think so the CEO nope the doctor well we know that he tired to stop this who Hird. Dr Ried and the club was silenced by one man James Hird. Come

yes the players received bans for taking a banned substance. No where that I can see did CAS say Hird or any other Essendon staff member intended for this to happen. In fact CAS showed on a number of occasions that the staff stated they wanted to keep within WADA guidelines

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

I think the mistake Hird and Essendon made was believing in the power of the AFL. We'd all been amazed by the smug arrogance of Hird and Essendon throughout, that everything was going to be okay. I would think certain assurances were made to them by the AFL. The AFL had no intention of ever busting them. They just waited until ASADA handed down their findings, and the AFL just said "insufficient evidence", threw it in the bin, and went on with business as usual.

However, what they hadn't counted on was WADA involvement. For the first time, they ran into a foe with the power to discredit the AFL's decision and really cause some damage. Also, for the first time, we began to see some concern from all 3 parties, Hird, Essendon and AFL.

There have been rats deserting sinking ships, trying to pretend they were not implicated in any way. For the rest of us, the moment WADA took over, we knew at last some justice would at least be seen to be done. I especially loved the way they waited until the 11th hour before stating their intentions. Essendon sitting there thinking they were home free until BOOM!!! Made me smile

 

[chelseacarlton]

can you show me where CAS stated this?

So what are jones johnson and armstrong?.
Mere pawns like your players?.
They were knee deep and they know it,it's just folks like you mate that still can't put your head around it!.
Sad really,because you're obviously a top person.
The players are complicit drug cheats.
They didn't state it but it's what we all heard.

 

[teknodeejay]

The irony is that Hird pumped his players full of stuff to make him appear a better coach.

Ultimately he was dismissed for not being a very good one at all.

Thompson showed in his year in charge how much a competent coach can achieve.

Of course that must have been a terrible insult to Hird's ego. "I want a turn too. I can do it just as good." Like a spoilt brat who can't let others be successful.

Hope the fois gras tasted good. Can't wish anything good on a person like this. The players should throw him under the bus in kind return.

 

[Chameleon75]

yes the players received bans for taking a banned substance. No where that I can see did CAS say Hird or any other Essendon staff member intended for this to happen. In fact CAS showed on a number of occasions that the staff stated they wanted to keep within WADA guidelines

who was being prosecuted?

 

[chelseacarlton]

I'm totally convinced that the "protocol" was nothing more than a poor attempt at arse covering.

The protocol was to circumnavigate Dr Reid and people like that pesky nutritionist that questioned the science of dank.

 

[gavaniacono]

possibly. However, given Dank's admission to McKenzie, I dont think he even knew he'd crossed the line, let alone Hird

Ignorance. Incuriosity. Matrix. Team B. Black Ops. Edge of cliff. Vitamins only. Lie to drug authority. Text messages. Over sized penises. Friendship with charter. Results -driven process - less culture. No records. Assurances based on assumptions. Hopeless legal appeals. Big ears. Ass cement. Off site shooting gallery. Internal secrets. Narcissism. Denial. Crying in public. Woe is me. Give me a fcuking break.

 

[mxett]

who was being prosecuted?

good point, the players obviously. However the CAS documents state on a number of occasions that the club's intention was not to use banned substances. That isnt about the players per say

 

[Baltimore Jack]

I wonder if Matthew Knights is ever going to be interviewed.
It would be fascinating to hear from him how the beginnings to all of this started

 

[mxett]

So what are jones johnson and armstrong?.
Mere pawns like your players?.
They were knee deep and they know it,it's just folks like you mate that still can't put your head around it!.
Sad really,because you're obviously a top person.
The players are complicit drug cheats.
They didn't state it but it's what we all heard.

not the point of my post

 

[chelseacarlton]

just finished reading the CAS finding. CAS found that the club and Dank agreed to only use WADA compliant substances on numerous occasions. Do you think they were all for show?

We know the answer to this already.

 

[gavaniacono]

I wonder if Matthew Knights is ever going to be interviewed.
It would be fascinating to hear from him how the beginnings to all of this started

Ironic. Matty is the one who is in a very good place at the moment.

 

[mxett]

We know the answer to this already.

no we dont, we are assuming. You are assuming they intended to cheat from day 1, I am assuming they never intended to cheat but didnt follow due diligence.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Of course that must have been a terrible insult to Hird's ego. "I want a turn too. I can do it just as good." Like a spoilt brat who can't let others be successful.

I think this is a good comment because the reason he got himself into this mess is because he "suspected" successful teams MUST be on the juice. Only someone with a cheat's intellect would harbor such thoughts.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Nothing to be confused about.
When the story broke 3 years back if you removed the bullshit stories of media and club spin themselves, what was clear was essentially Dank himself was the only one that really knows what happened. Anything since by other interested parties closely involved or not involved at all like journalists saying they knew either something banned was taken or nothing banned was taken was all hogwash. No one really knows except Dank. Hird just always doing spin as he is partially responsible and cannot accept the truth of the matter is he really does know himself, so all talk of "nothing harmful or illegal was given to players" has always been bullshit. Been the most laughable aspect of all the speculation gone on. I barely read much of any articles once I realized the only person that really knows is Dank and everything everyone else that said be they Little, Hird, Thompson, Caroline Wilson, big footy posters etc etc is guess work at best. Dank has claimed he could prove the players innocence. He has done nothing for anyone but himself. My best guess and it is only a guess, is the idiot injected them with what he thought was not banned and then at some stage realized it either might be or was and I suspect that is when paperwork games started happening. If Dank could prove their innocence he would have done so unless he is such a prick he does not care and just wants to thumb his nose at agencies like ASADA and WADA for his own deluded ego trip. So the guy is a prick even if he did not inject them with anything harmful. Worse still if he has.

Anybody that thinks Hird can shed more light are kidding themselves. The guy is being an idiot only making things worse. If he said I did not know what was taken and I am an idiot for putting myself in that position and the club I coached then I might have a little bit of respect for him.

Sorry, I can't for one minute, believe that everyone around Dank and Robinson were as incompetent as they would have us believe.

We already know Dank was texting through to Hird the drugs he had been using, and the ones he intended to use next.

We know Hird was having conversations with players about how good they were feeling after their injections(but we're meant to believe he had no idea what they were, and never asked the player which specific injections were so good).

We know Hird was having conversations with Corcoran around specific drugs and their use in the program.

We know the assistants were asking Dank for the "good stuff".

We know Reid was well aware that the practices would not be looked at favorably by people outside the club.

Furthermore, we know elite professional sports clubs in 2012 were monitoring sleep, diet, running patterns, gps, etc etc....but we're lead to believe that only one or two people at Essendon had any knowledge of what drugs were being administered to the players. Not likely.

How were the football department ever going to review the program and its results if no one had any idea what the program consisted of and no data to analyse?

In my career as a manager, it is absolutely a non-negotiable that any program that is implemented to benefit the business has numerous stakeholders, all of which are aware of the importance of collecting, recording and reviewing the data.

The idea that a program so important to the fortunes of the playing group was just run in the background with little to no knowledge or input from a host of people in the football department is just complete fantasy.

Key members of that football department thought they'd found a way around the code as reported by Baker and McKenzie, which puts a completely different angle on all the assertions that "I told them it needed to be safe and legal".

Apologies if I've misinterpreted your post, but the way I read your post I think you're giving Hird and the football dept far too much leeway.

 

[jerry springer]

I wonder if Matthew Knights is ever going to be interviewed.
It would be fascinating to hear from him how the beginnings to all of this started

He has too much class to unload on his former club

he is the exact opposite of Hird who is a piece of s**t whose default setting is to throw people under the bus

 

[Chameleon75]

good point, the players obviously. However the CAS documents state on a number of occasions that the club's intention was not to use banned substances. That isnt about the players per say

thats not correct it goes to great lengths to establish danks intent, dank is part of the club. one of the clubs doctors testified that the only purpose of the blood tests were sinister. it refers to the secrecy supporting the allegation of doping ie intent, also refers to the lack of records supporting doping ie intent.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I wonder if Matthew Knights is ever going to be interviewed.
It would be fascinating to hear from him how the beginnings to all of this started

Go have a read of the outgoing fitness guys comments to 4 Corners.

Paints a picture of the coaches knowing exactly what they wanted.

 

[mxett]

thats not correct it goes to great lengths to establish danks intent, dank is part of the club. one of the clubs doctors testified that the only purpose of the blood tests were sinister. it refers to the secrecy supporting the allegation of doping ie intent, also refers to the lack of records supporting doping ie intent.

but that relates to Dank, not the players or other staff. I think that was dank's attempt to skirt the S0 clause, not use S2 substances outright