Rumour AFL Players Faking Mental Illnesses To Avoid Drug Tests?

[Benny78]

Shame these players can't just have multi million dollar careers without having to involve hard drugs like coke and meth.

 

[Hamingja]

It's Collingwood I reckon

Didn't Colingwood players do this years ago and the AFL closed the loophole? Apparently not!

 

[Stax on the mill]

Didn't Colingwood players do this years ago and the AFL closed the loophole? Apparently not!

Nah! We got rid of our ratbags years ago. Didak, Daisy, Heater, Swan, Beams...... Oh wait. Definitely got all the hallmarks of a Richmond scandal this one though. After all, Dusty is a protege of Swanny.

 

[FRUMPY]

Eddie saying the bloke who said a club has 16 players on mental health list is totally wrong, even though he admits club presidents don't know who is on any drugs list etc. But his 'sources' say its wrong...... Nice to see him stumble/mumble when Wil Anderson pointed out how he can be so definitive in saying it is a lie when he doesn't know for sure.

 

[ford71]

Oooooh...I love satire.

Pretty sure that was written in sarcasm

 

[Crankyhawk]

Mental health is fashionable these days, It's used as a get out of jail free card all the time.

It's sad that the term 'Mental Health' has been diluted so much.

That and drug addiction is a “mental health “ problem. So they aren’t lying...

 

[Crankyhawk]

I think this "loophole" was designed in the full knowledge of how it would be used. The AFL don't care much about recreational drugs but they care desperately about the perception that they do. This loophole provides a way of having an apparently tough drugs policy without risking the bad optics of players being rubbed out. Win win.

I can't see why they should test for non-PED illegal drugs at all. Should they test for everything else that moral agitators don't approve of? Tests for STDs? cameras in homes to check for physical abuse? Microphones for verbal abuse? Browser history checks? Political correctness panels vetting tweets? Moral agitators can F off.

With how footballers party STD checks would be a useful public health measure (probably more than drug policy)

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

Pretty easy solution would be to suspend the players in questions from playing AFL games until an approved mental health professional deems them fit again to play. Then normal drug testing applies.

 

[GreyCrow]

"Doc I'm anxious the afl will find out about my party drug use"

"anxious you say, here have this letter"

 

[ThirtyFive]

.....until someone has a heart attack or stroke from cocaine or methamphetamine use and dies. But, hey, what's a dead AFL footballer or two. Cocaine and methamphetamine are classed as stimulants and, therefore, performance enhancing. Out of comp, it falls under the illicit drug policy. In comp.....ASADA are more than interested.

 

[Seadog]

The players that are faking mental illness, won't need to fake much longer.

They are only mental while they are on drugs, foolproof system.

 

[The Gtrain]

It's probably a club who aren't in the media / rumours for drugs – Freo, Kangas, Dees?

Freo, unfortunately have had their share of media coverage. Johnson, Crowley, Yarran, Bennell

 

[pickettline]

Stop messing around and say which team you think it is.

You're taking the P155 surely, I'm hoping you were being sarcastic.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

.....until someone has a heart attack or stroke from cocaine or methamphetamine use and dies. But, hey, what's a dead AFL footballer or two. Cocaine and methamphetamine are classed as stimulants and, therefore, performance enhancing. Out of comp, it falls under the illicit drug policy. In comp.....ASADA are more than interested.

Interested yes, able to do anything? no.

 

[estibador]

Interested yes, able to do anything? no.

They certainly can. A positive in-comp test for those drugs carries a mandatory WADA ban.

 

[Aussie in exile]

Interesting article to pop up today on Foxsports.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/af...m/news-story/40760ec9506dc087e57be2f29b3b7565

If true, its an absolute disgrace. It makes a mockery of people who are genuinely suffering mental health issues. Sixteen players at one club shows that its either a group of players who have banded together and shared the loophole with each other, or the club itself has alerted them. Either way as they say, if you have nothing to hide then.... Clearly they do if they have to resort to faking a mental health issue to avoid a test.

I don't care if its my club, the AFL needs to come out and publicly name this club involved. Faking mental illness to avoid a drug test is no laughing matter. Especially after the Essendon saga, the AFL needs to come out as mass drug test the whole club involved to be sure. Avoiding drug tests generally counts as one strike as the rules state, should be no different here. And make the players donate to mental health organizations seeing they clearly think mental health is an issue to play games with.

That being said, it is a pretty weak rumor and a couple of things do not line up. But none the less, the talk is out there.

Also to note, this story first appeared in the Herald Sun today on the back page. Was brought up again by Fox Sports, SEN and other sporting outlets. It wasn't started by Lyon himself.

There is only one reason why players refuse drug tests and to think otherwise is dumb

 

[quotemokc]

People will use any excuse they can to get out of trouble its human nature.

Jussie Smollet is trying to use mental health problems to get out of his fake hate crime.

 

[lysp]

Should rewrite the policy.

Having mental health issues shouldn't prevent tests from occurring in the first place.

But it should come into account during the "punishment" stage if you do get caught.

So if you have health issues or not - you will get caught. You just might have a different outcome based on your situation.

 

[deck]

Interesting article to pop up today on Foxsports.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/af...m/news-story/40760ec9506dc087e57be2f29b3b7565

If true, its an absolute disgrace. It makes a mockery of people who are genuinely suffering mental health issues. Sixteen players at one club shows that its either a group of players who have banded together and shared the loophole with each other, or the club itself has alerted them. Either way as they say, if you have nothing to hide then.... Clearly they do if they have to resort to faking a mental health issue to avoid a test.

I don't care if its my club, the AFL needs to come out and publicly name this club involved. Faking mental illness to avoid a drug test is no laughing matter. Especially after the Essendon saga, the AFL needs to come out as mass drug test the whole club involved to be sure. Avoiding drug tests generally counts as one strike as the rules state, should be no different here. And make the players donate to mental health organizations seeing they clearly think mental health is an issue to play games with.

That being said, it is a pretty weak rumor and a couple of things do not line up. But none the less, the talk is out there.

Also to note, this story first appeared in the Herald Sun today on the back page. Was brought up again by Fox Sports, SEN and other sporting outlets. It wasn't started by Lyon himself.

So Garry Lyon is shattered that players maybe faking mental illness to get out of drugs tests. You would think Garry would take a more low key view considering his own mental illness seemed to correspond with the media outing him as being in a relationship of his best mates ex-wife.

 

[madrigal]

So Garry Lyon is shattered that players maybe faking mental illness to get out of drugs tests. You would think Garry would take a more low key view considering his own mental illness seemed to correspond with the media outing him as being in a relationship of his best mates ex-wife.

You don't want people using and diluting your go to excuse. He wants to preserve it for the next time he screws up.

 

[ThirtyFive]

They certainly can. A positive in-comp test for those drugs carries a mandatory WADA ban.

I wonder whether, now that ASADA has new expanded legislative powers having been absorbed into a super “Integrity Agency” that positive AFL illicit drug tests could be obtained by court order if deemed necessary to integrity investigations. In such cases, what would there be to prevent ASADA to subjecting those players testing positive to cocaine/methamphetamine out of comp being target tested on match day? Could open a hornets nest. A massive component of ASADA’s brief is sanctioning athletes via “intelligence”. If the scenario I’ve described falls under the intelligence umbrella, there will be some very nervous players around. They’ve already stated their concerns around illicit drug using athletes being targets for match fixing by unscrupulous criminals.

 

[yaco55]

The AFL's Illicit drug policy is an agreement reached with the AFLPA and the off-season hair testing is voluntary - You have ASADA knocking on the door and the Illicit Drug Policy will be reduced - Facts are that ASADA's main brief is performance enhance drugs, hence why illicit drugs are not santionable unless it's match day - Well if ASADA really want this information then they need to change the WADA code.

 

[ThirtyFive]

The AFL's Illicit drug policy is an agreement reached with the AFLPA and the off-season hair testing is voluntary - You have ASADA knocking on the door and the Illicit Drug Policy will be reduced - Facts are that ASADA's main brief is performance enhance drugs, hence why illicit drugs are not santionable unless it's match day - Well if ASADA really want this information then they need to change the WADA code.

That’s the conundrum. Cocaine and methamphetamine are stimulants and, therefore, performance enhancing if detected in-competition.

 

[Marc_Remillard]

This sounds like something that players from all clubs would do, the media probably just mentioned 16 players from one club to make it sound more like a scandal and garnish more interest.

We all know the AFL don't really care if the players are on the gear, the only thing they care about if it becomes news about players individually. Hell, the AFL execs probably supply the s**t on the side to make more money

Disclaimer - Last line was a joke

 

[HairyO]

The AFL's Illicit drug policy is an agreement reached with the AFLPA and the off-season hair testing is voluntary - You have ASADA knocking on the door and the Illicit Drug Policy will be reduced - Facts are that ASADA's main brief is performance enhance drugs, hence why illicit drugs are not santionable unless it's match day - Well if ASADA really want this information then they need to change the WADA code.

The illicit drug code was pushed by the Government as a part of the AFL getting funding. ASADA are thr ones to carry out the tests.

The AFL and AFLPA hate the code but the AFL loves free money more.