Lachie Whitfield and GWS Officials Under Investigation

[TheEnsign]

While not to shoot Whitfield before a decision is actually handed down on possible guilt, there is no way he had no education about this stuff. Even before being drafted, at TAC Cup level, he would have stuff about illicit drugs and PEDs drummed into him.

He's an adult at this stage. He went to those guys for help. They've told him the wrong advice. But he shouldn't have had to run to them. (Of course, all allegedly).

He's only got himself to blame if he gets hit with a ban I think.

I don't have any problem with him going down for four years, the way he's acted towards his ex is despicable. But having said that - I think there should be some kind of mechanism wherein you can decide to 'self-report' - just once - and get a heavily discounted penalty.

 

[Muggs]

- I think there should be some kind of mechanism wherein you can decide to 'self-report' - just once - and get a heavily discounted penalty.

There is under the anti-doping code (references to AFL 2015 version)

1.7.6 (b) Admission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation in the Absence of Other Evidence

Where a Player or other Person voluntarily admits the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation before having received notice of a Sample collection which could establish an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (or, in the case of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation other than clause 10.2, before first receiving notice of the admitted violation) and that admission is the only reliable evidence of the violation at the time of the admission, then the period of Ineligibility may be reduced, but not below one half of the period of Ineligibility otherwise applicable

also a note to this

This clause is intended to apply when a Player or other Person comes forward and admits to an Anti-Doping Rule Violation in circumstances where no Anti-Doping Organisation is aware that an Anti-Doping Rule Violation might have been committed. It is not intended to apply to circumstances where the admission occurs after the Player or other Person believes he is about to be caught. The amount by which Ineligibility is reduced should be based on the likelihood that the Player or other Person would have been caught had he or she not come forward voluntarily.

and

17.3 (c) Prompt admission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation after being confronted with a violation sanctionable under Clause 17.2(a) or Clause 17.3(a)

A Player or other Person potentially subject to a four-year sanction under clause 17.2(a) or 17.3(a), by promptly admitting the asserted Anti-Doping Rule Violation after being confronted by an Anti-Doping Organisation, and also upon the approval and at the discretion of both WADA and the Anti-Doping Organisation with results management responsibility, may receive a reduction in the period of Ineligibility down to a minimum of two (2) years, depending on the seriousness of the violation and the Player or other Person’s degree of Fault.

Whitfield be charged under 17.3(a) if Anti-doping charges are laid.

Admit it before she went to ASADA get the 1st discount. Maybe even if he admitted it earlier in the investigation, I.e once the AFL started to investigate, before they sent in the document forensics to gather evidence (i.e. when a pure allegation), should have been able to, maybe before even the legal advice saying he committed one. Some case law around this which basically says once the doping authority has determined you committed an offence you cant claim these, but can during an investigation stage (even when you about to be tested), the earlier before this you admit to it the bigger the discount. The case law is not as strict as the wording implies.

From my reading of anti-doping cases got to the point now where both these are off the table.

 

[Cylon7]

Girlfriends should be microwaved.

Why?

 

[Cylon7]

Given that Gubby and co from GWS are claiming the fabrication excuse, can Gillon McLachlan and Andrew Dillon please look into the fabrication of medical records while Gubby was in-house?

ASADA oversee drug fabrication issues but no one will look at the fabrication of a medical history and examination by GWS.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

GWS are the AFL's pet project so the most they can expect is the wet lettuce treatment.
Expect just spin and BS from Gill and AFL house as they look for a bigger rug.

Expect total ignorance from the AFL as they continue to pretend there are no such thing as drugs.

 

[Sinjin Smith]

hahahaha...classic.

It was a ruse, a cunning attempt to trick her.

FMD...they must really be in the s**t if this was the best they could come up with.

That post just makes me think GWS recruited Baldrick for player welfare management.

 

[FastLane]

and to think the AFL kept all this quiet for 12 months before the age got ahold of this story

I say again, what a s**t stain of a "sporting" competition the AFL is

this

 

[FastLane]

A bit of an overreaction
Defence is simply- and plausibly- Whitfield was having relationship issues, lots of arguments was acting destructively, needed some time away, afraid of upsetting girlfriend-as she was 'volatile'- made up story about needing to stay at Craig's because he'd gone out and got smashed after argument and had drugs and was afraid he might be tested and need to stay at Craig's. Broke up with her soon after, as realised upon reflection he no longer wanted to be in bad relationship
Nothing to see here- move on.

I'm pretty sure Caro reads BigFooty and pretends she has inside knowledge.


That said- Collingwood have been blindsided by this.
AFL held for a year and this dropped almost immediately after Gubby signs.
Captains call by Ed and isn't Caro loving it?
Bucks- no idea (coaching wise or that Gubby coming).

The cynic in me would suggest the timing was deliberate- but that might suggest the possibility of empathy for Ed

 

[JoshWoodenSpoon]

 

[Muggs]

I'm pretty sure Caro reads BigFooty and pretends she has inside knowledge.


That said- Collingwood have been blindsided by this.
AFL held for a year and this dropped almost immediately after Gubby signs.
Captains call by Ed and isn't Caro loving it?
Bucks- no idea (coaching wise or that Gubby coming).

The cynic in me would suggest the timing was deliberate- but that might suggest the possibility of empathy for Ed

The cynic in me would say timing was deliberate, and it's someone not happy with Gubby's new role.

In the first reports it was suggested Collingwood knew the investigation was going on but Gubby assured them he did nothing wrong.

So rather than empathy for ed I would go embrssment for...

 

[FastLane]

The cynic in me would say timing was deliberate, and it's someone not happy with Gubby's new role.

In the first reports it was suggested Collingwood knew the investigation was going on but Gubby assured them he did nothing wrong.

So rather than empathy for ed I would go embrssment for...

fair point.
However, it appears 'due diligence' was done- GWS and AFL had apparently told Ed and Perty all good.
Gubby employed- story drops- Ed implodes.

Personally, the way this whole situation has been handled by GWS, AFL, media and some faceless and spineless club employees is of greater concern the original Whitfield worried he may have ingested clen and getting protected by the blokes whose job it is to protect players.

 

[Muggs]

fair point.
However, it appears 'due diligence' was done- GWS and AFL had apparently told Ed and Perty all good.
Gubby employed- story drops- Ed implodes.

Personally, the way this whole situation has been handled by GWS, AFL, media and some faceless and spineless club employees is of greater concern the original Whitfield worried he may have ingested clen and getting protected by the blokes whose job it is to protect players.

Yup.. not happy with due diligence change the facts.. secret vs public...

Agree the officials are just as much to blame, if not more. I be disappointed if they receive a lower penalty than Whitfield. Under doping penalties, if they eventuate, suspect they get the same due the set nature of these

If doing the good old bringing the game into disrepute charge, club officials deserve more IMO.

 

[Chameleon75]

The cynic in me would say timing was deliberate, and it's someone not happy with Gubby's new role.

In the first reports it was suggested Collingwood knew the investigation was going on but Gubby assured them he did nothing wrong.

So rather than empathy for ed I would go embrssment for...

The directors are not aligned in their views on Nathan Buckley, have questioned the heavy cost of establishing the netball and women's football teams and must surely be mystified by the Allan appointment given staffers had been tipped off that he faced a significant sanction over the Lachie Whitfield affair.

The tentacles that have spread from the Whitfield affair — a bungled operation if ever there was one — threaten to strangle a number of reputations. The player faces a lengthy suspension, as does Craig Lambert, who had been so proud of what he achieved at GWS. Allan's football career, saved by McGuire, who reveres him, remains under threat.

Those two paragraphs suggests he was appointed under a question mark and Eddie was helping out a mate.

I wonder if Eddie though he would be able to fix things. Hubris.

 

[Bluelegs]

Where does the AFLPA scatter to when this sort of thing happens? A coalition that has the gall to make demand after demand whilst their members refuse to act professionally.

 

[Forever North]

No doubt we'll be soon hearing the vomit inducing drivel, "Gubby has done so much for football, doesn't deserve to be put through the ringer like this, has many credits in the bank etc". I just want to see some hardcore blood spilt over this one, so fed up with convenient AFL style 'investigations' and 'outcomes'. Unfortunately the PR spin is in full swing at the moment, creating doubts, blaming and questioning the girlfriend, dragging it out etc. We'll no doubt end up with a Demons style tanking statement and penalty from the AFL.

 

[GreyCrow]

Where does the AFLPA scatter to when this sort of thing happens? A coalition that has the gall to make demand after demand whilst their members refuse to act professionally.

The AFLPA have always been silent. They think its ok to ask for money and time off yet the real player issues are ignored or not actively pursued.

 

[Jim Prideaux]

- what reason did they have to think the drugs contained PED's?
- is hiding from ASADA after use of "recreational" drugs a common practice at GWS and elsewhere?

Bullshit meter is off the scale.

As others have mentioned the pair of Collingwood players who took illicit drugs that had been cut with a PED might have been fresh in their minds - that doesn't change that they allegedly tried to avoid drug tests though.

On your second point, the cynic in me says... unfortunately, probably.

 

[Jim Prideaux]

I'm pretty sure Caro reads BigFooty and pretends she has inside knowledge.


That said- Collingwood have been blindsided by this.
AFL held for a year and this dropped almost immediately after Gubby signs.
Captains call by Ed and isn't Caro loving it?
Bucks- no idea (coaching wise or that Gubby coming).

The cynic in me would suggest the timing was deliberate- but that might suggest the possibility of empathy for Ed

I'm pretty sure she doesn't.

On your other points, LW's GF was overseas at the time, so why would he need to hide from her? People on here need to realise the unhinged girlfriend angle is almost certainly false, and also doesn't explain much of the behaviour of the trio. You seem to be right about the captains call by Ed though - which is delicious.

 

[tenderwarrior]

LW's GF was overseas at the time, so why would he need to hide from her?

If that is true, well then this is not going to end well..

 

[Jim Prideaux]

If that is true, well then this is not going to end well..

I should've said allegedly, in Caro's article she said the GF was overseas - which I'm inclined to believe as it would be easily checkable.

 

[gavaniacono]

Caro's on fire!
...or more accurately she's holding a flame to the feet of these jokers with their primary school level bullshit and lies. We are all deemed idiots to be given such foolish stories.

Am I a naughty lad for relishing the coppery smell of burning grubby flesh? Yum yums.

 

[gavaniacono]

It's like some of the concocted primary school stories that I hear from students at school when they've been caught out. More holes than Swiss Cheese and it quickly unravels under simple investigation. Once again, the inept performances that we see from sports administrators is simply mind boggling. Give both Lambert and Allan 2 years. Apart from anything else they both deserve it for being so ridiculously stupid.

Absolutely flumoxed that anyone for a second would believe that ridiculous alibi.

 

[Muggs]

Those two paragraphs suggests he was appointed under a question mark and Eddie was helping out a mate.

I wonder if Eddie though he would be able to fix things. Hubris.

Someone's been reading Caro...

 

[LoungeLizard]

Everyone seems to believe the Collingwood pair were telling the truth, astounding.

 

[Randomizor]

There is under the anti-doping code (references to AFL 2015 version)

1.7.6 (b) Admission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation in the Absence of Other Evidence

Where a Player or other Person voluntarily admits the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation before having received notice of a Sample collection which could establish an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (or, in the case of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation other than clause 10.2, before first receiving notice of the admitted violation) and that admission is the only reliable evidence of the violation at the time of the admission, then the period of Ineligibility may be reduced, but not below one half of the period of Ineligibility otherwise applicable

also a note to this

This clause is intended to apply when a Player or other Person comes forward and admits to an Anti-Doping Rule Violation in circumstances where no Anti-Doping Organisation is aware that an Anti-Doping Rule Violation might have been committed. It is not intended to apply to circumstances where the admission occurs after the Player or other Person believes he is about to be caught. The amount by which Ineligibility is reduced should be based on the likelihood that the Player or other Person would have been caught had he or she not come forward voluntarily.

and

17.3 (c) Prompt admission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation after being confronted with a violation sanctionable under Clause 17.2(a) or Clause 17.3(a)

A Player or other Person potentially subject to a four-year sanction under clause 17.2(a) or 17.3(a), by promptly admitting the asserted Anti-Doping Rule Violation after being confronted by an Anti-Doping Organisation, and also upon the approval and at the discretion of both WADA and the Anti-Doping Organisation with results management responsibility, may receive a reduction in the period of Ineligibility down to a minimum of two (2) years, depending on the seriousness of the violation and the Player or other Person’s degree of Fault.

Whitfield be charged under 17.3(a) if Anti-doping charges are laid.

Admit it before she went to ASADA get the 1st discount. Maybe even if he admitted it earlier in the investigation, I.e once the AFL started to investigate, before they sent in the document forensics to gather evidence (i.e. when a pure allegation), should have been able to, maybe before even the legal advice saying he committed one. Some case law around this which basically says once the doping authority has determined you committed an offence you cant claim these, but can during an investigation stage (even when you about to be tested), the earlier before this you admit to it the bigger the discount. The case law is not as strict as the wording implies.

From my reading of anti-doping cases got to the point now where both these are off the table.

On this, could he have instead asked ASADA to test him immediately with the proviso that if it came back positive he'd be eligible for a discount?