I think of it this way.
The AFL held a gun to our heads and basically said "Take this or take it to court." and showed Essendon the pineapple they had for us. We have been royally screwed over by the AFL. I understand their stance, but the scale of punishment has been adjusted UP because Essendon could afford the usual fine and it is screwed.
It hurts now, but the club has effectively fallen on it's sword to suffer short-term pain to get it over and done with fast.
Look at it long term. If the AFL reached a point and said as the governing body they weren't willing to budge, the only recourse Essendon would have would be to take them to court.
Sure, we'd get to play finals but we're not in a realistic position to win the flag. Even without this whole debacle I don't feel this was the year for our roster. Finals experience, at least winning a final, would be fantastic, but we're not in the same weight division as Hawthorn, Geelong or Sydney yet. Next season, quite believably possible, but not yet.
Do we want the club to go through this whole thing for another 12-18 months as the roster really hits its prime?
So the club has bent over, closed its eyes and painfully accepted the pineapple knowing that at least next season the players and the caretaker coach (I so hope it's Bomber Thompson) can turn in a full season without every ounce of focus being about this injection or that New Mexico country.
I think in the end, if next season the roster we have takes the field in the red and black with Goodwin or Thommo calling the shots, we're in a good position.