SALADA/VladFL: Slap on the wrist. - STRICTLY ESSENDON SUPPORTERS ONLY

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Whispering_Jack

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ASADA omitted James Hird's drug testimony from report


JAMES Hird has rarely slept well since he collided with Mark McVeigh and suffered one of the most horrific facial injuries AFL football has seen.
He is reminded of the metal plates he still has embedded in his cheekbone whenever he puts his head on the pillow. It is this permanent injury, rather than the memory of his collision with teammate McVeigh, which keeps him awake at night.
Not long into Essendon's pre-season campaign for the 2012 season, Hird spoke to his newly appointed high-performance director Dean Robinson about the problem. Hird explained he regularly took sleeping pills. Robinson suggested he try Melatonin, a readily available hormone used to treat sleeping disorders and migraines.
One day when Hird had run out of sleeping pills and club doctor Bruce Reid was not around, Robinson showed Hird how to self-inject the drug. Hird would later tell Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigators he slept the next six nights as well as he ever has. The problem was his skin turned an unnatural colour and became acutely sun-sensitive. Hird threw the rest of the bottle away.
ASADA listened to Hird's evidence about this but didn't accept his explanation. They insisted he set out to take another drug. ASADA preferred the story told by Robinson.
According to Robinson, Hird deliberately administered himself with Melanotan II, a substance with a similar sounding name but very different use. Melanotan II is a drug used for erectile dysfunction and as a tanning agent. Robinson told ASADA both he and Hird took Melanotan II for vanity reasons, as Melbourne was heading into its summer months.
Given Robinson's testimony, Hird cannot say with certainty what he did take. He says that at the time, he believed he was taking Melatonin.
Neither Melatonin nor Melanotan II are substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Normally, neither would be of any interest to investigators looking for evidence of doping.
Yet the fact that Robinson's testimony about Hird's drug-taking features prominently in the AFL's 34 pages of allegations against Essendon and its officials and ASADA's 400-page summary - and Hird's version of events not at all - provides an insight into why Essendon and Hird are so livid at ASADA and the AFL.
Hird's self-administering of Melanotan II is covered in some depth by the AFL's statement-of-grounds document released this week. The document criticises Hird for failing to make inquiries about the substance he was about to inject, for failing to ask whether Robinson was qualified to show him how to inject it, for failing to ask whether it was a banned substance. It notes that Hird suffered side-effects from the drug, but redacts what these side effects are.
The AFL's decision to redact the side-effects, ostensibly to protect Hird's privacy, has had the effect of publicly humiliating Hird. A Fairfax gossip columnist used Google to fill in the blanks and discovered one side-effect of Melanotan II is a painful, prolonged erection. No penis pun was spared. Twitter did the rest.
The AFL accuses Essendon of administering its players with a pharmacological rollcall of substances, some banned, some contentious and some developed for use in horses and dogs. Essendon's position is that of the 13 substances listed by the AFL, the WADA-banned Thymosin Beta 4 and Actovegin, an extract from calf's blood, were certainly not used. The club believes Lube All Plus, a dietary supplement used to treat joint problems in horses and dogs, was provided to the club by sports scientist Stephen Dank but not administered to any players.
The issue of whether Hird took Melatonin or Melatonan II is a sideshow to a very serious issue. As the aggrieved Essendon mother who called the Triple M radio station yesterday pointed out, the Essendon supplement scandal isn't about Hird or Paul Little, the club president who is now taking on the full might of the AFL.
"Let's not forget the harm was done to the players, not to James Hird. Let's not forget that my health repercussions, the players will have to deal with, not James Hird, not Mr Little."
Yet now that ASADA has completed its interviews at Essendon and the AFL has laid charges against the club, Hird, Danny Corcoran, Mark Thompson and Reid, ASADA and the AFL's treatment of the evidence has become a fundamental issue.
The allegations against Essendon and Hird are damning. But if ASADA omitted Hird's testimony about Melatonin from its interim report, what else has been left out of the case against Essendon? This is a question Essendon and Hird's lawyers are only now starting to answer, as they comb through the tens of thousands of transcripts of interviews and other documents the AFL has chosen not to release.

http://t.co/vW2Ev9FxkT
 

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carnthedons

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Yes you make a good point there. Obviously it would be unlikely (impossible?) a club would come out of an investigation unscathed.
Of course it would be possible, the AFL doesn't predetermine outcomes remember.

He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past
 
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The point is, the premise to investigate is bullshit. It has about as much validity as charging Hird for hiring Dank and Robinson. ;)

I agree 100%.

Unfortunately I can't see the AFL dropping the charges against us in the name of fairness. I guess the next logical question to ask is - does that mean other clubs then be investigated?

It almost certainly won't happen, but it's an interesting question to consider.
 

dougyboy

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Fair enough, but in my opinion it's a little inconsistent to claim we want fairness and that those charges are bullshit on one hand while claiming Geelong should be investigated for bullshit reasons on the other.
Geelong voted against what we wanted, that has made our job harder. If we start deflecting stuff like this towards other clubs maybe they will get a bit more sympathetic.
 

IggypopsTshirt

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Hold on to your butts. Don't see how it can get any worse to be honest D:
Might be the internal squabbling Cerberus was speaking about.

I'm amazed that anyone who is an EFC person would move in any way to destabilise the club at this time. We're vulnerable, we're under attack but we doing okay, the last thing we need is politics within the club causing division. Now more than ever is the time for individuals to put their ego aside and get on board with the gameplan, individual agendas are what the AFL and media want to create doubt and instability. We need to be united if we're to get through this in the best possible shape.
 
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The AFL Facebook page is a breeding ground for the masses of ignorance.

Sometimes I wonder why we let the inbreds vote in our democracy.
Yeah it's no wonder this country is turning to shit. Bring back Witlam or Stalin or someone.

Or Ariel Steinberg to speak in Spanish. (Not racist, homeboy actually takes Spanish classes every Wednesday night in Fitzroy)
He could throw in random hebrew words as well, that'll throw them off.
 

Bombermania

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I for one am not too bothered by yesterday's president meeting, as JB said on the footy show, its about process and yesterday was all about authorising the commission to act.

If the commission wants to get heavy on one of the biggest clubs in the land then it better be prepared to suffer the financial cost.

We still have 16 premierships
 
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Might be the internal squabbling Cerberus was speaking about.

I'm amazed that anyone who is an EFC person would move in any way to destabilise the club at this time. We're vulnerable, we're under attack but we doing okay, the last thing we need is politics within the club causing division. Now more than ever is the time for individuals to put their ego aside and get on board with the gameplan, individual agendas are what the AFL and media want to create doubt and instability. We need to be united if we're to get through this in the best possible shape.


Certainly that new offer from the AFL would cause some internal debate. We'd be throwing Hird under the bus but there would be no long term effects on the club which would be sorely tempting for some people I'd imagine. The only risk is if a move like that splits the club the way the Norm Smith thing killed Melbourne.
 

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vast

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Loved Timmy telling how he ripped into caro on the phone this morning. Forget the demetriou phone call to evans lets subpoena timmy to caro instead. Tim may not have felt better but I think I would.

If I can go back to the beginning and look at the overall picture for a sec, has anyone been charged with any criminal offences as a result of the ACC investigation into drugs and organised crime in sport? I think the answer is no. I mean not even Dank has been charged with anything criminal, despite claims of dealing with controlled substances.

And no evidence of performance enhancing drugs being used, so why the **** are we here?

Actually I am off to find out what the acc actually does.
 

Mr Mojo Risin

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Certainly that new offer from the AFL would cause some internal debate. We'd be throwing Hird under the bus but there would be no long term effects on the club which would be sorely tempting for some people I'd imagine. The only risk is if a move like that splits the club the way the Norm Smith thing killed Melbourne.
The club should NEVER throw someone under the bus at the behest of the AFL if the charges are unjust. NEVER. Especially someone like Hird who has the ability to unite our club and supporter base. The AFL realise this and it's part of their divide and conquer strategy.
 

kfc1

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[quote="don4life, post: 29769202, member: 105987"- Players injected with drug from Mexico: [/quote]

has this actually happened? I don't recall seeing it in the charge sheet but may have missed it.
 
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hmmm

JAMES Hird could stand down as Essendon coach under a settlement to the supplement scandal being negotiated between the club and AFL.

The Australian understands the AFL and the club are currently locked in discussions to finalise a resolution to the damaging dispute.

Under the terms being negotiated, Hird would step down as Essendon coach and the Bombers would be stripped of all premiership points for this season.
The club would retain its draft picks and the allegations against Essendon would be substantially downgraded to reflect poor management and governance, rather than doping.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/pointless-bombers-lose-james-hird/story-e6frg7mf-1226702664839
 
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