It was only last week that reports emerged of at least four Magpie players confessing to the AFL about illicit drug use, which meant that under the current regulations of the three strike system they did not record a strike.
This became the key issue on the AFL’s agenda, as clubs and officials asked for the possible implementation of stiffer penalties after one or two strikes and closing the loophole that allows players to self report illicit drug use.
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said that although the ‘three strikes’ rule will remain unchanged, eliminating the loophole was another step forward in regard to confronting the issue of illicit drug use amongst players. Little did Demetriou know that the biggest drug scandal to hit the AFL was about to go public only a week later.
The controversial fitness regime that helped Essendon to the pinnacle of the AFL ladder for the opening nine weeks of last year’s season, could now bring the club into serious disrepute as the Bombers announced a joint investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and the AFL’s integrity unit in what may be the biggest drug related crisis in AFL history.
The investigation will delve into unnamed supplements that Essendon medical and fitness staff gave to players at the beginning of last season. ASADA’s involvement heralds a precarious future for the club in that Essendon players allegedly took substances that are banned under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) code.
The story came to light after a TV interview with delisted Essendon player Kyle Reimers, who accused the club of pushing the boundaries with supplement use and that players were asked to sign a form that effectively made them responsible, not the club for their ‘off-site’ substance injections. Reimers said he had concerns about what the players were being asked to take as club fitness staff provided only vague information, telling players it was a borderline substance. It is also alleged that some players questioned Bombers officials throughout the year on this matter but their concerns fell on deaf ears.
Essendon’s explosive start to last year’s competition took its toll after the team suffered a shocking run of soft-tissue injuries. Sports scientist Stephen Dank has since left the club and reports claim the man in charge of the Bombers’ fitness program, Dean Robinson also known around the club by his nickname “The Weapon”, had been stood down by the Essendon Football Club pending the outcome of the current investigation.
It was rumoured last year that Bomber medical and fitness staff asked questions about the illegal growth hormone GHRP6 at a Gold Coast sports medicine conference.
And it wasn’t very long ago, in 2008, that the Manly Rugby League club was considering using a calf blood extract to assist player endurance. The then club’s sports-science manager, one Stephen Dank, related in a media interview that what the Manly sports-science department did stayed in-house. In 2009, Danks followed this staunch approach by declaring that DNA tests on Manly players’ were top secret.
Yet, the Essendon football club went ahead and employed the controversial Dank, when they should of heard the alarm bells ringing. Loud and clear.
Essendon’s chairman David Evans, coach James Hird and Bombers chief executive Ian Robson fronted the media last Tuesday and denied any knowledge of any breach of rules or that there were any illegal supplements administered to Bomber players last season.
The latest drug scandal may well involve one or more other AFL clubs, as on the same afternoon, Geelong confirmed that an individual involved with Essendon’s fitness during the period under investigation had also worked for the Cats. Gold Coast Football Club also issued a similar statement of an Essendon individual who previously held down a position at the Suns. Former
Essendon players from last year now with new clubs will also be under scrutiny, as the AFL investigation broadens.
The AFL will have to be harsh, decisive and swift in dishing out punishment to guilty individuals, high profile officials, players and clubs who partook in illegal substance schemes, either with or without their knowledge
Massive fines, individual bans, match point losses, draft pick restrictions, stripping players from all awards (including Coleman and Brownlow Medal) and criminal prosecutions will be deemed by the public as appropriate punishment.