Essendon captain Jobe Watson made the stunning admission on the Fox Sports program On The Couch that he took the banned substance AOD-9604, but the AFL’s most recent Brownlow Medallist remains adamant he did nothing wrong after he took the anti-obesity drug after signing a consent form.
Essendon is under Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and AFL investigations for last year’s supplement program. The AFL hopes ASADA will announce its findings in early August and the probe would be wrapped up by finals football in September.
The World Anti-Doping Authority issued a statement early last month, saying the drug AOD-9604 was a banned substance. Watson and other players have fronted investigators to answer questions about the supplements program. An independent review commissioned by Essendon to look into its processes last year – conducted by investigator Ziggy Switkowski in May, found that there was a “pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented”.
Watson also admitted he was surprised by the number of injections he received in the supplements program. Watson was interviewed before former player Mark McVeigh, who expressed concern after his interview about possible health effects of the supplements they were given. Players can be banned for up to two years if charged under the WADA code and found guilty by the AFL tribunal. The Brownlow medallist said he did not expect Essendon players to be sanctioned but he also said that the supplements program, under the supervision of controversial scientist Stephen Dank, had been a “new frontier for us”.
The AFL has the power to impose separate penalties on players and the club if the league believes either have brought the game into disrepute. Watson took the drug in the same year he won the Brownlow Medal in 2012, and could theoretically have the award stripped if charged by ASADA or the AFL.
