You can't boycott something you're already suspended for.

And the payers asked him not to go the Federal court but he's doing this for the players!?!?!?

What a guy.

"Let's work as a Team and do it my way...."

"Our players have less rights than the average Australian citizen"

As has been pointed out above, the players freely signed their contracts to play in the AFL and those contracts entitle them to substantial pay for their labour (which incidentally is far more than the average working Australian citizen gets).

When you boil it down, the Federal Court justices upheld the contractual rights of the parties involved in the dispute which Hird took all the way to its full bench.

If Hird is so concerned about the law that he thinks it's bad for our citizenry, then he should take it up with his local representatives in Parliament and not with the courts, which in this case correctly interpreted the existing law.

But Robbo has already told us that there are questions of political interference that have never been answered (and which obviously mean the whole case should be thrown out). St James the Pure would never stoop to that sort of level, especially since there wouldn't be much publicity involved.

The Higher he climbs the harder the fall

Go to the High Court Hird

You have my permission.

Between you and Abbott i am eating a lot of popcorn and choc tops

Such great entertainment!!

Icarus anyone?

Remarkable how disingenuous third has been through all of this. As wj points out the Middleton case and subsequent appeal was centred on whether asada acted in line with the law. Which they did apparently. The contract between the players, efc and the afl is related but ultimately not the issue.

And now it is according to third. And not coincendally also for Matthew Hardie who kept on banging on about the contract in his interview with Tracey Holmes, who then started including that issue in the other interviews she then did on this topic.

Look at the narrative that compliant media people have helped run - hird the heroic one, third fighting for the rights of players, third refusing to buckle against the evil Masada/afl ogre, third the tragic scapegoat, third the moral crusader. As I say disingenuous.

On the contract discussion even there third and hardie s argument is weak. Whilst the players are compelled under the terms of their contract to cooperate and anwer questions I don't think they are under oath and in any case if they refuse to cooperate I would imagine it would be very unlikely they would, at least in the short term, face any suspension and even if they did would have legal options (during which the validity of the contracts could be argued)

Icarus anyone?

most definitely

Hes already flying too high..now hes just ensuring his demise. Can't say I mind

From SEN:

Essendon players will not participate in any AFL-sanctioned games unless they are guaranteed any possible suspensions will be backdated to last year, says Mark Robinson. The chief football writer for the Herald Sun believes the Bombers will not participate unless they can be assured any suspension will start from the last time they played in 2014.

They must not be confident they can establish they are innocent. Hey here's any idea - they can threaten to boycott the entire home and away season unless their suspensions are backdated as well.

I think this is an issue between the club and the players but has been reported poorly. The club is petitioning the afl for players to be allowed to play under provisional suspensions.

The players are stating 'if we are not guaranteed of backdating thanks but not thanks we'll miss a few games', which I think is fair enough by them as the verdict will handed down in the middle of the nab cup. Also if they are handed two years sentences being available at the start of the pre season rather than in march may assist them moving to other clubs

Remarkable how disingenuous third has been through all of this. As wj points out the Middleton case and subsequent appeal was centred on whether asada acted in line with the law. Which they did apparently. The contract between the players, efc and the afl is related but ultimately not the issue.

And now it is according to third. And not coincendally also for Matthew Hardie who kept on banging on about the contract in his interview with Tracey Holmes, who then started including that issue in the other interviews she then did on this topic.

Look at the narrative that compliant media people have helped run - hird the heroic one, third fighting for the rights of players, third refusing to buckle against the evil Masada/afl ogre, third the tragic scapegoat, third the moral crusader. As I say disingenuous.

On the contract discussion even there third and hardie s argument is weak. Whilst the players are compelled under the terms of their contract to cooperate and anwer questions I don't think they are under oath and in any case if they refuse to cooperate I would imagine it would be very unlikely they would, at least in the short term, face any suspension and even if they did would have legal options (during which the validity of the contracts could be argued)

Compelled to answer questions under terms of contract. If they refuse as is their right, they have breached that contract and may be excluded from AFL player ranks, easy really.

The players had a choice, tell their story and possibly be sanctioned or not tell their story and be removed from the AFL. I have no problem with that. As far as less rights than Australian citizens, pleeese! The police have less rights than the average citizen as do pilots and bus drivers. Special jobs have special requirements, footballers get paid very well and for that they cannot smoke grass at a party or have too much caffeine or withhold information from the AFL. They have a choice, and not one of them chose not to be an AFL footballer.

I don't understand why anyone is surprised that Hird and his legal team are saying they won't rule out a High Court challenge. It seems to me common practice for the avenue of appeal in any legal action to be kept open for as long as possible. Doesn't mean that an appeal will eventually be forthcoming, though.

Any comment about the possibility of an appeal should be given the same credence as a club President stating that a coach has the full support of the Board. Or a politician saying, well, anything, really.

Just love how this excuse for a human constantly plays the victim card.

personally I HOPE he does have a crack at the High Court, and I hope they let him , though doubt it. My fervent wish is this festering blob of excrement becomes bankrupt, both financially as well as his already present state morally.

Don't hold back bub...tell us what you really think of him...

( i do like "festering blob of excrement" - can I use that ?)

If he had an issue with the system he should have bought it up when ASADA was formed and before he signed his AFL coach registration.

No, he or the players lawyers, who were present at the interviews, should have simply advised the players to say no comment, or I object to the jurisdiction of the AFL/ASADA to conduct these interviews.

THEY WAIVED THEIR RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE INTERVIEW PROCESS AND APPEAR BEFORE THE FEDERAL COURT AND 4 FEDERAL COURT JUDGES HAVE TOLD THEM EXACTLY THAT.

"players have less rights than ordinary citizens"

Seems includes right to have phamacological experiments without oversight of workplace regulators, right to have requests for legal actions to be discontinued ignored, rights to meet AFL stipulated arrangements to be challenged by the coach.

.

No, he or the players lawyers, who were present at the interviews, should have simply advised the players to say no comment, or I object to the jurisdiction of the AFL/ASADA to conduct these interviews.

THEY WAIVED THEIR RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE INTERVIEW PROCESS AND APPEAR BEFORE THE FEDERAL COURT AND 4 FEDERAL COURT JUDGES HAVE TOLD THEM EXACTLY THAT.

Precisely. Further it is instructive that the efc and hird not once raised this issue until show cause notices were issued when it it immediately became their primary concern

Agreed.

This was contract extension driven by Paul Little to get Hird to accept the 12 month sanction. This contract was critical at the time of the ASADA inquiry and would not have been left solely in the hands of "Legal team" to negotiate. And given the situation, Hird had the club over a barrel.

And given the contract was to mollify Hird to acquiescencing to the sanctions imposed by the AFL, its hardly likely the AFL would "place the club under administration".

I agree totally in relation to the environment that was about when the contract was signed, I disagree that HIrd had them over a barrell I just beleive he was able to convince them he could win his legal challenge and that he had done nothing wrong.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-28/suspended-hird-given-new-essendon-contract/4917038

IMO as I have stated previously EFC's contract whilst seeming to be favourable to Hird will have a get out clause for the Club. All employment contracts do. The environment now is a lot different then it was in Aug 2013 and his support is slowly dwindelling. I think the club will await the results of the Tribunal and if it goes against the players will use the clause to terminate his contract and save themselves some money.

In relation to the AFL I am saying if the club was doing what you beleive they are doing, and I was running the AFL I would put the club under administration or the like, I didn't say the AFL could or that they would. My intention in this scenario would be to sack the Board, CEO and put administration in to restablish proper governance structures with a plan to to hand back to the EFC supporters once done.

Again this is what I would do and others would differ.

Unfortunately for EFC I reckon like us at Melbourne they need to get an external person to run the club someone who has the supprt of the AFL to clean house. If I was a EFC member (sorry I just threw up in my mouth a little then) I would be calling for this type of assistance.

It sickens me that Chris Connolly has effectively been hounded out of football, for telling a recruiting meeting that they would all be sacked if the MFC didn't get the PP.

Whether it was a joke or not, that comment and that comment alone, got CC supended for a year without pay. That has then led to his virtual expulsion from the AFL.

Who did he inject? Whose life did he put at risk? Didn't he cop it on the chin immediately? How many Court challenges did he launch? How many following seasons of AFL football did he stuff up?

Yes it sickens me, that CC is lost to football and the Bombers golden boy swans around blaming the whole world, for a system he was ultimately responsible for, yet at the same time taking no personal responsibility and getting paid like a king, while he does so.

SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

It sickens me that Chris Connolly has effectively been hounded out of football, for telling a recruiting meeting that they would all be sacked if the MFC didn't get the PP.

Whether it was a joke or not, that comment and that comment alone, got CC supended for a year without pay. That has then led to his virtual expulsion from the AFL.

Who did he inject? Whose life did he put at risk? Didn't he cop it on the chin immediately? How many Court challenges did he launch? How many following seasons of AFL football did he stuff up?

Yes it sickens me, that CC is lost to football and the Bombers golden boy swans around blaming the whole world, for a system he was ultimately responsible for, yet at the same time taking no personal responsibility and getting paid like a king, while he does so.

SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Hmmm so you belong to the bb fan club as well Mr. Leg

From SEN:

Essendon players will not participate in any AFL-sanctioned games unless they are guaranteed any possible suspensions will be backdated to last year, says Mark Robinson. The chief football writer for the Herald Sun believes the Bombers will not participate unless they can be assured any suspension will start from the last time they played in 2014.

They must not be confident they can establish they are innocent. Hey here's any idea - they can threaten to boycott the entire home and away season unless their suspensions are backdated as well.

They still do not get it do they. They can get the AFL to agree, but they can't deliver. Only ASADA/WADA can deliver, and they are not negotiating. All it will do is to get WADA and CAS even more offside and eventually lead to higher penalties. In any case, I'm pretty sure I am right in saying the normal practice is to date penalties from the last time they played, and if they play in the NAB cup, that will be from pretty much now on. How stupid can you get???

Maybe they are just preparing the football world for the, what seems inevitable, penalties.

When they play a second string team it will because there is solidarity amongst all the players to support those poor innocent few who have been unjustly treated with less rights than the ordinary citizen.

"Let's work as a Team and do it my way...."

Thanks Tony..

Thanks Tony..

Sounds like a "captains call"

It sickens me that Chris Connolly has effectively been hounded out of football, for telling a recruiting meeting that they would all be sacked if the MFC didn't get the PP.

Whether it was a joke or not, that comment and that comment alone, got CC supended for a year without pay. That has then led to his virtual expulsion from the AFL.

Who did he inject? Whose life did he put at risk? Didn't he cop it on the chin immediately? How many Court challenges did he launch? How many following seasons of AFL football did he stuff up?

Yes it sickens me, that CC is lost to football and the Bombers golden boy swans around blaming the whole world, for a system he was ultimately responsible for, yet at the same time taking no personal responsibility and getting paid like a king, while he does so.

SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

I agree Leg 100% (The Like Button wasn't working)

I think this is an issue between the club and the players but has been reported poorly. The club is petitioning the afl for players to be allowed to play under provisional suspensions.

The players are stating 'if we are not guaranteed of backdating thanks but not thanks we'll miss a few games', which I think is fair enough by them as the verdict will handed down in the middle of the nab cup. Also if they are handed two years sentences being available at the start of the pre season rather than in march may assist them moving to other clubs

This whole thing has seemed like a stupid argument to me. They're under suspension, provisional or not. You either don't play, and have your pending suspension backdated to last year, or you play, and cop it on the chin when your suspensionj starts from when it is handed down. (´･ω･`)

It sickens me that Chris Connolly has effectively been hounded out of football, for telling a recruiting meeting that they would all be sacked if the MFC didn't get the PP.

Whether it was a joke or not, that comment and that comment alone, got CC supended for a year without pay. That has then led to his virtual expulsion from the AFL.

Who did he inject? Whose life did he put at risk? Didn't he cop it on the chin immediately? How many Court challenges did he launch? How many following seasons of AFL football did he stuff up?

Yes it sickens me, that CC is lost to football and the Bombers golden boy swans around blaming the whole world, for a system he was ultimately responsible for, yet at the same time taking no personal responsibility and getting paid like a king, while he does so.

SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Terrific post, sir.

Sickens me to see Jobe running round with his Bronlow.

It sickens me that Chris Connolly has effectively been hounded out of football, for telling a recruiting meeting that they would all be sacked if the MFC didn't get the PP.

Whether it was a joke or not, that comment and that comment alone, got CC supended for a year without pay. That has then led to his virtual expulsion from the AFL.

Who did he inject? Whose life did he put at risk? Didn't he cop it on the chin immediately? How many Court challenges did he launch? How many following seasons of AFL football did he stuff up?

Yes it sickens me, that CC is lost to football and the Bombers golden boy swans around blaming the whole world, for a system he was ultimately responsible for, yet at the same time taking no personal responsibility and getting paid like a king, while he does so.

SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Yes, but james is very special, just ask him!!

Don't hold back bub...tell us what you really think of him...

( i do like "festering blob of excrement" - can I use that ?)

yes...feel free