Joel Smith 4 Year Ban

[Demonland 71,051]

After careful consideration, Demonland has made the decision to prohibit any discussion related to the Joel Smith case and his subsequent four-year ban. This decision has not been made lightly, but it’s necessary to protect the Demonland website, its community members, and the integrity of our platform.

Due to the sensitive nature of the case, discussing it on this forum opens up significant risks for legal ramifications, particularly around potential rumors, speculation, or the spread of misinformation. Managing these risks has proven to be incredibly challenging for our moderation team, and enforcing a complete restriction is the only feasible way to ensure the safety and respect of all involved parties.

To clarify, any mention of the Joel Smith case, whether as standalone posts or within other threads, may be automatically moderated and/or removed. This policy is in place to prevent time wasted for both users and moderators. Please understand that any lengthy posts regarding this topic will not be permitted and will ultimately be deleted and you will have wasted your time.

We recognize the interest and concerns around this topic, and we respect your right to engage in discussions; however, we ask that you find alternative venues on the internet if you wish to discuss this case further. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

[Whispering_Jack 29,615]

An article attributed to Michael Warner in today’s Herald Sun, entitled “END OF THE LINE FOR TROUBLED DEE” contains the following paragraph:-

“In a statement handed to federal MP Andrew Wilkie earlier this year – assessed by SIA – former Demons doctor Zeeshan Arain estimated two thirds of the club’s squad were either “frequent” drug users or “occasionally” used illicit drugs.”

There is no further explanation of the claim made by Dr Arain and the article does not refer to the fact that the doctor was sacked by the club and was subsequently involved in an acrimonious legal wrangle with the club. Warner should know because he wrote about the situation in an article appearing in Code Sports on February 16, 2022 “Melbourne crisis: Former club doctor issues legal letter to Demons”. In that article, Warner mentioned an email in which Melbourne CEO Gary Pert questioned Arian’s credibility. I am quoting directly from Warner’s article:-

"Pert wrote: When dealing with Zee on issues, he consistently changed his stories when I challenged him on details and his stories rarely matched up to other people involved ...

He also described Dr Arain's evidence as "full of inaccuracies, misrepresentations and a rewriting of history, which was a frustration to all he was accusing".

Today’s Warner article refers to the club’s off-field scandals and cultural issues but fails to mention that when the issue was raised in Parliament by independent MP Andrew Wilkie (using parliamentary privilege), Wilkie said Arain alleged it wasn't a Melbourne problem but an "AFL problem" with a number of players arriving at the club with pre-existing cocaine dependencies. 

However, the most glaring omission from Warner’s article today (and the reason why I feel it necessary to raise this point here now) is his failure to provide the full story which is the Melbourne Football Club’s version which appeared in his own newspaper written by his colleague Jay Clark who, followed the process of allowing the other side to be heard. This is an excerpt from “Melbourne deny ex-club doctor Zeeshan Arain's extraordinary claims of player illicit drug use”  - March 31, 2024

“The Demons told the Herald Sun on Saturday Dr Arain did not report a single concern to the club's audit and risk sub-committee on any issues regarding player illicit drug use during his tenure.

"Dr Arain was the head doctor of the Melbourne Football Club between 2014 and the start of 2020," the statement said.

"During this time, he was required to report annually to the club's audit and risk subcommittee on any issues or concerns regarding the entire medical program.

"At no time throughout his tenure did Dr Arain ever raise any concerns about players' illicit drug use to this sub-committee.

"Like all clubs within the competition the Melbourne Football Club continue to invest heavily in education and support systems, including the IDP (illicit drugs policy) to help reduce the prevalence of illicit substance abuse within the club and the game."