Today Tonight. Anyone see it? Wonderful piece of journalism. I'm finding a new respect for that channel. If you missed it, it was pretty much about how the AFL deals with anyone who practically says anything bad about it. They pinpointed how that rugby union dude got immediate sacking after testing positive for cocaine, THE FIRST TIME, and then went on to talk about several media personalities who had jobs at the AFL but immediantly lost them after saying something bad about the league.

Also, quote of the year so far:

"Brendan Gale ranted on like an angry girlfriend, rather than the president of the players association", or something along those lines.

It was brilliant. Good on you 7! You got my vote. They haven't missed a beat in this scandal and nothing is going to stop them.

They also made threw a big bright light on the whole Ben Cousins thing, and I cannot believe for the life of me that he was aloud to play again this year. What a disgrace.

Today Tonight. Anyone see it? Wonderful piece of journalism. I'm finding a new respect for that channel. If you missed it, it was pretty much about how the AFL deals with anyone who practically says anything bad about it. They pinpointed how that rugby union dude got immediate sacking after testing positive for cocaine, THE FIRST TIME, and then went on to talk about several media personalities who had jobs at the AFL but immediantly lost them after saying something bad about the league.

Also, quote of the year so far:

"Brendan Gale ranted on like an angry girlfriend, rather than the president of the players association", or something along those lines.

It was brilliant. Good on you 7! You got my vote. They haven't missed a beat in this scandal and nothing is going to stop them.

They also made threw a big bright light on the whole Ben Cousins thing, and I cannot believe for the life of me that he was aloud to play again this year. What a disgrace.

Ditto!

Although it's not as funny as the players not answering questions from Ch7. F*****g ridiculous. Bordering on childish.

Although it's not as funny as the players not answering questions from Ch7. F*****g ridiculous. Bordering on childish.

The old Goanna must have a smile as wide as heaven right now! as a non AFL person amy damage to the game would not worry him if he was still here.

I agree its all childish and no one is looking good or in control on this one! Very sad for us all.

Thankfully this absolutely shoush year is almoest done! end of sunday night cant come quickly enough

Today Tonight. Anyone see it? Wonderful piece of journalism. I'm finding a new respect for that channel. If you missed it, it was pretty much about how the AFL deals with anyone who practically says anything bad about it. They pinpointed how that rugby union dude got immediate sacking after testing positive for cocaine, THE FIRST TIME, and then went on to talk about several media personalities who had jobs at the AFL but immediantly lost them after saying something bad about the league.

Also, quote of the year so far:

"Brendan Gale ranted on like an angry girlfriend, rather than the president of the players association", or something along those lines.

It was brilliant. Good on you 7! You got my vote. They haven't missed a beat in this scandal and nothing is going to stop them.

They also made threw a big bright light on the whole Ben Cousins thing, and I cannot believe for the life of me that he was aloud to play again this year. What a disgrace.

i couldn't disagree with you any more...

channel 7 have been 100% in the wrong in this situation, and now they resort to having pot shots at anyone who has pointed out they've done the wrong thing... they're simply try-hard journalists, wanting to be on the cutting edge, but they simply tried too hard in this case and over stepped the mark... they should cop their right wack and i hope the players don't talk to them for the rest of the season...

the AFL sees drug use as a health problem, not a crime... that is the way it needs to be treated... if they want to take the soft option, they can bow to media pressure and be hard on players using illicit drugs... or they can do the right thing by the players, treat drug use as a health issue, and keep their current policy...

myself personally, i don't think AFL players should be tested for recreational drugs... while these players use drugs doesn't mean that they are addicted or have a drug problem which influences their lives, it is simply something that they choose to do...

i didnt watch today tonight , that shows dodgy, even though i was on it once

The old Goanna must have a smile as wide as heaven right now! as a non AFL person amy damage to the game would not worry him if he was still here.

I agree its all childish and no one is looking good or in control on this one! Very sad for us all.

Thankfully this absolutely shoush year is almoest done! end of sunday night cant come quickly enough

Amen to that brother!

Nice piece of deflection by the AFL, in any other sport these athletes would now be on at least a one year ban.

Our sport is turning into a circus.

myself personally, i don't think AFL players should be tested for performance enhancing drugs... while these players use drugs doesn't mean that they are addicted or have a drug problem which influences their lives, it is simply something that they choose to do...

You don't think players should be tested for Performance Enhancing Drugs? How could you possible argue that?! You think players should be able to gain an unfair advantage in a professional sports simply because it's "something they choose to do"?

Sorry, I don't see how anyone could possibly come to that conclusion.

Today Tonight. Anyone see it? Wonderful piece of journalism. I'm finding a new respect for that channel. If you missed it, it was pretty much about how the AFL deals with anyone who practically says anything bad about it. They pinpointed how that rugby union dude got immediate sacking after testing positive for cocaine, THE FIRST TIME, and then went on to talk about several media personalities who had jobs at the AFL but immediantly lost them after saying something bad about the league.

Also, quote of the year so far:

"Brendan Gale ranted on like an angry girlfriend, rather than the president of the players association", or something along those lines.

It was brilliant. Good on you 7! You got my vote. They haven't missed a beat in this scandal and nothing is going to stop them.

They also made threw a big bright light on the whole Ben Cousins thing, and I cannot believe for the life of me that he was aloud to play again this year. What a disgrace.

I think the AFL are totally wrong in how they are going about this drugs issue. I agreed with their stance last year but it seems their not wanting to act when they have evidence of illicit drug taking.

I agree with 3 strikes idea however I believe it should be public after the 2nd strike & a severe suspension of the players registration following the 3rd strike.

C,mon AFL, stop burying your head in the sand.

I for 1 am glad they are not talking to C7, that way i don't have to hear ricky trying to interview players pre, during and post game.

worst ever!

the AFL sees drug use as a health problem, not a crime... that is the way it needs to be treated... if they want to take the soft option, they can bow to media pressure and be hard on players using illicit drugs... or they can do the right thing by the players, treat drug use as a health issue, and keep their current policy...

myself personally, i don't think AFL players should be tested for performance enhancing drugs... while these players use drugs doesn't mean that they are addicted or have a drug problem which influences their lives, it is simply something that they choose to do...

Hard drugs is much, much more than a health issue, and this has been proven throughout history. The easy option is to give players a rap on the knuckles and pretend it's not happening.

i couldn't disagree with you any more...

channel 7 have been 100% in the wrong in this situation, and now they resort to having pot shots at anyone who has pointed out they've done the wrong thing... they're simply try-hard journalists, wanting to be on the cutting edge, but they simply tried too hard in this case and over stepped the mark... they should cop their right wack and i hope the players don't talk to them for the rest of the season...

the AFL sees drug use as a health problem, not a crime... that is the way it needs to be treated... if they want to take the soft option, they can bow to media pressure and be hard on players using illicit drugs... or they can do the right thing by the players, treat drug use as a health issue, and keep their current policy...

myself personally, i don't think AFL players should be tested for performance enhancing drugs... while these players use drugs doesn't mean that they are addicted or have a drug problem which influences their lives, it is simply something that they choose to do...

What! I suppose that is why the AFL came down on Ward, Goodwin and that other kid like a ton of bricks? Do the AFL and your good self believe that a few bucks on the footy is worse than drug abuse as well? :angry:

the brownlow will be interesting

winner comes on * no comment* walks off

the brownlow will be interesting

winner comes on * no comment* walks off

I hope Wardy backs the winner!

An intersting aspect to this debate, I think, is the players' boycotting of Ch 7.

Ch 7 poured $750 million into the AFL, allowing players to have 2, 3 and 400 thousand dollar incomes. I'm sure it behoves them to give of their time to the station. There must be some clause in the TV station's agreement with the AFL, and hence the players themselves , which REQUIRES them to give interviews etc.I don't think the AFL would like to risk three quarters of a billion.

Perhaps the players should let the trasgressors have their come-uppance, and go along with 7's requests, or take pay cuts, and feel free to indulge in a cavalier lifestyle if they so desire.

I for 1 am glad they are not talking to C7, that way i don't have to hear ricky trying to interview players pre, during and post game.

worst ever!

Agreed, Ricky O= Bad for TV.

i couldn't disagree with you any more...

channel 7 have been 100% in the wrong in this situation, and now they resort to having pot shots at anyone who has pointed out they've done the wrong thing... they're simply try-hard journalists, wanting to be on the cutting edge, but they simply tried too hard in this case and over stepped the mark... they should cop their right wack and i hope the players don't talk to them for the rest of the season...

the AFL sees drug use as a health problem, not a crime... that is the way it needs to be treated... if they want to take the soft option, they can bow to media pressure and be hard on players using illicit drugs... or they can do the right thing by the players, treat drug use as a health issue, and keep their current policy...

myself personally, i don't think AFL players should be tested for performance enhancing drugs... while these players use drugs doesn't mean that they are addicted or have a drug problem which influences their lives, it is simply something that they choose to do...

Talk about ignorance. If we are talking about drugs to assist purely for health reasons, that's a different story. Do you understand that there is a drug fiasco because, quite obviously, the drugs that were thought to have been taken were recreational drugs, like cocaine? It's not a health problem. You take the drugs for the first time at your own will. If the players are playing professional sport clearly they have no health issues that would require the assistence of an anesthetic-type influence like cocaine or ice. You must be a frequent drug taker. Let me guess, you're a Greens man, aren't you? Performance enhancing drugs are fine if you don't compete aginst anyone, but either way, they are doing something bad to your body and therefore some people will choose not to use it. They test them for it because it is unfair to those who don't take it who have to compete against players who are taking drugs that give them an adreniline rush or more muscles.

But that's performance enhancing drugs, and I don't think that's the issue. It's party drugs; cocaine and ice. I've taken drugs before and I've been able to say to myself, "wait a minute, this is wrong, i have to stop." and i did. I never let myself get addicted. These men have clearly let the celebrity-status get to their heads and have fallen victim to the drugs. I have no sympathy. It's illegal. If I get caught on the street taking cocaine, or with cocaine in my bloodstream, I go to jail for the night and get charged; I have to go to court. A football player? They get 3 warnings and get exempt from public prosecution.

You know what? I pay my membership to the AFL. I partly pay for their salaries. If, by any means, a Melbourne player has taken illiceit drugs, I want him immediately sacked or I'll boycott the MFC. My money doesn't go to drug taking junkies who take advantage of their ability and status to do something highly illegal.

It's not a health problem. It's a problem for the AFL. You know what the NBA does when a player is caught taking drugs? Named, suspended, fined and/or sacked. And that's AFTER they contact authorities. What makes my blood boil even more is that the AFL act as if they don't have to say anything to us, like as if it's a private organisation that is purely around to fund it's own stuff and internal bodies. Well, no, it's around because of us. The fans.

Don't we deserve justice? Giving them 3 chances while we pay for their salaries, allowing them to take drugs, is hardly justice. It's an insult to every fan of the league.

the brownlow will be interesting

winner comes on * no comment* walks off

What if the winner has been one taking the drugs?

Talk about ignorance. If we are talking about drugs to assist purely for health reasons, that's a different story. Do you understand that there is a drug fiasco because, quite obviously, the drugs that were thought to have been taken were recreational drugs, like cocaine? It's not a health problem. You take the drugs for the first time at your own will. If the players are playing professional sport clearly they have no health issues that would require the assistence of an anesthetic-type influence like cocaine or ice. You must be a frequent drug taker. Let me guess, you're a Greens man, aren't you? Performance enhancing drugs are fine if you don't compete aginst anyone, but either way, they are doing something bad to your body and therefore some people will choose not to use it. They test them for it because it is unfair to those who don't take it who have to compete against players who are taking drugs that give them an adreniline rush or more muscles.

But that's performance enhancing drugs, and I don't think that's the issue. It's party drugs; cocaine and ice. I've taken drugs before and I've been able to say to myself, "wait a minute, this is wrong, i have to stop." and i did. I never let myself get addicted. These men have clearly let the celebrity-status get to their heads and have fallen victim to the drugs. I have no sympathy. It's illegal. If I get caught on the street taking cocaine, or with cocaine in my bloodstream, I go to jail for the night and get charged; I have to go to court. A football player? They get 3 warnings and get exempt from public prosecution.

You know what? I pay my membership to the AFL. I partly pay for their salaries. If, by any means, a Melbourne player has taken illiceit drugs, I want him immediately sacked or I'll boycott the MFC. My money doesn't go to drug taking junkies who take advantage of their ability and status to do something highly illegal.

It's not a health problem. It's a problem for the AFL. You know what the NBA does when a player is caught taking drugs? Named, suspended, fined and/or sacked. And that's AFTER they contact authorities. What makes my blood boil even more is that the AFL act as if they don't have to say anything to us, like as if it's a private organisation that is purely around to fund it's own stuff and internal bodies. Well, no, it's around because of us. The fans.

Don't we deserve justice? Giving them 3 chances while we pay for their salaries, allowing them to take drugs, is hardly justice. It's an insult to every fan of the league.

So is this crap, stop being the moral policeman and stick to the facts, the main point about this blowup is the releasing of private and confidentional files, the taking of drugs is another issue.

There are two separate issues in all of this.

1) Players taking drugs.

2) News reporters buying private medical records.

It just feels as though the two are being connected, when really they are separate.

Yes, drugs are an issue in sport that needs to be addressed and fixed up.

However, buying the medical records of footballers to find out who has taken drugs and then broadcasting the find just isn't on.

Once again, please, don't be ignorant fools because you're all better than that. Channel 7 is not the only news channel in the world to get their hands on private material. Every news station in every country in the world does it DAILY. The AFL has made such a big deal about it because they are worried about their already demorilised reputation.

If you people can't see that the AFL is making such a big deal about to cover up the real issue, then you're all blind. My point is that Channel 7 is focusing on the actual issue, while the AFL is focusing on one that defers from their own stupidity.

Channel 7 know they are in the wrong, yes. But, what they are doing is in the best interest's of the public and the fans of the league and they sacrificed their law-abidance and own moral's to get news out. That's their job and they did it. This needed to be known by the public because these people perform in the eyes of the public; they are role-models who live off our membership fees and our football attendances and our support. We invest in them. It was illegal and was wrong in the eyes of privacy, but we all need to hear it.

You don't think players should be tested for Performance Enhancing Drugs? How could you possible argue that?! You think players should be able to gain an unfair advantage in a professional sports simply because it's "something they choose to do"?

Sorry, I don't see how anyone could possibly come to that conclusion.

my apologies, replace "performance enhancing" with "recreational"... i'll edit the post now... of course i believe there is no place for performance enhancing drugs in our sport...

Talk about ignorance. If we are talking about drugs to assist purely for health reasons, that's a different story. Do you understand that there is a drug fiasco because, quite obviously, the drugs that were thought to have been taken were recreational drugs, like cocaine? It's not a health problem. You take the drugs for the first time at your own will. If the players are playing professional sport clearly they have no health issues that would require the assistence of an anesthetic-type influence like cocaine or ice. You must be a frequent drug taker. Let me guess, you're a Greens man, aren't you?

i have taken some drugs, but i'm nowhere near a frequent drug taker, perhaps 10 times in my entire life... so i've been exposed to them, but never been a frequent user... while i choose not to use drugs for the mostpart, i don't see them as this evil in which they're perceived in the public...

But that's performance enhancing drugs, and I don't think that's the issue. It's party drugs; cocaine and ice. I've taken drugs before and I've been able to say to myself, "wait a minute, this is wrong, i have to stop." and i did. I never let myself get addicted. These men have clearly let the celebrity-status get to their heads and have fallen victim to the drugs. I have no sympathy. It's illegal. If I get caught on the street taking cocaine, or with cocaine in my bloodstream, I go to jail for the night and get charged; I have to go to court. A football player? They get 3 warnings and get exempt from public prosecution.

That's way off the mark for mine. For starters who says that these players are addicted? All that's been shown is that they've used, not how much, or how often, even if they've been caught twice it doesn't necessarily mean that they have an addiction. And football players get the same treatment from police as you do, if they get caught taking cocaine on the street i'm sure the police would just let them go. Of course they wouldn't! They would be arrested and go to court just like you and I.

However unlike you or I, these footballers are forced to undertake drug tests on a random basis, and it's only for this reason we know they've been taking drugs. It doesn't influence their performance on the field, it's a personal decision in their own private life that they make. Why do we have the right to peer into this personal aspect of a player's life? I'm not saying taking drugs is the right or wrong thing to do, i'm saying that it's a personal choice, a private choice that should be kept private. But if the AFL wants to meddle in the personal choices of it's players, it should try and help them like the current policy does rather than punish them, which isn't going to solve anything.

You know what? I pay my membership to the AFL. I partly pay for their salaries. If, by any means, a Melbourne player has taken illiceit drugs, I want him immediately sacked or I'll boycott the MFC. My money doesn't go to drug taking junkies who take advantage of their ability and status to do something highly illegal.

There's a big difference between a drug user and a junkie... And as I said above, who are we to say how player's spend their salaries. Ideally we wouldn't want them doing illegal activity, but it is their own personal, private choice.

It's not a health problem. It's a problem for the AFL. You know what the NBA does when a player is caught taking drugs? Named, suspended, fined and/or sacked. And that's AFTER they contact authorities. What makes my blood boil even more is that the AFL act as if they don't have to say anything to us, like as if it's a private organisation that is purely around to fund it's own stuff and internal bodies. Well, no, it's around because of us. The fans.

Well the NBA policy reflects the 'war on drugs' which the US government is wageing in the states. Unfortunately its a war they're losing. Research has shown that rehabilitation for drug users works much better than punishment of drug users. The AFL's policy reflects this.

Don't we deserve justice? Giving them 3 chances while we pay for their salaries, allowing them to take drugs, is hardly justice. It's an insult to every fan of the league.

Who are we to call for justice? Justice for what? A player making a bad personal choice. Would you rather that player named, and shamed? He's all the more likely to become an addict if that happens, what have we achieved then?

What if the winner has been one taking the drugs?

I didnt do it hehe