bing181

No drugs in tennis either, so he would be on solid ground there. ...

A human being's life has become a train wreck, and the best you can manage is "Lol".

Jurrah was found not guilty of attacking anyone with a machete, was found guilty of one (singular) count of driving over the limit, and was was found guilty of attacking a (that would be one) woman. That you resort to exaggeration and hyperbole pretty well sums up where you are with it all, but gives your argument (such as it is) little or no credibility. But one can only hope that you live the kind of charmed life where no-one in your family or close to you ever loses the plot, makes a mistake, or for whatever reason finds themselves unable to deal with the world around them.

Perhaps, but I'd be surprised if the Switkowsky report would have been enough of a case in and of itself to ban a senior coach for a year and remove a team from finals. I suspect that the AFL realised that they needed the weight of ASADA behind them in order to press charges - which they clearly wanted to do before the finals and Draft. The problem here comes about because it's a team sport. If this were an individual, they would have been automatically suspended until the case were resolved.

If Hird had just done what Bailey, Cuddles and co. all did, and taken his medicine quietly in the background, none of this would have happened. Well, not on this scale.

Training discussion anyone?

In regards to elite-level sports people, he wouldn't be alone. Someone I know well did some work for an olympic champion, and after getting to know him, were of the opinion that "I wouldn't cross the road to xxx on him if he was on fire". Not to say all champions needs to be bullies and egomaniacs … but it does seem to help.

Any chance of merging the two threads? Essendon's woes have become the AFL's, and vice versa.

And more: Darren Hibbert aka the Gazelle, brings forward interview with Asada

Just not enough threads to cover this snowballing mess ...

I don't know that AD sees it as lying. More "problem management".

Coming thick and fast: Now the good Ms. Hird weighs in: AFL distorting facts, says Tania Hird

"Sources close to the investigation claim ASADA will probably not be in position to determine the players' fate until early next year." (from the Cronulla report).

Slightly AFL-centric p.o.v. there …. He's not contracted to an AFL club, but it doesn't mean that he hasn't been playing under another contract or set of rules/agreements. Which would appear to be the case here.

As someone with a heart condition myself, I don't know that I'd be jumping to too many conclusions without knowing more. There are heart conditions and heart conditions, and just because playing AFL football might be a risk, it doesn't mean he/one can't live a full, more-or-less normal life. If you Google him, it seems that he's hopeful of finding a solution so that he can return to footy, but for the moment, it seems to be not possible. Back to the training reports …. thanks to the couple who braved it.

Young Freemantle mid, only played a few games. Forced to retire this year due to a heart condition.

Sue: Like

His trip, his call, don't see that he's asking anyone here to change their names. Wonder if there'd be the same reaction from the negatives if his father's surname had been Smith.

The Saad appeal is by ASADA, as was the Matthew Clark appeal, and basically for the same reasons: the penalty is set at two years. WADA would only get involved in an appeal process if there's no local anti-doping organisation, or if there had been a failure by the local body to see that WADA rules were implemented. The latter is rare, and AFAIK, there has never been a WADA appeal in Australia. I agree with you in regards to "shot across the bows". The AFL are learning that in least in some aspects of governance of the game, there are higher powers at play.

Except that a) WADA aren't directly involved, and b) the local anti-doping body, ASADA, don't issue infraction notices. In the AFL, infraction notices come from the AFL: ASADA agrees that the AFL retains all functions and powers relating to this Code, including all functions and powers relating to the issuing of an infraction notice, the convening of hearings, the presentation of allegations of an Anti Doping Rule Violations at a hearing and all matters incidental thereto. and ... As soon as possible after the AFL General Manager - Football Operations has received notification from ASADA of an Adverse Analytical Finding or he believes on other grounds that there may have been committed an Anti Doping Rule Violation or a breach of this Code, he will give to the Person an infraction notice, together with a copy of this Code, and refer the matter to the Tribunal for hearing and determination. http://www.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/AFL/Files/Schedule%206%20-%20National%20Anti-Doping%20Code.pdf

Armstrong is the poster boy for a massive problem that has been entrenched in cycling from the year dot. It's nearly 50 years since Tom Simpson died. But this isn't the the thread for it, and I can see that you've already made up your mind in any case.

Well no … Armstrong, as well as all/any of the cyclists recently prosecuted or "outed", have all taken responsibility for their actions and apologised. The reports from the recent meeting between Armstrong and Emma O'Reilly make sobering reading. Which is part of the problem here. No-one is really taking responsibility, and in both camps (Essendon and AFL) they see this primarily as an administrative and public relations issue. It's about managing a problem, as opposed to addressing it.

Neither you nor I know how far down the track this is. Which I believe is also one of the points Rhino was making.

In the global reality of what they do, it's just another case and will take the time it takes.

To most of us, "can't be employed by" is equivalent to "can't be paid by". He's not allowed to work, would seem fairly obvious that it follows that he's not allowed to be paid. Only in the AFL would any of this happen, both at the AFL itself and the clubs, they're all so used to being a rule unto themselves.