ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

[ledge]

What about the Jobe Watson admittance, isn't that guilty ? Why does he still have his brownlow and why did he get it in the first place ?

[The bulldog tragician]

Whilst its nice to play the players as innocent victims in all of this they aren't. Every player knows that they have an obligation to make sure that what they put into their body is legitimate and within the ASADA/WADA guidelines. Whilst there may be grounds that the players were coerced and that their employer did not take reasonable care, the fact remains that they potentially ingested substances that would/should have given them an advantage over other teams.

I for one believe that ASADA should just proceed. Appeal or no appeal, unless Essendon get an injunction preventing the ASADA's show cause notices from applying, the process should continue. I can't see an injunction being granted. In my mind players who co-operate and provide information which is helpful to ASADA should be given reduced bans. The reductions should work on a sliding scale so that the first to co-operate get a more reduction than the last and in that case I would be applying extreme pressure on Cameri to co-operate!

I'm glad you pointed this out. I feel pity for the players to a degree because they put their faith in the club but this excuse doesn't wash in any other sport; Olympians would be rightly furious at seeing this saga. Even if it means us losing Crameri for some time next year, I think that a meaningful suspension (not the Cronulla backdated farce) needs to be applied if the AFL is at all serious about this issue. I would be very keen for Crameri to come forward, say that he was misled, take his penalty and get on with his career.

[Remi Moses]

Poses a whole new question on what happens with Stuie Crameri?

[westdog54]

What about the Jobe Watson admittance, isn't that guilty ? Why does he still have his brownlow and why did he get it in the first place ?

The show cause notices relate exclusively to the use of Thymosin Beta 4, not AOD-9604, which is what he discussed in the interview.

[ledge]

We go on about elite athletes knowing what's going in their body and that's fair enough If its a single person sport like cycling or boxing or athletics but in a team sport and the team is told by coaches or whoever is at the club it's fine and you are young and getting a wage you never dreamed of in a so called professional club, who are you to question it?
And don't forget the awkward part of questioning something when for all you know it's a normal part of being in the AFL.
For example at work I'm asked to do things I haven't done before and just accept it. I work for a huge company why would I think that anything they do is illegal ?
Single person sports are easier to find blame than team sports.
Fact is it was the club doing illegal things, the players were the guinea pigs, in hindsight yes they should have asked questions etc but yeah in hindsight I should have picked the winner in the Melbourne cup but I didn't.

[Dry Rot]

But they have already punished the Club.

No they haven't, not for this. Previously it was poor governance IIRC.

[westdog54]

What about the Jobe Watson admittance, isn't that guilty ? Why does he still have his brownlow and why did he get it in the first place ?

The show cause notices relate exclusively to the use of Thymosin Beta 4, not AOD-9604, which is what he discussed in the interview.

[jeemak]

I can't see the players being given too harsh a penalty.

Six to twelve months out of competition dated from the date of infraction (this week) would be about it I think.

[Before I Die]

We go on about elite athletes knowing what's going in their body and that's fair enough If its a single person sport like cycling or boxing or athletics but in a team sport and the team is told by coaches or whoever is at the club it's fine and you are young and getting a wage you never dreamed of in a so called professional club, who are you to question it?
And don't forget the awkward part of questioning something when for all you know it's a normal part of being in the AFL.
For example at work I'm asked to do things I haven't done before and just accept it. I work for a huge company why would I think that anything they do is illegal ?
Single person sports are easier to find blame than team sports.
Fact is it was the club doing illegal things, the players were the guinea pigs, in hindsight yes they should have asked questions etc but yeah in hindsight I should have picked the winner in the Melbourne cup but I didn't.

How is it different if you are in a cycling team as opposed to a football team?

[bulldogtragic]

I hope Gordon Legal wrote Stew's contract.

[jeemak]

We go on about elite athletes knowing what's going in their body and that's fair enough If its a single person sport like cycling or boxing or athletics but in a team sport and the team is told by coaches or whoever is at the club it's fine and you are young and getting a wage you never dreamed of in a so called professional club, who are you to question it?
And don't forget the awkward part of questioning something when for all you know it's a normal part of being in the AFL.
For example at work I'm asked to do things I haven't done before and just accept it. I work for a huge company why would I think that anything they do is illegal ?
Single person sports are easier to find blame than team sports.
Fact is it was the club doing illegal things, the players were the guinea pigs, in hindsight yes they should have asked questions etc but yeah in hindsight I should have picked the winner in the Melbourne cup but I didn't.

Ledge, when you look at it big business and big government are responsible for the most disgusting atrocities to ever blight this lovely planet (I'm leaving religion out of this much to the chagrin of libertarians and others of their ilk). I'd start asking questions more regularly at work if I was you.

There is no way any of these players should have allowed any of these substances to be injected into them without getting a complete record of what they contained to hang to for their own records. These sorts of acts should be the bare minimum any player should be responsible for if they sign up to the ASADA and WADA codes (which they all did).

This issue is a massive failing of the entire football industry, not just the EFC. When I go to a doctor and receive an injection I sure as shit keep a record of what was supposed to have been injected into me. Why on Earth should we allow AFL players to be subject to a lesser standard than what we are generally subject to for Medicare?

Their careers are subject to ensuring no illegal substances are pumped into their bodies! They can use the excuse that group think stopped them from thinking, but that sort of thinking doesn't fly in the world outside of the AFL, and it's about time the AFL caught up.

[Dry Rot]

I can't see the players being given too harsh a penalty.

I can. I think they'll throw the book at them.

[jeemak]

I can. I think they'll throw the book at them.

Why?

[Remi Moses]

They won't throw the book at them

[Dry Rot]

Word up here in Sydney: ASADA is going after the 3 Cronulla players who didn't roll over.

The Dons and their players didn't rollover. ASADA will make an example of them.

Think about it. ASADA has to. Otherwise they are joke (remember that drugs in sport is broader than the AFL).