Tweet
Re: Stick with code, says WADA
Wows.com.au - Hird to suppress ASADA report
Essendon coach James Hird is reportedly considering an injunction to suppress the findings of ASADA's doping investigation if it fails to show Bombers players took a banned substance.
Hird has hired human rights barrister Julian Burnside QC who will lead Hird's response to the ASADA report, according to The Australian.
Revelations of the likely looming legal stoush come after Essendon returned fire on Dean Robinson, rubbishing the ammunition that their former high performance manager fired at Hird.
The AFL club's six-month supplements crisis took another ugly turn on Wednesday night when Robinson unloaded on Hird and the Bombers in a paid interview with Channel Seven.
Robinson, nicknamed The Weapon, also said he had been suicidal at times since the club stood him down on February 5, the day Essendon revealed they were coming under anti-doping investigation.
He resigned last week and plans to sue the club - but in the meantime has made a series of explosive allegations during the extended interview.
Robinson said Essendon wanted to make him a scapegoat and accused Hird of driving last year's controversial supplements program at the club.
New Bombers chairman Paul Little hit back on Thursday, saying Robinson's allegation were a personal attack against Hird that had no foundation.
"Clearly visible to me was a man who was stressed, frustrated and tired - there is no doubt this ordeal is extracting a huge personal toll on everyone involved," Little said in an article on the club website.
"Not withstanding this, I cannot let what was claimed last night go unchallenged, as much of it was patently false or distorted.
"What went to air - largely unchallenged by Channel Seven - was a series of uncorroborated allegations by a disgruntled, disaffected and discredited ex-employee.
"Overall, this interview was an unjustified personal attack on one man (Hird) which deeply offends Essendon, its staff and its players."
Little added that Essendon were seeking legal advice.
Hird and then Little flatly denied Robinson's claim that federal police had once raided the Essendon coach's house over a drugs case.
"They've never raided my house," Hird told reporters on Thursday morning.
Little also said:
* Hird never asked Robinson to investigate an undetectable cream.
* The Essendon coach has only seen Shane Charter, the subject of the police drug investigation, once since 2003-04.
* Hird "categorically denies" the renewed allegation that he was injected once or twice a week.
* Essendon and Hird have never suspected Collingwood, West Coast or Hawthorn of using illegal or prohibited substances.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, who returns from an overseas fact-finding trip this weekend, told Triple M that no other clubs were under investigation.
Hird said he had watched some of the Robinson interview.
When asked if Robinson could be trusted, Hird said: "Who knows?"
The AFL hope that the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) will report its findings from the Essendon investigation this month.
Wows.com.au - Hird to suppress ASADA report
Essendon coach James Hird is reportedly considering an injunction to suppress the findings of ASADA's doping investigation if it fails to show Bombers players took a banned substance.
Hird has hired human rights barrister Julian Burnside QC who will lead Hird's response to the ASADA report, according to The Australian.
Revelations of the likely looming legal stoush come after Essendon returned fire on Dean Robinson, rubbishing the ammunition that their former high performance manager fired at Hird.
The AFL club's six-month supplements crisis took another ugly turn on Wednesday night when Robinson unloaded on Hird and the Bombers in a paid interview with Channel Seven.
Robinson, nicknamed The Weapon, also said he had been suicidal at times since the club stood him down on February 5, the day Essendon revealed they were coming under anti-doping investigation.
He resigned last week and plans to sue the club - but in the meantime has made a series of explosive allegations during the extended interview.
Robinson said Essendon wanted to make him a scapegoat and accused Hird of driving last year's controversial supplements program at the club.
New Bombers chairman Paul Little hit back on Thursday, saying Robinson's allegation were a personal attack against Hird that had no foundation.
"Clearly visible to me was a man who was stressed, frustrated and tired - there is no doubt this ordeal is extracting a huge personal toll on everyone involved," Little said in an article on the club website.
"Not withstanding this, I cannot let what was claimed last night go unchallenged, as much of it was patently false or distorted.
"What went to air - largely unchallenged by Channel Seven - was a series of uncorroborated allegations by a disgruntled, disaffected and discredited ex-employee.
"Overall, this interview was an unjustified personal attack on one man (Hird) which deeply offends Essendon, its staff and its players."
Little added that Essendon were seeking legal advice.
Hird and then Little flatly denied Robinson's claim that federal police had once raided the Essendon coach's house over a drugs case.
"They've never raided my house," Hird told reporters on Thursday morning.
Little also said:
* Hird never asked Robinson to investigate an undetectable cream.
* The Essendon coach has only seen Shane Charter, the subject of the police drug investigation, once since 2003-04.
* Hird "categorically denies" the renewed allegation that he was injected once or twice a week.
* Essendon and Hird have never suspected Collingwood, West Coast or Hawthorn of using illegal or prohibited substances.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, who returns from an overseas fact-finding trip this weekend, told Triple M that no other clubs were under investigation.
Hird said he had watched some of the Robinson interview.
When asked if Robinson could be trusted, Hird said: "Who knows?"
The AFL hope that the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) will report its findings from the Essendon investigation this month.
Comment