ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

[Twodogs]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

Probably what most of us think anyway, but along the lines that he is an arrogant so-and-so who is only interested in his own image, he didn't care about what might potentially have happened to the players, in pursuit of winning (or as Essendon themselves say, "Whatever it takes"). She talked about how he made those appeals for himself, then tried to say it was for the players. I'm guessing she isn't a fan!

Thanks. She's a pretty good judge of character.

[1eyedog]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/tribunal-chief-says-the-bombers-swallowed-danks-supplements-program/story-fnpp4dl6-1227399507732

The Bombres are stuffed, the AFL is an absolute disgrace and WADA's wrath may have no bounds.

[westdog54]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vic...-1227399507732

The Bombres are stuffed, the AFL is an absolute disgrace and WADA's wrath may have no bounds.

The article is paywalled. Can you give us the text?

[Bornadog]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

The article is paywalled. Can you give us the text?

here you go

THE secret AFL trial of Stephen Dank has been blown open by the leaking of details of the confidential hearings.

After months of AFL tribunal deliberations over Dank’s role in the Essendon supplements program, the Herald Sun has obtained the transcript of last Tuesday’s penalty hearing.


The 43-page document reveals:


TRIBUNAL chairman David Jones, who cleared the players of doping, suggested the club “swallowed” Dank’s credentials to gain a “competitive advantage”.




THE AFL accused the former Essendon sports scientist of having a “complete disregard for the health and wellbeing of others”.


A SMS exchange between Dank and a compound pharmacist discussing the use of racehorse drugs on players is a key driver in the AFL’s desire for him to be expelled from Australian sport.


Mr Jones’s tribunal ruled in March that it was not “comfortably satisfied” Essendon players had used the banned Thymosin-beta 4 in 2012.


The AFL wants Stephen Dank banned for life from Australian sport. Picture: Luke Marsden.
The AFL wants Stephen Dank banned for life from Australian sport. Picture: Luke Marsden.
But in one exchange on Tuesday, Mr Jones asserted: “If he (Dank) can make Essendon more successful, more competitive then that reflects on him positively ... and Essendon swallow it because they want to get that competitive advantage.”


AFL counsel Renee Enbom responded: “That’s right.’’


ASADA lawyer Malcolm Holmes told Tuesday’s hearing: “In terms of multiple offences and multiple serious offences, and over an extended period of time, a lifetime sanction, with respect, is entirely appropriate just on general anti-doping principles.”


Enbom added: “In my submission lifetime ineligibility is the appropriate sanction for all the reasons identified by Mr Holmes.


“One matter that stands out for me is Mr Dank’s complete disregard for the health and wellbeing of others.


“It seems from the evidence that he very much put his own success … above the health of individuals.”


Dank, the mastermind of Essendon’s 2012 supplements program, was found guilty of 10 violations of the AFL anti-doping code in April, including trafficking, attempting to traffic and “complicity in matters related to a range of prohibited substances”.


The breaches took place when Dank worked at Essendon in 2012 and at the Gold Coast Suns in 2010.


He was also found guilty of supplying a banned substance to a Carlton support person in 2012.


The drugs linked to Dank by the AFL tribunal include Hexarelin, Humanofort, Thymosin beta-4, CJC-1295, GHRP6 and SARMS.


Dank told the Herald Sun on Monday: “Obviously, the information indicates to us severe double standards. We will be taking the appropriate legal action against the AFL and people within the tribunal setting for the inappropriateness of the comments made.”


The World Anti-Doping Agency is appealing the AFL tribunal’s decisions to clear the Essendon 34 and, on several charges, Dank.


michael.warner@news.com.au

[westdog54]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

It is seriously time for Dank to put up or shut up when it comes to all these threats of legal action.

[1eyedog]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

What I simply fail to understand is why Dank is shouldering the load in all of this, talk about a cop out and distraction from the key issues by the AFL. Quite simply, regardless of what Dank did / didn't do in this sordid affair, he was undoubtedly approached by EFC and asked to provide a program that would give them a competitive edge over their rivals. That Dank put forward the program that he did is secondary to EFC's apparent lack of a robust due diligence on it. It is the EFC that had the responsibility as a duty of care to its players and ultimately its supporters and they are the ones that must be held accountable.

Dank was essentially a consultant providing expert advice, it was really up to EFC to clear that advice with the AFL and their lawyers prior to its implementation. WADA will not differentiate between the two and the more information that comes out of this the more I start to feel that a 2 year ban may be light sentence.

[ledge]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

Thing is WADA don't care about Who supplied what .. The players must have their own records and they don't therefore they are guilty of not having proof they didn't take PEDs.
Problem here is EFC think they will get out of it blaming Danks, it's not the issue who is to blame the issue is why do the players not have records which is the all important rule in being a proffessional athlete .. Keep records of what you put in your body.

[boydogs]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

The players must have their own records and they don't therefore they are guilty of not having proof they didn't take PEDs

They have signed consent forms listing legal substances on them. But if they were given something else, then in the eyes of WADA it is their responsibility not Essendon's

[westdog54]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

Thing is WADA don't care about Who supplied what .. The players must have their own records and they don't therefore they are guilty of not having proof they didn't take PEDs.
Problem here is EFC think they will get out of it blaming Danks, it's not the issue who is to blame the issue is why do the players not have records which is the all important rule in being a proffessional athlete .. Keep records of what you put in your body.

Its not as simple as that.

There's no positive sample. Any tribunal needs to establish that a prohibited substance was taken and the burden of proof is somewhere between a criminal and civil case.

[ledge]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

Its not as simple as that.

There's no positive sample. Any tribunal needs to establish that a prohibited substance was taken and the burden of proof is somewhere between a criminal and civil case.

Armstrong never produced a positive sample.
Fact is if you can get away with saying we lost the records or haven't got them or someone else had them, anyone could just say they lost them.
Thing is what Danks bought was illegal and apparently anything he bought that was legal did not add up to the amount he administered.

[westdog54]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

Armstrong never produced a positive sample.
Fact is if you can get away with saying we lost the records or haven't got them or someone else had them, anyone could just say they lost them.
Thing is what Danks bought was illegal and apparently anything he bought that was legal did not add up to the amount he administered.

What he did have was an army of people prepared to give evidence against him. Contrast this to Essendon and the AFL who have closed up shop on this.

I agree that Essendon should be held to account for their lack of records, which is something that was never fully explored when the AFL charged them with bringing the game into disrepute. The AFL went way, way too early with that. Should have waited until ASADA's investigation had finished, even if it was dragging.

[Bulldog4life]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

Because they believe the previous non-independent tribunal erred in not reaching a comfortable satisfaction. They think the tribunal got it wrong.

And they are just as entitled to take it to the next forum as any criminal not happy with their verdict is.

And the statement that there is no evidence is erroneous.

As Messydon would have done if they had lost at the trbunal.

[Ghost Dog]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

Conservative estimate? This whole shebang has put them back 5 years in terms of development, ability to recruit players and reputation. Maybe more if you count the fact that it's smoke-screened Hird's poor record as a coach, so the longer he stays on the worse it will be.

How soft is he in press conferences? So different to Ross Lyon's no excuses.

[Ozza]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

I know the reality is that both Essendon (players) and Lance Armstrong can be penalised with a positive sample....but it seems staggering to me that it can occur that way.

How does ASADA not get one single positive test of an Essendon player - in all of the time, and following, when Essendon have an (alleged) illegal supplements injecting regime in place?

[Greystache]

Re: ASADA issues show-cause notices to Essendon players

I know the reality is that both Essendon (players) and Lance Armstrong can be penalised with a positive sample....but it seems staggering to me that it can occur that way.

How does ASADA not get one single positive test of an Essendon player - in all of the time, and following, when Essendon have an (alleged) illegal supplements injecting regime in place?

Mostly because there's no tests available for any of these designer performance enhancing drugs.

The nature of the PED industry is there's more money in creating drugs that can't be detected than there is in designing tests to detect them. It's always going to that way, authorities will always be behind. It wasn't very long ago there was no test for EPO and it's use was rife. Blood passporting is the only hope and there's no chance the AFL would support its introduction.

What will be interesting is if ASADA keeps the samples for 10-20 years and tests them again when testing is more improved.