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Some more unscathed than others in Essendon saga

22nd October, 2014
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Expert
22nd October, 2014
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How many people really know what went on at Essendon through the supplements saga? Millions, apparently!

Everyone has a view of course, a personal opinion that they are none too shy about venting. That is how it should be. But an awful lot of people also seem to know exactly what went on.

I have heard so many different versions of ‘The Truth’ over these past two years that it would be laughable, if not for the seriousness of the situation at hand. Speculation becomes fact, hypothesis suddenly becomes reality, a theory becomes an indisputable recount of the said events.

Well, here’s the thing. If these people weren’t there at the time, then they don’t know what happened. I certainly don’t know, odds are you don’t know either, and neither does Caroline Wilson, Mark Robinson or any journalist for that matter.

We can make an educated guess at what might have happened, but even these guesses will be based on reports that haven’t always been accurate and are themselves the creation of others who are putting their own speculative spin on matters.

The way Fairfax media has reported the whole saga has differed from the way News Limited has. Having said that, neither has stuck to straight reporting of the issue, and the facts have often been entangled with opinion and personal bias. It has been left up to the reader to discern which is which.

What we do know is that the whole saga is taking an enormous personal toll on all those involved. It has to be. It is a human trait – we don’t like to be criticised or held to scrutiny.

The players, coaches and staff of the Essendon Football Club have endured two years of negative publicity and with it, two years of angst about where their careers will ultimately end up.

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Some have handled it better than others.

James Hird, for instance, has handled it superbly. At least publicly. Forget what you think he may or may not have done, not once have we seen him chuck a wobbly when approached by the cameras. He always speaks civilly.

I’m not sure I would be so accommodating if a throng of media set up camp on my doorstep for so long.

That is not a comment on his guilt or otherwise, but an observation of his composure. And love him or hate him, he has it in spades. No one has been under more pressure than him throughout this saga. Daily speculation about his tenure as coach, personal attacks on his character and a newspaper that has seemingly had him in the gun since day one, has to hurt. It must have a negative impact.

But he hasn’t let it show.

For others, such as ruckman Paddy Ryder, the daily grind of uncertainty became too much. After two years of hearing one thing and then another, Ryder decided he had had enough. And who could blame him?

He left Essendon for a fresh start at Port Adelaide. But while he may escape the day-to-day negativity that surrounds Essendon, his ASADA nightmare will not quietly disappear with a change of clubs. A show-cause notice doesn’t care which team you play for.

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You can run but you can’t hide.

It is the same for Angus Monfries and Stewart Crameri.

At least Monfries (who had left the Bombers before the furore broke) was not banned from the finals last year, so you could say that things have worked out better for him than his former teammates. It remains to be seen if that run of good luck will continue, though personally I hope it does.

I would hate to see any player removed from the game or be forced to admit to something they may not have done in order to cut a deal, especially when others involved in the saga have escaped pretty much unscathed.

Dr. Bruce Reid signed off on at least some of the supplements that are alleged to have been administrated to the players. We know this because Jobe Watson said so on Fox Footy’s On the Couch.

And yet, when push came to shove and the whole club rolled over under AFL pressure – accepting its penalties without a whimper (despite some big talking from new CEO Paul Little beforehand) – only Reid decided to continue with court action.

The AFL buckled and almost instantly dropped its charges. Reid was free to continue in his role.

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It is also often conveniently forgotten that the man many thought should permanently replace Hird as coach of the Bombers, Mark Thompson, was also punished for his involvement in the scandal. A $30,000 fine, which until last week at least was still unpaid, was deemed appropriate.

Almost comically, Thompson was not only allowed to continue at Essendon with barely a hiccup, he was also promoted. At least Hird had to spend time away from the club.

Self-titled sports scientist Stephen Dank was also a central figure in the affair. He just refuses to speak or cooperate with anybody and nobody seems to know what to do about it! As such, he seems to have been placed in the ‘too hard basket’. He has been allowed to continue on with whatever it is he does.

And former high performance manager Dean ‘The Weapon’ Robinson actually benefited financially from the whole affair by selling his story to Channel Seven. The result was a forgettable interview with Luke Darcy in which nothing new or startling was revealed.

There are no winners in this, but some have escaped more unscathed than others. Public opinion too has wavered between harsh and sympathetic, depending on the individual. Public opinion however should have nothing to do with the final result.

ASADA have to get this right and the players, who are now the ones facing punishment, must be certain in their next move. If it comes to be that they were administered sinister substances, then they may very well need to cut a deal or go down the line that the club duped them.

But if they honestly believe that nothing banned was given to them, they must fight to clear their names, even if it means prolonging the situation further.

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Their reputations depend on it.

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