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ASADA: Appeal of Tribunal's decision "a very live option"

The tales of Stephen Dank and the Essendon drug scandal made for good reading. (Image: ABC)
1st April, 2015
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ASADA has deferred the decision on whether they will appeal yesterday’s ‘not guilty’ findings by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal.

CEO Ben McDevitt said in a statement to the media that ASADA are considering appealing the decision by the Tribunal.

READ MORE:
DAN LONERGAN: Ignorance isn’t innocence, but Bombers deserve benefit of the doubt
GLENN MITCHELL: Will we ever know what happened at Essendon?
CAM ROSE: Everyone failed in the drug saga, now it’s time to play some footy

“An appeal option is a very live option.”

McDevitt says there is a lengthy report coming from the AFL Tribunal, and that after reading the report ASADA would come to a “reasoned, dispassionate decision about what to do next.”

Ben McDevitt said that ASADA has remained mostly silent throughout the case, but after the findings of the Tribunal around the AFL players yesterday he considered it appropriate.

Stephen Dank, a self-identified central figure in the investigation, is expected to have a decision made on his role in the coming days, and McDevitt said he eagerly awaited that decision.

McDevitt reiterated that his position was that Essendon had undertaken an “injections regime,” not a “supplements program.”

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In a press conference, McDevitt gave some details about ASADA’s allegations heard by the Tribunal.

“I acknowledge the strong actions taken by the AFL in dealing with the governance issues.

“We have two sets of issues here, we have governance issues and we have anti-doping arrangements.

“What happened at Essendon in in 2012 was just an utter disgrace,” McDevitt said in his press conference.

“I feel for Essendon fans who were so poorly let down. Allegations…were far more serious than just poor governance.

“ASADA has contended that the ‘Thymosin’ used at Essendon in 2012 was the banned substance Thymosin Beta 4.

“We know that hundreds, if not thousands, of injections were given to Essendon players during 2012.

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“It would have been an absolute gross dereliction of my duty to not go ahead with issuing show cause notices.

“We now find ourselves in the position where numerous players simply do not know what they received.

“Essendon players were used as ‘pin cushions’, and we don’t know what was injected into them.

“I call once again upon Stephen Dank – if you have got records [of the injection regime], produce them.”

Responding to the criticism of the time it took for the process to reach a conclusion, McDevitt acknowledged ASADA’s failings.

“I tried to push them [the show cause notices and the process] along as quickly as I could.

“ASADA has been subjected to considerable criticism about the length of time it took for this investigation, and the way in which the investigation was conducted.

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“Many of the delays were about the decisions of others.

“It is clear that ASADA needs to reassess our own processes. The same as the AFL said yesterday, they are reassessing their processes. The same as Essendon are reassessing their processes.

“If it takes protracted time to get to the bottom of the truth, then so be it.

“ASADA is not the enemy. The fight against doping is not a fight against sport. It’s about protecting rights of clean athletes.”

Responding to a question about AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan’s statement urging ASADA not to appeal the decision, McDevitt said that “This is not a decision for Gil McLachlan.”

On whether ASADA’s action would rely on Stephen Dank coming forward to appeal the Tribunal’s decision.

“I wouldn’t rely on anything Mr Dank did.”

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