I am so proud of Richmond for taking the plunge on Ben Cousins. Here is a club that is about its supporters, not its latest sponsorship deal.
Here also is a guy who was never convicted of possession of drugs, nor was he ever accused of taking performance enhancing drugs (anyone who thinks recreational drugs taken off-field are performance enhancing needs to join the real world), yet has been scapegoated and hung out to dry.
He will be a great asset to Richmond, if he gets fit, as he would be to every AFL team.
Shane Warne took steroids, did his time, and was back. There were no questions of weekly urine tests.
So what about Cousins?
I do not condone elite sports people doing drugs any more than other people. In fact, it may be more risky as an elite athlete may have higher tolerances than others, and be at higher risk of taking too much.
But in no way is it performance enhancing.
Does anyone else wonder why there are never any cases of AFL players on steroids? Surely club doctors are giving them everything possible to hasten healing.
Are they not tested for steroid use?
Olympic athletes are not allowed caffeine, what drugs are not allowed in AFL?
If the point of the drug rules is to protect the players, then surely the painkillers players are pumped full of during a game, that suppresses the pain of injuries, fall into both the hazardous to players well being and performance enhancing boxes.
Where are the moralists who are plaguing our game when it comes to the 30 year-olds with broken bodies who have spent years on pain killers in order to play?
AFL is a game for cowboys, for people who can think and execute outside the box.
How then can we expect our stars to be conformers? Sure, zero tolerance for anti-social activities which mostly the court system deals with, but the witch-hunting that goes on is just absurd and largely hypocritical
Hazey the Bear
Roar Rookie
I remember that when everything came out in the open, Mick Malthouse got on his high horse and said that the drugs Cuzzy was on were "performance enhancing". I think he said something like, "Look what it does to your body - how can it not be performance enhancing?!?" Yeah, an intense one-hour high followed by three days of chronic depression...Yep, performance enhancing indeed!
Westy
Guest
Paul I have it on good authority that Shane's mum also gave some powder to Ben.
Paul
Guest
Umm, Shane Warne did NOT take steroids, he took a diuretic to lose weight, very different. Nevertheless, I too am proud that Richmond has shown grace to Ben Cousins. I truly hope it was for the right reasons. Go TIGES.
Redb
Guest
I think Cousins is what Richmond needed off field to get their fans on board, certainly the majority have spoken and that pushed the club to take Cousins over the young kid (who Essendon got :-) ). However, I spoke to two life long Tigers fans over the break who hate the idea of Cousins at their club, after 30 years of paid up membership they are pissed off. It remains to be seen whether it will work or not, off the field to date he has been a huge winner for the club as they are 4,000 members up on last year. Redb
Michael C
Guest
The AFL has been signed up to WADA since before FIFA. The last stats I saw was that the WADA/ASADA testing in the AFL was around 500 odd tests a year - - targeting specifically new people into the system, and the top 3 club B&F players from the previous year............as such, in 2006, Ben Cousins as the reigning Brownlow medalist and WCE B&F winner would have been target tested. Is WADA sufficient. Obviously not. It caught Wendall Sailor, but obviously missed Andrew Johns and Ben Cousins. WADA/ASADA is a joke..........more a 'political slogan' than anything........but, politically - it meant a lot to John Howard. Whilst in the real world both FIFA and the AFL regarded it as clumsy, and rightly as an IOC attempt to gain power over non and non-core Olympic sports (or so it seems). Obviously 500 odd tests for the AFL is not enough - - with over 600 listed players in Australia. Who's going to fund it? WADA testing is for performance enhancing drugs. The AFL does have one player - - Justin Charles - - who about 10 years ago was done for steroids (using it to help recover from a back injury - - the sad thing is that perhaps outside of sports, properly supervised steroids medication for his injury might have been what many in the community might have the free option to apply. Not so a footballer!?!?!?). And true - - the rampant use of pain killers and quarterzone injections - - surely verges on performance enhancing (although, the technicality is that they are deemed more performance restoring rather than enhancing - - because, the benchmark is the players 'fit/healthy' capability rather than the enhancing of their 'performance' on the day benchmarked against their 'injured' status). However, several legal cases (successful or otherwise) by past players have ensured a greater 'managed risk' situation, and ideally greater awareness of the duty of care to the long term health of the player; along with a number of successful suits for injury due to state of ground. It means that the legal system is behind the player and their rights within their workplace. btw - The AFL has the extra level of the illicit drugs program - - and that has been bumped up to beyond 1100 tests annually. That HAS caught 6 dual offenders - - who are on diversion programs (as happens in the community). They have thus far found that in the main, alcohol was the common starting point - - and that in many cases there is mental 'illness'.
Central North
Guest
Caffeine was removed from the WADA banned list in 2003. And to assert that AFL players are not tested for Steroid abuse is just laughable. Good on the Tigers for giving Cousins a go though.
onside
Guest
Richmond played Ian Stewart ,who won three Brownlows ,so Ben Cousins should be OK..
Forgetmenot
Guest
He is the star player that Richmnd needed