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I’m not all that sure what I’m supposed to make of the AFL’s current predicament.
And I’m not talking about the Essendon supplement scandal, or the confusion with the rules committee and the Match Review Panel.
Hell, I can’t even single out Brian Taylor’s horrendous commentary!
I think that the AFL is a constant headline, a corporate organism that belies any notion of normality.
But it’s becoming a problem. The code is on the precipice of disaster.
Who cares about crowd numbers and participation when bigger dilemmas are afoot?
My big problem is that clubs are conforming to the borderline in both ethical and legal measures, meaning that they push the boundaries of legality to the farthest of possibility.
In the last year or so, Adelaide has been investigated for salary cap breaches, Melbourne were penalised for acting in a manner which was “prejudicial to the AFL competition” by playing players out of position and Essendon currently has its highly publicised situation regarding the anti-obesity drug, AOD-9604.
Some say they all downright cheated, but I say that they have all found loopholes in which to gain a competitive advantage.
I won’t comment on Essendon’s situation other than to say that although ASADA advised them that the anti-obesity drug was not a prohibited substance, it was still deemed unfit for human usage.
Ethically, Essendon has questions to answer, however the conformity of borderline practices highlights a concerning pattern that clubs are engaging in.
Adelaide paid Kurt Tippett more than they reported to the AFL yet their Total Player Payments still came under the salary cap.
Melbourne played players out of position yet didn’t officially purposely lose games for higher draft picks.
And the aforementioned Essendon administered a substance to their players that wasn’t banned but was deemed unfit for human consumption.
Whichever way you look at it, the AFL has work to do to stamp out the collectivist attitude of competitive advantage.
Don’t get me wrong; if a club can find a competitive advantage within the ethical and legal compass, then they should go for it, but there needs to be a clearer and more strictly monitored set of guidelines in which all clubs must adhere to.
And I’m sure that if you called Andy D and told him that, he’d respond with a quick “There already is”.
The problem is, is that while that may be the case; those guidelines need to be implemented more strictly.
It’s easy for people like me to sit back, criticise and divulge my concerns for the code.
Some may label my opinion as derided minutia, but I believe that the incredibly simple idiom of “something’s broken, fix it!” can begin vivacious discussion on an important topic.
As convoluted and protracted as the AFL’s concerns are; I simply think all of the clubs need a more strictly monitored set of ethical and legal standards.
It will make clubs more accountable and ensure that the grey areas of confusion are systematically filtered out.
It’s time for the AFL and its clubs to go from being a code on the precipice of disaster to a code with a coherent and strict set of guidelines and standards which sets forth a solid foundation for a better tomorrow.
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