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James Hird is one mentally resellient individual. That was evident during his stellar career, coming back from terrible injuries to keep playing footy of the highest level.
This drugs saga, of which he is now close to being the main act, has also shown how mentally tough he is, as he refuses to back down, but it might also be proving how stubborn he is too as he continues to take on the AFL and refute many of the claims outlined in the 33-page charge sheet heavily implicating him in the Bombers’ drugs controversy.
Hird is now in the process of issuing supreme court proceedings against the AFL, furious the ASADA report has been made public by the AFL.
He has accused the competition’s governing body of ambushing him, very strong words indeed, and also wants AFL CEO, Andrew Demetriou, and the Commission not involved in the hearing of the charges laid against him.
He has described the AFL Commission as conflicted and basically the battlelines between Hird, Essendon and the AFL have been drawn further than usual, with the issue the ugliest it’s probably ever been.
Hird continues to deny many allegations including a damming letter, which was released as part of the charge sheet from his long time friend and veteran Essendon club doctor, Bruce Reid, outlining his concerns in January 2012 over the supplements program.
The Bombers’ coach said he never received that letter, but the then football manager, Paul Hamilton, who was also addressed in that document did.
How can one party get a letter and not the other, considering both were working in the same organisation?
He also seems, in the last 24 hours, to have started losing support and respect within the wider football community, especially from beloved Essendon supporters, who worshipped him as a player and saw him as the saviour when he came in to head what was described at the time as a dream coaching team for the 2011 season.
Hird is a powerful figure at that football club, but also may have become selfish – his hastily convened press conference was all about him.
What about the players? Some of them and their families appear to be reeling from this.
As mentioned in this column early in the week, the Bombers are in terrible form to be competitive in the finals, so missing the finals should be one of the penalties the AFL hands down.
Essendon claim that penalty, along with a 2.5 million dollar fine, being excluded from the first two rounds of this draft and the suspension of Hird for 12 months are all too severe, even if they do admit they allowed their players to take banned substances.
The AFL though is all about bringing the game into disrepute and they want to make sure the Bombers and all clubs get the message that injecting supplements, even if they are legal, must never happen again.
By seeking more time to get their case together before fronting the Commission – or in Hird’s situation by going a step further by initiating court action – Essendon and the four officials, Hird, Mark Thompson, football manager Danny Corcoran, and Bruce Reid, appear to be delaying the inevitable.
After granting the relevant parties extra time on Tuesday, which looked to have giving the Bombers confidence they would limp into the finals and be eligible to play, the AFL on Wednesday called their bluff by making the report public.
They want an outcome and they need it now, with the finals just over two weeks away. This disater has ruined this season and the league knows it.
They are determined to get it resolved and the AFL is a powerful body and generally gets what it wants.
James Hird continues to deny most allegations and, with his expensive PR and legal team, is always on the front foot pleading his innocence, but he seems to be heading into denial now, with his squeaky clean image beginning to need a wash.
The walls, which have protected him for so long, are not so sturdy either anymore.
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