Drugs aren't football's problem, disregard for player welfare is

Phil - you are really out of touch or have your Essendon/Hird blind-fold on - probably both. The two articles linked by Lamby will explain to you why. And to suggest that Hird was an innocent bystander/victim in this saga is just ridiculous. I would certainly agree that Doc Reid got off very lightly. If the players are found guilty next week - expect his resignation from the EFC soon after. But at least Reid did raise his concerns directly to Hird/Hamilton. And from the alleged evidence that we have seen Hird not only knew what was going on but was the driving force behind the program. You can argue that we haven't heard Hird's version of events -although he has had plenty of opportunity to tell us but instead has used those opportunities to attack the AFL/ASADA and anyone else that he doesn't believe is in the STAND BY HIRD camp. However unless Phil you are privy to some evidence that the rest of us haven't seen, I struggle to understand on what basis you could argue that Hird should bear no responsibility for the shambles that took place at the EFC.

Read the article by Dr Peter Brukner (Doctor for Australian cricket team - has been doctor for Australian Olympic team and Liverpool FC. So he KNOWS drugs in sport). And you tell me you would be happy injecting that into your son? A single drug may have been proven safe (like TB-4), but what about the combinations and doses? AOD9604 was taken at doses that were much higher than in the trials. http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/what-drugs-are-they-on-about-20130822-2seks.html also http://www.australasianscience.com.au/article/issue-september-2013/frankenfooty-essendons-mixed-bag-supplements.html

Interesting article Sarah, thanks for posting. The article got me thinking because player welfare is an all encompassing term that covers many areas including drugs (illicit and performance enhancing). So in terms of the title of your article, you are absolutely correct. Taking it a step further, sport mirrors society and society mirrors sport if that makes sense. I must admit when I read the headlines about ice making its way into country football leagues (or whatever the allegations were), I was shocked. But then I thought about it and knowing the impact that ice was having in society i was less surprised that it had apparently made it's way into football. Anyway, thanks for posting.

The sport isn't 'AFL', just ask anyone in the Amo's in particular - granted north of the Murrumbidgee a lot of people might think the game is 'AFL' and the AFL do push their brand - however, the sport is not AFL. The sad irony is via the Good Sports program that alcohol has seemingly been brought under a degree of control but - in reality - if a void is created then it leaves room for something else to creep in.....any weed fighting gardner knows this.

What a joke. TB-4 has been proven to be safer than Panadol for humans so even if Essendon took it, there was no liberties taken with player safety. That is shameless fearmongering. To compare Essendon's program with wide-spread Ice usage is completely ridiculous. Also, James Hird wasn't responsible for that program, Paul Hamilton and Doctor Reid were. Get your facts right. Disgraceful articles and comments.

Big al I meant AFL the sport not the professional competition.

Can someone please point me in the direction of, at the very least an article that has at least a touch of proof that any "Ice" was administered to any footballers young or old? I have only read a bunch of articles that say people have heard from old Bob down the road or that they are sure (opinion) that it happens? I have played football in Geelong and whilst Ice and other recreational drugs are massive in the community and for sure players were using them after games, I have neither seen nor heard of anyone taking them before a game. And that is one of the stronger leagues in Victoria.

So now we are relying on second hand gossip for analysis - sure there is ice in the community - everywhere - the courts, nightclubs, housewives etc etc....get a grip...

Agree Lamby. it shocks me that anyone can support him as coach given what happened under his watch.

Hang on Tigranes ! What you say above is veering towards libel - the AFL Coaches Assoc. could lawyer up and come after you big time. At no stage has it been suggested that an AFL coach is involved, the "anecdotal evidence" so far is all about country Aussie Rules coaches in country leagues, and I like you would like to see this vigourously pursued by the relevant authorities.

Cue the Essendon can do no wrong conspiracy theorists

I still cannot believe that Hird is allowed to coach an AFL club with his disregard for player welfare. Under his watch players were injected with: - Substances that were not approved for (injection) use on humans (AOD9604). - Substances that were not approved for sale within Australia (Cerebrolysin - mixture of peptides extracted from pig brain).

The AFL should just start blaming the devil for everything, no one in this game obviously likes to take accountability.

Sarah if what you say is true, then I hope Vicpol is investigating these claims. If coaches are going around providing ice to their players, then that sounds an awful lot like distribution of a serious drug and if prosecuted, they would be spending some serious time in the big house. Ice has the potential to destroy communities (similar to heroin). Addicts become violent, paranoid and can engage in acts that they would never do whilst sober. To think that AFL coaches are facilitating this is astounding.

I have to agree that the ‘whatever it takes’ mentality is responsible for a lot of problems in sport, and is one of the major reasons a robust anti-doping regime is absolutely essential. But that can manifest itself differently at amateur and professional levels. Without knowing any of the details about the really strange issue of amphetamine use in regional footy leagues, you’d have to think that a warped culture around recreational drugs and self-harm has led to it. I wonder if the problem is as much that some people really like recreational drugs as really wanting to win. In that sense, I agree with that aspect of Perry's earlier comment.

Hi Kath, What I'm indicated Kath is that at Essendon - they were taking a whole lot of supplements that weren't an issue. Some might be an issue however it remains to be seen how much was knowingly, provable or just possible because of one S.Dank (depending who we believe). Supplements = Drugs as far as everyone seems concerned. If that's the case - then it makes it hard to view this subject in a completely rational way. I didn't say 'mysterious' - - I said 'specialised'. Now - that can still mean specific over the counter or prescription medicines within specified dosages : in some cases there are thresholds that allow the normal intake of a substance (even just Codral cold and flu tablets) but that in itself is running a risk - especially if any confusion might occur between match day and non match day tolerances. What happened at Essendon most likely was a step too far - certainly raises concerns about how it appears to have played out compared at very least to what the players probably expected - but, the reporting of it and the known facts makes it hard to judge fully.

I went pale when I first read that report of Ice being given to players as a 'performance enhancer' - partly because I could see it was possible given the prevalence of Ice in country Victoria and all of Australia. I await with huge interest more details of these so far anecdotal claims.

TomC, agree that this article puts a big umbrella over drug use but I'd call it the "whatever it takes" umbrella. That's what's so disturbing - there are employers and leaders at all levels of sport who are willing to risk employees/players health for a win. Which in turn raises the question of what a win really is. At the moment, some sports doing their best to change a win from a merit-based award to nothing more than a Christmas cracker medal for the best covert cheat. Fiddlesticks, if any other employer was encouraging drug use to increase productivity there would be outrage. And rightly so. Perry Bridge, you can't be serious saying that a professional sports person needs mysterious, off-market supplement to overcome the common cold or flu? This kind of amateur pharmacology is at the root of acceptance of drug abuse in sport.

It becomes a sporting problem when it starts affecting sports.

I agree that there are general issues about player welfare that need looking at, particularly in professional sport, but I suppose also at amateur level. There's a certain pressure in a club environment to play whenever it's possible, even if the player runs the risk of further injury. Sometimes you hear whispers about players being directly pressured by their clubs to try and play through the pain. But there's an inherent problem in this article that bugs me a bit, and that's the conflation of different types of drugs. The writer goes to pains to say she's not equating ice with thymosin beta 4, that the question is the lack of accountability, but that's hard to swallow. The coach accused of distributing thymosin beta 4 is in the middle of a long running, highly public legal battle while the names of the coach or coaches who may have distributed ice haven't been publicly revealed; there is an enormous gap in accountability. I'd suggest the main reason these two examples have been brought together is that they both fit under the giant umbrella of substances we call drugs, and that makes it harder for us to understand the different issues in both cases. As for the specific question of whether the AFL and ASADA's actions have increased or decreased accountability, I think it could be argued both ways. On the one hand, clubs are unlikely to self report if they have concerns they've done the wrong thing. On the other, there is absolutely no way anyone could look at what's gone on at Essendon and think that it's a risk worth taking. My feeling is that overall AFL players are slightly more safe from an experimental attitude to player safety than they were before. Apart from the issue of drugs, we should look at the accountability of coaching staff at clubs like St Kilda, where there has been a large number of soft tissue injuries arising out of the off-season. Surely that must be a product of decisions made by staff that put team development over individual safety? Sorry for the essay.