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The banned Essendon 34 will be damned forever.
Drug cheats. Stupid. Naive. Secretive. Brainwashed by the cult of Hird.
People have made up their minds, and they are not for turning.
Mind you, we haven’t really heard from any of the Essendon players yet. We heard from Michael Hurley through a pre-recorded interview on the Footy Show, but even that lacked depth.
Hurley was emotional and clearly scarred by everything that has happened, but any insight from the players into what really happened at Essendon during 2012, is still left unsaid.
And yet, much of the football public have made up their mind. I heard both sides of the argument coming through loud and clear on talkback radio as I drove to work.
Let’s be honest, most Essendon fans have a more favourable view of Essendon than those who barrack for opposition clubs. However, let’s not for a second pretend that those who don’t barrack for Essendon are completely objective.
Give me a break.
Essendon is not a much-loved club. Even before the drug saga they were hated. Those who walk around with their chest out stating that they can see the issue objectively because they don’t barrack for Essendon are kidding themselves.
The curious thing is that most people I talk to haven’t read the AFL interim report. They haven’t read the summary of findings from the independent AFL tribunal, nor have they bothered to read the report released by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, outlining their findings following their guilty verdict in January this year.
Furthermore, most have not read books such as The Straight Dope, which, while not painting a pretty picture for any of the key players in the saga, provides a lot of fascinating insights into the AFL’s biggest scandal. None of those I’ve talked to have spoken directly to any of the Essendon players about what happened and none seemed to have done their own investigative research.
They have, however, read articles, favouring some over others. It seems most like the ones that get stuck into Hird and, now it seems, the players.
Many footy pundits love to cite the fact that the Essendon players failed to declare Thymosin on their ASADA forms, yet few players, if any, have discussed this publicly. None have spoken about it in great depth. They may very well be able to provide some clarity around this.
Whatever way you look at it, it is a baffling case. Confusing, bizarre and downright odd. I’ve read a lot about the case and followed it closely and I can’t for the life of me figure out exactly what happened, who did what and who knew what others didn’t.
But, many footy fans have made up their mind. It’s very simple for them. They see this issue as black and white. Yet, given most people haven’t read half of what’s available to them, I’m left scratching my head wondering, ‘how the hell do they know?’
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