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Jobe Watson has made the decision to return to the AFL his Brownlow Medal, won in the 2012 season, a year in which he and 33 other Essendon players were later found guilty of having taken prohibited substances.
And I say – good decision Jobe. Smart decision. It was the only way to go, really.
From the moment that Essendon’s attempt to repeal their guilty verdict failed, there were only two ways this could have ended: Watson peacefully returning the Brownlow Medal, or the AFL forcefully ripping it out of his hands, kicking and screaming.
It’s not an easy thing to win the league’s highest honour and then give it up. I’d suspect though that a part of Watson has known for at least a little while now that he would have to do it someday.
It’s simply the right thing to do. Whether or not Watson believes that he was complicit in what went on at Essendon in 2012, there’s no getting around the fact that, intentionally or not, he had an unfair advantage and should not have been eligible to win the Brownlow in that year.
This way, he can know in his conscience that he did the right thing in giving the medal up. Everybody loves to be praised, but nobody to should love to be praised undeservingly.
And maybe, just maybe, he can hope that those anti-Essendon opposition fans who have derided him constantly for the better part of four years will see this act and finally let it go. Some will, some won’t, and the ones who won’t are not worth wasting your time on, Jobe.
“Last month the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland dismissed the appeal mounted by lawyers representing my teammates and I,” Watson said in a statement released by TLA Worldwide.
“This may represent finality of this matter from a legal perspective, however the reality is that for the players and our families it is something that we will continue to carry with us.
“The negative impact it has had should not define who we are, however I believe it has undoubtedly changed us in various ways.
“It is with mixed emotions that I have decided to hand back my 2012 Brownlow Medal.
“It is now up to the AFL Commission at their meeting on Tuesday to make a decision as to what they want to do with it.”
In a larger way, this does bring the Essendon saga more or less full circle – the question of what to do with Jobe’s Brownlow was really the last piece of the puzzle, and now that it is sorted, perhaps we can finally put this whole sordid affair behind us.
Of course, there is the small matter of what to do with the Brownlow now. Should it go unawarded for season 2012, or should it be handed to the runners-up – in this case Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin?
No current player in the league without a Brownlow Medal is more deserving of one than Sam Mitchell. He has the most career Brownlow votes of any player to have not actually won the thing, and has had 26 or more votes on three occasions.
If we’re asking ourselves the question ‘does Sam Mitchell deserve to be a Brownlow Medallist’, the answer is a resounding, undeniable yes.
Trent Cotchin, with all due respect, is not on that level. But, his form in 2012 was exceptional, and deserving enough of a Brownlow – even if none of his years since have been particularly close.