AFL community reaches out to support James Hird

I was originally going to ignore all this feigned outrage but what the hell. In for a penny, in for a pound. Seems to be going on and on, particularly since now Hird’s dad has weighed into proceedings – at least James comes by his desire to court controversy and be the centre of attention honestly… This won’t come as a surprise to anyone but I don’t have a lot of time for James Hird. Obviously I don’t know him but I’ve watched a lot of him on TV, particularly that haughty, dishonest interview he gave to Whateley on AFL 360, amongst other things he has said and done. From what I have seen & heard he’s another Kevin Rudd. All about him, always about him, and he doesn’t give a damn who he crushes or steps on, on his way up or coming back down. Look at how he treated David Evans and how cutthroat he was with getting him out of his way once it became clear it was Evans or him. Forced Evans to a mental breakdown in the clubrooms and a sudden resignation after their falling out. He broke ranks with the club, tried to get them to foot his legal bills in a pointless ego-driven personal crusade and dragged out EFC’s torment for years longer than it ever needed to be, for players, fans and administrators because he couldn’t handle admitting he’d made a mistake. He is still yet to tell the full truth of what happened. He can sip from as many cans of weedkiller as he wants, but until he makes a full mea culpa and apologises he will never get forgiveness in this country, but equally he would be amazed in how few months people would overlook his crimes if he was genuinely repentant and apologetic. Good luck setting aside his monstrous ego long enough for that to happen though. So while it’s sad what has happened to Hird don’t expect me to shed a tear or feel any sort of sympathy for him, because guaranteed he doesn’t give a toss about anyone who can’t help him or advance his career.

Hindsite is wonderful. I cant help thinking that those who say he should have dropped out of the fight are the same people praising a player for showing tenacity and never giving up. NEVER GIVE UP is a trait we hold dear in our teams players but dont dare do that in other aspects of life...hypocracy

Milo, agree with your set of priorities, but the guy is a 'defence' lawyer charged with putting the best / least worst slant on Hird's actions and /or inaction. Most of Amendola's points need scores of grains of salt. One of my favourite books is "The Joys of Yiddish" (google it), a dictionary-type explanation of the many words from that language which have entered the English language, including 'chutzpah' ('ch' like 'h', but ten times as vigorous like you've got something stuck in your throat, and the first syllable rhymes with the 'foots' in Footscray), which (like most other entries) is illustrated by a little story about a boy who, convicted of murdering his parents, had the 'chutzpah' to throw himself on the mercy of the court on account of being an orphan! Seems to be a little bit of that in Amendola's case.

What gets me about all this is the smug ambulance chasing Amendola coming out and blaming it all on the AFL: QUOTE: They (AFL) have relentlessly trashed his reputation and misrepresented the facts and the context, I hope they are satisfied now but it should hardly be surprising — even for someone with mental health as strong as James’s — that this has happened. They have to bear some responsibility for it. From what I have observed over the past number of years, it seems that you can glass your partner, you can sleep with your best friend’s wife and the path to forgiveness will always be open in AFL land — but if your name is James Hird that path will be blocked. UNQUOTE So according to Amendola, the AFL condones glassing partners and players sleeping with their mates' wives?? Of course thats football related so both those players should've been suspended by the AFL in his opinion? But surely the AFL couldn't possibly have had the temerity to investigate and punish EFC and Hird for doping? No doubt Amendola is lining up a civil case against the AFL right now, otherwise his words mean nothing. Its so-called supporters like this that reignite feelings against Hird and Amendola would be best advised to shut his mouth for the sake of his ex client.

CUW(can't understand why) PDHT(people don't have time) 2W4W(to write four words). I can understand on the old phones when texting. I actually spend more time wondering why people wouldn't just use the words than it would take to type them. Anyway thats just IMHO.

Absolutely brilliant insight.

Beautifully put, mcmanpp, with an understanding of and empathy for Hird's current situation & condition, yet not letting nostalgia and emotion absolve him from what he was responsible for during 2012-2015. Plus, the deeper matter of a hero's tragic character flaw whereby some of the qualities which makes heroes can also undo them. And while some will wrongly (and often snobbishly) sneer that it is 'only' sport, it is the very same tragic flaw presented on stage by our most brilliant dramatists from the Athenian trio of Aeschylus, Euripides & Sophocles in the 400s BCE through to Shakespeare 2000 years later, and beyond. Your sort of insight makes this sort of blogging worthwhile.

Sometimes a person’s greatest strengths can become their greatest weakness. I think Hird made successive misjudgements as a participant in the events at Essendon in 2012 and beyond, and now, as if in a Greek tragedy, is reaping the consequences. We are all, to some degree, trapped in our characters - none more so than Hird, a major figure whose excellent career rested on its celebration in the public eye of AFL. The heroic figure, however, standing alone, face to the winds of misfortune, can’t keep doing it forever. We’re not islands; we are a communal species and a day of personal and private reckoning was always inevitable. We don’t know the trigger; it’s not our business to know or to enquire. With patience, love and both professional and familial support, he can address his own nature and his deeds, atone (if atonement is needed), learn from the whole ugly mess of it and move on. He needs to do it for himself, and, rather than abandoning him to his misery, we need to see him do it to begin welcoming him back.

Harsh Paul D. The black dog can bite anyone.

There is a community program 'suicide TALK' that is 1.5 hours long which deals with identifying people who are contemplating suicide and helping them to a safer place. Look it up and do it. You then have the knowledge to help prevent the suicide of people in your life. Hird's withdrawal from his friends and their get togethers is an important indicator of thoughts of suicide, and if any of his friends had done this course they would have been trained to ask Hird the question 'are you thinking of suicide'?

Absolutely hairy. This is very sad.

Finally supplements (drugs - same same eh) take their toll on him directly. I feel sorry for the people he let down (players, his wife and family) not him. Some players opted out because simple questions couldn't be answered. He knew that. He did nothing. He had a duty of care. He just wanted to win. Easy to turn a blind eye when it's what made your own career great I guess. Sympathy for others not him - he's just proven himself selfish again most likely.

That's just who Paul is.

Even if you despise Hird for his antics, you have to feel for those close to him, especially his children. Very sad.

Talk about throwing good money away after bad. The AFL will never learn. How many times does the AFL have to pick up the tab for other peopls' bad choices ?

In my honest opinion (just write the whole words, it doesn't take that long) I think Hird was trying to clear the players names with his dragging on of the case, and I think he thinks that they're innocent in all of this.

I wish the Hird family all the best throughout yet another turbulent time in their lives.

Tom, I expected the same. I guess some people can always find ways to surprise.

You know, I honestly expected Paul would recognise he'd gone too far, and walk his comments back.

Perhaps Paul D grew up in a different generation when seeing suicide as selfish was a social norm. I am 36 (how old are you Paul?) and I find that males over 50 often disagree with me on this. I also know that the average age of males who commit suicide has gotten older over the years. In many ways it is still hard for a male to talk about their problems with other males. But we do seem to be slowly moving away from the "just deal with it" attitude of generations past.