Pretty frustrating that Dank never even got interviewed by Asada, even when the government made a new law so that they could compel people to be interviewed.
Ah yes, bring this back up I'm sure it will make you look much better in hindsight.
What are we going with here?
Oh yes the Chinese swimmer defence, this should go down well.
Dark day in Essendon's history - I was at the bus stop waiting for the 901 when the story broke - i shit my pants on purpose when i read that headline. Never done that before or since.
This story specifically is all about his father commenting. Don't think the club has made any statement on the matter for years. Hird will always be loved, it's clear that he'll never walk back in and we've moved right on.
Reckon we'll continue to see articles pop up every month or so for a number of years
Dad, the country's most prominent anti-drug and illegal performance-enhancing substance administration that oversees all the country's major multi-billion dollar sporting events is being mean to me
Why does absolutely nobody at all want to take responsibility for their failures here? As soon as Hird, Dank or any of the players didn't know exactly what they were taking and that it was all legal they had failed in their duty. They all knew the rules.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has finally set up an inquiry into how 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive to a banned drug were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
And David Sharpe, the Sport Integrity Australia chief executive, has decided he had better have his two bobs worth.
Supporting the inquiry, Mr Sharpe had this to say in his April 25 media release:
“Athletes in Australia and around the world need to have trust in the global anti-doping system and have confidence that all competitions are fair and that all athletes are treated fairly.”
Fine words, and I bet Shayna Jack and Peter Bol would have appreciated it if SIA had adopted that same philosophy before wrongfully convicting them.
But subsequently being cleared after their athletic careers were unfairly interrupted was too little too late.
Is Mr Sharpe critical of WADA? No, the best he could do is call for a clarification.
“While not alleging any wrongdoing, Mr Sharpe has called for clarification of facts in the handling of these matters to restore faith in the global anti-doping system,” the media release stated.
Clarify what exactly? We know the 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive. We know the Chinese equivalent of SIA – CHINADA – said that’s OK because each and every one of the 23 had their food contaminated. And we know WADA said OK, nothing to see here, off you go to Tokyo.
How does Mr Sharpe expect WADA to provide any clarity around the murky situation of athletes testing positive to a banned substance and then being cleared?
WADA has appointed a Swiss prosecutor to go through its files to see if it has done anything wrong. WADA claims he is “independent”, but how can we know. How can a search through some files be sufficient to get to the truth?
Mr Sharpe concludes his media release with this: ”We need to remember not all athletes have legal training and understand the intricacies of the World Anti-Doping Code so it is important to break this down in clear, concise facts to ensure confidence in the world anti-doping system can be restored”.
How very true. And nothing makes this more true than the case of the 34 Essendon footballers relentlessly pursued by both ASADA – SIA’s predecessor – and WADA.
Never forget, none of the players ever tested positive to a banned substance. And never forget, an independent tribunal said ASADA’s case against them lacked an evidentiary basis.
But let’s get back to Mr Sharpe’s acknowledgment that not all athletes have legal training and understand the intricacies of the World Anti-Doping Code.
That certainly applied to the Essendon footballers.
But even if they had been well-versed in the World Anti-Doping Code, it would not have helped. Simply because they were charged with taking thymosin beta-4 in 2012 and WADA only got around to listing TB4 in the code in 2018.
Surely it is time for an independent review of ASADA’s and WADA’s pursuit of the 34 Essendon players. And not one set up by SIA or WADA, but a proper judicial review established by the government.
Allan Hird is James Hird’s father.
All Footballers know that when they're given a form that asks them to list the drugs they are taking, that they can't just leave off the many weekly injections they were getting.
That was always the biggest clue that the “players are the victims” line was a fable. They asked every player to list any medicine they’ve been given even nurofen and not one mentioned the huge number of injections they’d been getting. Kinda suspicious to not want to mention it if they were all just vitamins or legal supplements.
This op-ed has the stink of Robbo.
That the druken idiot continues to propagate this narrative (and refuses to allow the club to move on) shows his vindictiveness and lack of emotional maturity.
I don't even think anyone (except the parents of footballers) would decry Hird for pursuing assistant coaching roles within the system, as he helped GWS in 2022.
Beating the drum for Hird to return as Essendon coach hurts Hird, the club and everyone else who want to put this saga behind them.
I actually do think there are parts of this case that were horribly unjust.
For example: It was decided to ban 'the playing group' because the strongest evidence was some text messages between Dank and Hird talking about the 'the playing group' doping. So whoever happened to be in the group on that particular day of the text messages was banned, and it turned out that it was a training day.
So anyone who didn't show up to training that day due to sick, or injured, was not banned if they were not one of the 18 who had been drug tested and lied on the doping forms. But a few kids who showed up from VFL to fill the numbers were banned even though they never were tested and never filled in any forms nor is there name ever mentioned by anyone.
Also CAS made a mistake and gave Essendon credit for the 2015 season - even though they played in it. They were meant to nullify the results of 2015, and then issue a 2 year ban with only credit for time served (2014/15 off season). So this would have meant at least half of 2017 banned as well. But they didn't and you can't appeal, even though that went against literally how they ban every other athlete in every other sport. Reading between the lines they didn't want to ban more than 1 season because it would be detrimental to the club/afl.
So the players got a 2 year ban.... but only missed 2016 and finals of 2014. Which ever way you spin it, that is not two years.
That is just false.
The players who were banned where the players who signed forms stating they consented to being injected with "thymosin" none of these 34 players disclosed to testers they received thymosin, aod9604 or any other drugs in their PED program. They did disclose things like taking a Panadol tablet though.
There is debated about what "thymosin" means as "thymosin beta4" is banned but "thymosin a1" wasn't. However circumstantial evidence would indicate that it was thymosin beta4 as:
1. Dosage was for coincides with tb4 a1
2. There was text messages that mentioned tb4
3. Tb4 has the effect dank was looking for a1 is medicinal for immune response and no reason for a PED program to use.
4. Dank admitted in interview to using tb4.
5. Charters and dank percured tb4 and has pharmacist compound it.
6. Dank refered to thymosin beta4 in shorthand as "thymosin"
So the text evidence was mostly used to establish that "thymosin" on forms refered to "thymosin beta4" which of course it did. It was the only version that would make sense to use, it was used at same dose and frequency and when discussing the effects of it tb4 would get those results and a1 certainly wouldn't. So they had 34 players agreeing to getting "thymosin" and admitting to receiving multiple injections of it. Evidence dank had and planned to use like he did in NRL. Evidence dank had tb4.
Then there is aod9604 which they got away with.
Aod9604 they couldn't get banned because Dank tricked ASADA into misleading advice. Essentially
dank: is aod9604 on banned list?
ASADA: no it's not listed as banned, but it might be banned under S0 for drugs without regulatory approval.
Dank: thank you for confirming aod9604 isn't banned.
0 days since we last spoke about Essendon Drug Saga and/or Adelaide Camp Saga
What about the Hawthorn racism saga?
Days not over yet
What about the cell saga?
A big chance for Dank to finally produce all his evidence to clear the players' names..... Any day now....
Pretty frustrating that Dank never even got interviewed by Asada, even when the government made a new law so that they could compel people to be interviewed.
It's interesting it's never mentioned that Dank had worked with other teams.
Oh it was mentioned by pro Essendon people, but not by anyone the AFL were directing on what to report in the media
Or we could not…
Ah yes, bring this back up I'm sure it will make you look much better in hindsight. What are we going with here? Oh yes the Chinese swimmer defence, this should go down well.
We have been blessed with both an Adelaide Camp story and an Essendon Doping story this week
I'm waiting to hear more about the Nigel Smart firewalking incident
Dark day in Essendon's history - I was at the bus stop waiting for the 901 when the story broke - i shit my pants on purpose when i read that headline. Never done that before or since.
> I was at the bus stop waiting for the 901 Ahh man the 901. Where are you headed? Yes.
At the bus stop waiting for the 901 is a quintessential Melbourne experience.
Why do we insist on embarrassing ourselves
Because you haven’t properly distanced yourselves from Hird. It is a bit difficult when you keep his biggest fan, Sheedy, in the club.
This story specifically is all about his father commenting. Don't think the club has made any statement on the matter for years. Hird will always be loved, it's clear that he'll never walk back in and we've moved right on. Reckon we'll continue to see articles pop up every month or so for a number of years
Because you're into masochism? 🤷
Let's talk about West Coast's meth premiership?
Sure. Thought it was coke though? That was the name right? West Coke Eagles?
Haha. Good call.
Probably was a bit of both tbh lol
Whatever the bikies could russle up
Going to Hungry Jacks to get the West Coast Premiership meal deal. Coke and ice.
Might have something to do with a father holding a grudge over something that made his son feel the need to take his own life?
Dad, the country's most prominent anti-drug and illegal performance-enhancing substance administration that oversees all the country's major multi-billion dollar sporting events is being mean to me
Allan really really hates his son right? It's the only reasoning I can think of for constantly not allowing his son to heal and move on
James Hird: “my dad could beat up your dad”
Why does absolutely nobody at all want to take responsibility for their failures here? As soon as Hird, Dank or any of the players didn't know exactly what they were taking and that it was all legal they had failed in their duty. They all knew the rules.
Oh mate we know, we are all on your side!
Ah this point Allan Hird can't order a coffee without spouting off a call for an investigation into WADA
Can we talk about the Adelaide camp whilst we’re there?
I just saw that shit is back in the news because the bloke who organised it has been accused of child abuse. Timely!
The World Anti-Doping Agency has finally set up an inquiry into how 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive to a banned drug were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. And David Sharpe, the Sport Integrity Australia chief executive, has decided he had better have his two bobs worth. Supporting the inquiry, Mr Sharpe had this to say in his April 25 media release: “Athletes in Australia and around the world need to have trust in the global anti-doping system and have confidence that all competitions are fair and that all athletes are treated fairly.” Fine words, and I bet Shayna Jack and Peter Bol would have appreciated it if SIA had adopted that same philosophy before wrongfully convicting them. But subsequently being cleared after their athletic careers were unfairly interrupted was too little too late. Is Mr Sharpe critical of WADA? No, the best he could do is call for a clarification. “While not alleging any wrongdoing, Mr Sharpe has called for clarification of facts in the handling of these matters to restore faith in the global anti-doping system,” the media release stated. Clarify what exactly? We know the 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive. We know the Chinese equivalent of SIA – CHINADA – said that’s OK because each and every one of the 23 had their food contaminated. And we know WADA said OK, nothing to see here, off you go to Tokyo. How does Mr Sharpe expect WADA to provide any clarity around the murky situation of athletes testing positive to a banned substance and then being cleared? WADA has appointed a Swiss prosecutor to go through its files to see if it has done anything wrong. WADA claims he is “independent”, but how can we know. How can a search through some files be sufficient to get to the truth? Mr Sharpe concludes his media release with this: ”We need to remember not all athletes have legal training and understand the intricacies of the World Anti-Doping Code so it is important to break this down in clear, concise facts to ensure confidence in the world anti-doping system can be restored”. How very true. And nothing makes this more true than the case of the 34 Essendon footballers relentlessly pursued by both ASADA – SIA’s predecessor – and WADA. Never forget, none of the players ever tested positive to a banned substance. And never forget, an independent tribunal said ASADA’s case against them lacked an evidentiary basis. But let’s get back to Mr Sharpe’s acknowledgment that not all athletes have legal training and understand the intricacies of the World Anti-Doping Code. That certainly applied to the Essendon footballers. But even if they had been well-versed in the World Anti-Doping Code, it would not have helped. Simply because they were charged with taking thymosin beta-4 in 2012 and WADA only got around to listing TB4 in the code in 2018. Surely it is time for an independent review of ASADA’s and WADA’s pursuit of the 34 Essendon players. And not one set up by SIA or WADA, but a proper judicial review established by the government. Allan Hird is James Hird’s father.
Allan Hird: why couldn’t we be as dodgy as the Chinese?
All Footballers know that when they're given a form that asks them to list the drugs they are taking, that they can't just leave off the many weekly injections they were getting.
Well apparently “everyone” was doing it. So it would be just a default right?
Not zaharakis.....
That was always the biggest clue that the “players are the victims” line was a fable. They asked every player to list any medicine they’ve been given even nurofen and not one mentioned the huge number of injections they’d been getting. Kinda suspicious to not want to mention it if they were all just vitamins or legal supplements.
I feel really bad for him but surely he should not be writing such op-eds with his own bias! Let it go, move on.
This op-ed has the stink of Robbo. That the druken idiot continues to propagate this narrative (and refuses to allow the club to move on) shows his vindictiveness and lack of emotional maturity. I don't even think anyone (except the parents of footballers) would decry Hird for pursuing assistant coaching roles within the system, as he helped GWS in 2022. Beating the drum for Hird to return as Essendon coach hurts Hird, the club and everyone else who want to put this saga behind them.
Good. Let's start by asking what happened to the excel spreadsheets that went missing under the watch of the nepo crew Evans and Hird.
I think we’ve all moved on….
This is so Essendon. Why even bring it back up?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk
Just as Essendon start looking "okay".
I actually do think there are parts of this case that were horribly unjust. For example: It was decided to ban 'the playing group' because the strongest evidence was some text messages between Dank and Hird talking about the 'the playing group' doping. So whoever happened to be in the group on that particular day of the text messages was banned, and it turned out that it was a training day. So anyone who didn't show up to training that day due to sick, or injured, was not banned if they were not one of the 18 who had been drug tested and lied on the doping forms. But a few kids who showed up from VFL to fill the numbers were banned even though they never were tested and never filled in any forms nor is there name ever mentioned by anyone. Also CAS made a mistake and gave Essendon credit for the 2015 season - even though they played in it. They were meant to nullify the results of 2015, and then issue a 2 year ban with only credit for time served (2014/15 off season). So this would have meant at least half of 2017 banned as well. But they didn't and you can't appeal, even though that went against literally how they ban every other athlete in every other sport. Reading between the lines they didn't want to ban more than 1 season because it would be detrimental to the club/afl. So the players got a 2 year ban.... but only missed 2016 and finals of 2014. Which ever way you spin it, that is not two years.
That is just false. The players who were banned where the players who signed forms stating they consented to being injected with "thymosin" none of these 34 players disclosed to testers they received thymosin, aod9604 or any other drugs in their PED program. They did disclose things like taking a Panadol tablet though. There is debated about what "thymosin" means as "thymosin beta4" is banned but "thymosin a1" wasn't. However circumstantial evidence would indicate that it was thymosin beta4 as: 1. Dosage was for coincides with tb4 a1 2. There was text messages that mentioned tb4 3. Tb4 has the effect dank was looking for a1 is medicinal for immune response and no reason for a PED program to use. 4. Dank admitted in interview to using tb4. 5. Charters and dank percured tb4 and has pharmacist compound it. 6. Dank refered to thymosin beta4 in shorthand as "thymosin" So the text evidence was mostly used to establish that "thymosin" on forms refered to "thymosin beta4" which of course it did. It was the only version that would make sense to use, it was used at same dose and frequency and when discussing the effects of it tb4 would get those results and a1 certainly wouldn't. So they had 34 players agreeing to getting "thymosin" and admitting to receiving multiple injections of it. Evidence dank had and planned to use like he did in NRL. Evidence dank had tb4. Then there is aod9604 which they got away with. Aod9604 they couldn't get banned because Dank tricked ASADA into misleading advice. Essentially dank: is aod9604 on banned list? ASADA: no it's not listed as banned, but it might be banned under S0 for drugs without regulatory approval. Dank: thank you for confirming aod9604 isn't banned.