[Speculation] Is there anything to worry about?

[John Wren]

[David]

I understand what people mean when they say players are 'investments', but think about the implications of that: in a sense, you are saying that clubs own their bodies. That they lose the right to decide what goes in and what goes out, not just on match days or during the season, but for their entire lives so long as they remain contracted.

Is that a fair trade-off for getting a well-paid job, or an unacceptable incursion into someone's personal autonomy? I'd say the latter.

[John Wren]

i think it is a fair trade off. players are remunerated extremely well and in return there are sacrifices that should be made for that. i don't think it is unreasonable for clubs or the industry to outline their expectations of players and for the players to abide by it. the rules are the rules. in addition to this, wouldn't most players would be breaching a code of conduct as an employee of the club? would they be exempt from complying with such?

[Piesnchess]

Just ask those two silly buggers, Keefe and Thomas. sigh.

[David]

[Neil Appleby]

I think the Keeffe/Thomas scenario will be a game changer, not just for the two players, but for the entire pro-sporting industry in Australia.

Yesterday Damien Barrett suggested Collingwood had washed its hands of Keeffe and Thomas. He said the Club was was being disingenuous by saying it legally couldn't talk to the players. It was implied that Collingwood has all but sacked them and that they will never set foot in the Westpac Centre again. Eddie said as much last week on his radio programme.

I think the players deserve to be treated as innocent until proof arrives next Thursday. But Sample A and Sample B almost always throw up the same result. I reckon we can say that Sample B will be positive also; probably a 99% certainty of this.

Reading between the lines, Collingwood has had enough. The message now will be if you can't stay free of banned, illegal substances during your career, then find another career or find another club. I think the AFL will be closing in on this mindset too.

Basically the 3 Strikes policy has given the players an unhealthy sense of security. "Heh even if I test positive, I'll have two more chances and the club won't even know. Hell, I'll self report and get more chances."

At least one club has asked for permission to hair-test its own players. I reckon for ten months of the year I would be happy enough for this. On breaks, the players should be free to do as they wish so long as they break no laws.

This week a club president was quoted as saying that his club would ".....no longer be a home of tolerance but a centre of excellence." I wonder which club president that was.

[John Wren]

[Geek]

[RudeBoy]

[swoop42]

[RudeBoy]

I'm with David on all this.

I'm a person who considers all recreational drug use - legal (such as alcohol) and illegal - to be stupid, reckless and dangerous. However, I am totally opposed to making criminals out of people for making stupid choices with their lives. Basically, my objection to Eddie's and the AFL's stance on drug use is two-fold:

1. While it is appropriate to ban performance enhancing drug use (which, after all is tantamount to cheating), I object to any employer/club testing their employees/players for recreational drug use. What someone does in their own private lives should not concern an employer. What type of sex they have, and with whom, should also be a purely private matter.

2. Given the promotion, acceptance and embracing of alcohol by sport, at official functions, mad monday's etc, it is totally hypocritical for the AFL to try to take the high (whoops!) moral ground by declaring recreational drug use a disaster or a crisis. Darren Millane, lost his life because he was pissed.

I know that some people argue that because players are paid such big salaries, they simply have to accept these controls on their private lives by their employers. This is nonsense. If we allow employers of well-paid workers to control their private lives, where does this start and end? Soon enough, we will all be totally submissive in our private lives to the control of our employers. F*ck that!

I'm all for promoting healthy and safe life-styles. The AFL should use its influence by beginning with a policy of no alcohol promotion or use at AFL functions. Until that happens, they, including Eddie, should pull their heads right in.

[David]

[Museman]

Is what they are doing illegal?

That is as far as you need go...if it is then 3 strikes is 2 to many.....

It is a privilege to be paid to do this...if you cannot respect that then f$%k off!!

[Doc63]

[Doc63]