Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

qldmagpie67 wrote:I've been very vocal here on this subject there has been rumor and innuendo for ages aout this but preparing briefs and getting a retired supreme court judge to run his eye over them means ASADA is super serious on pressing ahead with severe sanctions.
I've stated before I have some sympathy for the players but facts are facts.

Jobe Watson admitted on nattional TV he took a banned and prohibited substance on multiple occasions. He stated he never asked what it was just took it. Under the ASADA code he is guilty as they place the onus on athletes to ensure they know what they are putting into there bodies no matter who gives it to them.
Secondly Hird used he perceived messiah status at Essendon to get all the players on board with his and Dank's systematic doping program.
It is in the same league of what cycling teams have been doing for years. They provide a illegal substance to there employees who take it to give themselves an unfair advantage over the rest of the competition.
Now ASADA must make a statement here and penalize the dope pushers with life time sanctions. This includes Hird and all the coaches and sports science department. The board of Essendon are guilty of not providing a safe work place for there employees and must all be removed from there positions and can never hold a position one any influence on a AFL club ever again.
The AFL CEO and commission are guilty of trying to cover this scandal up and all must be dismissed immediately and banned from having any involvement in AFL at any level ever again.
The players are guilty of gross stupidity and ignorance. I don't condone what they have done at all but I also don't want to see them all rubbed out for 2 years.
Jobe Watson admitted his guilt on national TV and should bare the highest penalty of 2 yrs suspension. The other players should be given penalties of around 6 weeks each on a rolling basis so that Essendon can still field a team this year. They must also be fined harshly to send a clear message to all other players. There salaries for the year concerned should be the amount of the individual fines. The monies raised by these fines can be donated to junior AFL clubs.
I know some will say nothing will happen or I am riding a high moral horse but if nothing is done like in cycling the AFL will become the code who freely allows systematic doping without penalty.
Sponsors & fans have been duped by Essendon and surely Essendon must pay the price for this.
Essendon allowed Hird to conduct this program without question so they must be penalized accordingly.
The $2,000,000 should be increased to $10,000,000 payable at $2,000,000 a year for 5yrs. They must be banned from the draft for the next 5yrs.
Yes again sounds harsh but Essendon need to suffer long and hard for this deceitful act.
I know people will say they won't be a competitive side for at least 10yrs and that's a huge penalty. But face the fact Essendon tried to cheat the rest of the competition by doping ther players giving them a unfair advantage over the rest of the competition. If they werent caught they would have continued to do so and who knows what the long term effect could have been.
If you use lance Armstrong as a case in point he dominated his sport to such a level it became who was going to finish second to him each year. The same thing could have happened if Essendon program hadn't been uncovered.
Hurry up ASADA and clear the code of these cheats and let the real footballers show th skills unassisted by illegal substances.

Member 7167 wrote:

David wrote:I understand people looking forward to Essendon's day of judgement (particularly in the aftermath of the AFL's trivial sanctions), but I'm still holding out hope that the players will be spared the brunt of this. Hird, Dank, Corcoran et al should get life bans, and I hope they do, but the players are victims here. However many times ASADA trot out the "ignorance is no excuse" line in a dalek-like fashion, it would be fundamentally unfair for the players to be sidelined for a year or more because of the actions of their superiors. It may be naive, but I hope that the AFL choose to flout the ASADA recommendations and cut ties with them rather than accept unjust penalties, whatever the consequences. Rather a lot is at stake here.

I didn't see too much sympathy on Nicks for Saad who consumed a commercially available health drink in ignorance and received a 2 year ban.

In his case for a first offence I felt that a 6 month ban would be punitive. 2 years ????


Now some are happy with a 6 week ban on the Essendon Dopers. Hardly seems fair.

Lazza wrote:
Of course it will with delaying tactics employed until the season is over. Then a few players might get 6 month bans from October to March

David wrote:I understand people looking forward to Essendon's day of judgement (particularly in the aftermath of the AFL's trivial sanctions), but I'm still holding out hope that the players will be spared the brunt of this. Hird, Dank, Corcoran et al should get life bans, and I hope they do, but the players are victims here. However many times ASADA trot out the "ignorance is no excuse" line in a dalek-like fashion, it would be fundamentally unfair for the players to be sidelined for a year or more because of the actions of their superiors. It may be naive, but I hope that the AFL choose to flout the ASADA recommendations and cut ties with them rather than accept unjust penalties, whatever the consequences. Rather a lot is at stake here.