Organised crime and drugs in sport investigation part III

[Spot On]

Yes you are right, the journo predicts they will. Nothing at all to do with Annesley.

I don't see what the problem with Annesley's comments are. He stated that he hasn't been informed of the developments, and that he hopes it will be sorted out soon with innocent people being cleared, and guilty people punished. As far as I recall, he didn't say in the past that everyone is guilty or that innocent players should be tarred with the same brush.

My comment re Annesley was about him changing his tune from six months ago to what he has said in that article.

There is no problem with what he has said in the linked article. He is urging ASADA to hurry the f**k up.

Six months ago he was telling the public that what he had been briefed about re the ACC report caused him to shit his pants.

 

[Spot On]

Edit.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3821521.htm

Scapegoat claims foreshadow release of report into Essendon's supplements

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 08/08/2013

Reporter: Louise Milligan

With rumour and denial surrounding the contents of the report in to the alleged use of illegal supplements by AFL team Essendon, a VFL player accuses authorities of having double standards.

Transcript

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: The biggest story in Australian sport continues to build as the Essendon Football Club waits to learn its fate in the performance enhancing supplement saga, and if so, what penalties it may attract.

There's speculation that individual players won't be punished, but that instead Essendon may be stripped of crucial points. That could cost it a place in the finals.

There's also mounting criticism of the anti-doping authority ASADA and its handling of the case.

Among other things, ASADA and the AFL are accused of letting high-flyers off the hook while penalising more junior athletes found guilty of minor offences.

Louise Milligan reports.

LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: Even on the soggiest of Melbourne winter nights, Matthew Clarke is training.

MATTHEW CLARKE, BANNED FOOTBALLER: Ever since my mum passed away, I kinda made a promise to her that I'd make it my goal again to make AFL and try me hardest, so that's what I'm doing at the moment. Hopefully I achieve it.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: Matthew Clarke's mother Jan died eight weeks ago. Jan Clarke was on the sidelines each week as her son blossomed from a footy-mad five-year-old to a plucky rover for local VFL side, the Frankston Dolphins. She was also there for Clarke when he was told in February this year that he was banned for two years for drinking an energy drink which turned out to contain a banned substance.

MATTHEW CLARKE: I was actually at work and I started crying. Like, I rang me mum and dad, just to let them know what happened. I told me boss I had to take the rest of the day off. I just came back and spoke to me parents and we just kinda weighed up my options from there, which wasn't much, really.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: Matthew Clarke's life changed after this game two years ago in the VFL, Victoria's second-tier competition. Clarke was in fine form.

Clarke drank an energy drink, Hemo-Rage, earlier that day in full knowledge that the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority would be testing him for banned substances after the match.

MATTHEW CLARKE: I actually - I didn't really think about it at all 'cause my teammates, I think there was about 15 of them, had been taking it the whole year, so I gave it a shot and it came back positive.

JASON CLARE, HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER (Feb. 7): The findings are shocking and they'll disgust Australian sports fans.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: The day after it was revealed that ASADA was investigating 12 Essendon players for possible drug cheating, Clarke was told he'd been banned for two years.

MATTHEW CLARKE: Felt to me like I was used as a bit of a scapegoat by the AFL just to kinda set the precedents.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: So Matthew Clarke is watching with great interest now that ASADA's report has been delivered. The report's igniting feverish discussion in Melbourne, a city that worships at the altar of football.

Only the AFL, ASADA, Essendon and coach James Hird's lawyers have the report. Twitter has been alight with speculation that Hird, a legendary player and Essendon's favourite son, might stand down, a rumour both he and the club deny.

JOURNALIST: Are you gonna be staying on or standing down?

JAMES HIRD, ESSENDON COACH: Ahh, staying on. Sorry, guys.

JOURNALIST: And how are you coping with the pressure?

JAMES HIRD: Good. Yeah, very well.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: But there have been strategic leaks suggesting that no players will be charged with infractions because there is insufficient evidence. But Essendon or its officials may be charged with the AFL with bringing the game into disrepute.

DAVID GALBALLY, LAWYER: If Essendon are going to be dealt with, we all know in the public what it is they're being dealt with for, what the evidence is that is against them and it's not to be dealt with behind closed doors.

GERARD WHATELEY, ABC SPORT: I don't think this report has any prospect of ever becoming public under ASADA's own legislation. The fact that its interim is a starting point. The fact that there are privacy provisions which govern all of this enshrined in legislation. The rights of the individuals are actually paramount.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: James Hird has always maintained that he insisted the supplements program be strictly legal, but concerns have been raised Essendon players were given substances on the World Anti-Doping Authority's banned list.

Three heads have already hit Essendon's chopping block over the injectables saga: CEO Ian Robson, chairman David Evans and high-performance manager Dean Robinson, AKA "The Weapon". Robinson complained bitterly of his sacking in a paid interview with Channel Seven.

DEAN ROBINSON, ESSENDON HIGH PERFORMANCE MANAGER: I've got no issue with James Hird being innocent until proven guilty, but what Essendon choose to do to one person, they should do to all. They should give natural justice. They say they should give natural justice to James Hird. Where was mine? What did I do, except follow his instructions?

LOUISE MILLIGAN: Now Robinson's lawyer is on the warpath. David Galbally QC wants to know why James Hird's solicitors have been granted access to the interim report, but his client hasn't been given that courtesy.

DAVID GALBALLY: I find it extraordinary that they receive a copy of the report and they know that Dean Robinson was the prime target right at the beginning, and they know that irrespective of what the findings are, irrespective of what the evidence is ... he's taken the full brunt of the criticism from day one and it's grossly unfair that he's not been given a copy of it.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: 7.30 understands that some Essendon players and their families are dismayed that they haven't been granted access to the interim report either. All eyes are now on the AFL and all it would say today was "Watch this space."

There's much speculation the Bombers could be grounded, stripped of their Premiership points and denied a place in next month's finals.

GERARD WHATELEY: It's possible that individuals from Essendon would be charged for their failure in duty of care towards their players and their failures on the issues of procedure and governance. ... All along the feeling has been there will be overall charges against Essendon. Precisely what they are, well that's the dispute.

MATTHEW CLARKE: When someone's sticking a needle in ya, you've gotta be pretty suss straightaway that there's something wrong it. Mine was only a powder that I mixed with water. They're actually puttin' needles in their arm.

LOUISE MILLIGAN: Matthew Clarke is amazed at what he suspects will be a double standard for the stars of Windy Hill's Bombers and a VFL rover paid $300 a week.

MATTHEW CLARKE: I guess it's disappointing to know that they would suspend me, like, a kid from Frankston who's playing VFL footy, and then a multimillion-dollar club like Essendon, are just gonna - like, pretty much just walk free.

LEIGH SALES: Louise MillIgan reporting.

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/ca...soft-on-essendon/story-fndv8f7j-1226694154232

Carlton coach Mick Malthouse says the AFL can't afford to go soft on Essendon

Warwick Green
From: Herald Sun
August 09, 2013 12:13PM

CARLTON coach Mick Malthouse has reiterated his call for the AFL to take a strong stand on the Essendon supplements scandal, saying the sport needed to take a tougher stance than Major League Baseball had this week.

Malthouse said the Essendon situation could not just "be pushed under some mat" because it involved some of the AFL’s biggest names.

"I stick with what I said: This can only be solved with great, not just good, governance," Malthouse said on Friday morning.

"This is going to solved and remembered for as much about the governance of the game as it is about Essendon."

Malthouse pointed to the example of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, baseball’s highest-paid player, who was suspended on Monday for a record 211 games, while another 12 players received 50-game suspensions.

"It’ll be a great test of strength of the (AFL) commission, and the administrators that are directly under the commission, to not have repeats that we’ve seen through world sport, or we want them to emulate some other aspects of world sport," he said.

"Some aspects of world sport have got it right. Have the baseball got it right in America? Pffft, turn it up. What, 211 games? If it's 211 games for us it’s 10 seasons, but we’re talking about a season and half.

"They’ve bowed to the best player, and I certainly hope that our governance is stronger, and if there’s penalties to be passed down, that they’re not scared of them.

"This is something that can’t be pushed under some mat, and forgotten about and we’ll move on. Because the ramifications are grave and great.

"Because if any of this is just deemed to be something that can be just brushed aside, I fear for every 18-year-old kid who wants to make it better than any other 18-year-old kid – that he’s going to go ‘well, you know what? Penalties aren’t that harsh’."

Malthouse said the seven-month investigation into the Essendon supplements program had been a major distraction to the AFL season.

"Of cause it’s been disruptive. It’s been on everyone’s front and back page and everywhere else," Malthouse said.

Malthouse had been critical of the AFL's handling of the Essendon situation in June, saying he was disturbed and disappointed by the league's silence after Jobe Watson said he believed he was injected with the anti-obesity drug AOD-9604.

"We've heard from Essendon, we've heard from a lot of football clubs. But interestingly enough, the one massive surprise in my book, is we haven't heard from the AFL at all," Malthouse said at the time.

"I find that disappointing, disturbing, and this is a time when people from the AFL have to stand up and show real leadership.

"Not let the back pages hang out there and murder a player at Essendon, or Essendon themselves."

 

[Spot On]

Very quite :sarcasm:

 

[Miller was a legend]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...sada-not-players/story-fnca0von-1226694543151

Interesting one

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...sada-not-players/story-fnca0von-1226694543151

Interesting one

Claims initial interviews were delayed by ASADA, not players

by: BRENT READ
From: The Australian
August 10, 2013 12:00AM

NICK Weeks, the recently appointed head of the NRL's integrity unit, has taken a hands-on approach to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation into the game by sitting in on interviews with players.

Only a matter of weeks after joining the NRL from the Australian Rugby Union, Weeks has assumed the task of representing the NRL in interviews held over the past week with Cronulla players.

The NRL was encouraged to be involved in the interview process by ASADA after the earlier breakdown in talks between the anti-doping body and the players.

Weeks was the ARU's general manager of strategy, corporate affairs and legal before joining the NRL last month to head its new integrity unit.

He was immediately confronted by the ASADA investigation, which heated up late last week with the resumption of interviews with the support staff and 30 players scheduled to meet ASADA.

The authority interviewed several Sharks players this week but will give the under-siege club a respite next week as it focuses on other individuals under its gaze.

However, talks with the remaining Sharks players will be carried out the following week as ASADA works towards completing the interview process by August 28.

A source close to the investigation yesterday told The Weekend Australian the players were happy to finally have the chance to tell their side of the story and put the matter behind them.

Furthermore, the source said it had become apparent the earlier cancellation of the interview process was related to ASADA being poorly prepared for talks with the players, rather than claims it resulted from lack of co-operation from Sharks backrower Wade Graham.

ASADA had initially planned to interview the players at the end of April but pulled the plug after a three-hour sit-down with Graham. It was alleged at the time that Graham's non-compliance was to blame.

The Weekend Australian was told yesterday the cancellation had more to do with the fact ASADA was ill-prepared and pulled back from the process so it would have time to digest the contents of the Kavanagh report into the Sharks, compiled by former judge Tricia Kavanagh.

Graham was interviewed by ASADA for a second time last Thursday.

"I think the players are relieved to finally have their say because up until now they have had to have their mouths shut since February," the source said.

"That's eight months of copping it in the media and from opposition clubs and fans.

"Finally they get to go in and have their say. It's a massive weight off their shoulders."

News of Weeks's direct involvement in the process comes amid suggestions a country's participation in the coming World Cup may be affected by doping-related suspensions handed out to players.

Under World Cup rules, each country must choose its players from a squad of 24 it submits ahead of the tournament.

Some of those countries could strike trouble should the ASADA investigation continue beyond the end of the NRL season, as is expected.

More than 100 players from the NRL are expected to take part in the World Cup and it is likely some are part of the current ASADA investigation.

Countries may be required to seek special dispensation from the tournament organisers in the event players are suspended while the tournament is being played.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-10/asada-report-on-essendon-will-not-be-made-public/4877960

Let the cover up begin.

 

[Perth Red]

Sounds like the afl would rather it be played out in public?

I can understand asada, else don or afl being under no obligation to release the full report but any subsequent action would be public knowledge. I guess if the afl don't act or don't impose sutiable penalties then what recourse does asada have?

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/make-asada-judge-jury-executioner-20130810-2rovb.html

Make ASADA judge, jury, executioner

Date
August 11, 2013

Adrian Proszenko

The world's foremost anti-drugs crusader, US Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart, has called for the NRL and AFL to hand over their power to sanction drug cheats to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

The probe into the Australian footballing codes is edging towards a conclusion as ASADA works through interviews with the 31 rugby league players of interest. Should they be presented with sufficient evidence by ASADA, the NRL will issue players with an infraction notice which details a player's options in accepting a nominated penalty under the WADA code or proceeding to a hearing before the NRL Anti-Doping Tribunal.

However, Tygart - one of the key men responsible for exposing cyclist Lance Armstrong as a cheat - believes there's a conflict of interest if a sporting body is responsible for sanctioning its own players.

''Absolutely - you can't police your own sport, even in the first instance,'' Tygart told Fairfax Media. ''Even if they go to CAS [the Court of Arbitration for Sport] for an appeal, but you have to have the entity that knows the facts, that weighs the credibility of the witnesses, to present the case in front of independent judges.

''Sport organisers and administrators are going to take every inference or piece of evidence in favour to itself, to not embarrass themselves. It calls into question the legitimacy of the decision coming out of sport. We saw the Spanish Cycling Federation in the [Alberto] Contador case - sport organisations don't have the expertise and aren't in the best position to independently weigh [evidence], particularly in non-analytical cases without a positive test.''

ASADA has given the AFL its interim report, while interviews with NRL players continue this month.

Tygart had a simple piece of advice for those getting grilled. ''What we required from all of our witnesses was, number one, the truth. And number two, full and complete truthful testimony,'' he said.

''I would advise every athlete to do the same. That's what's going to get them credibility. Even if they doped, their redemption will come very easily. Forgiveness is easily obtained by sports fans, as it should be.

''We all make mistakes and no one is perfect - everyone knows that. What we want to see is acceptance and responsibility. The way you do that is being full and truthful and complete in what you provide.''

Tygart described the investigations as the ''tipping moment for Australian sport''.

''Hopefully … people realise that Australia is not immune from these same pressures of drug use and organised crime or whatever may be that's going to undermine the integrity of sport,'' he said. ''Hopefully it will further the resolve of all of those who love sport to do even more to protect it. Hopefully it will send a powerful deterrent message to the next generation of athletes that there are no shortcuts to athletic success. That's why every case is critically important, to be handled thoroughly and fairly but ultimately in line with the evidence for the purpose of clean sport and the integrity of sport.''

lol

as if ASADA would treat both equally

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/br...-cronulla-sharks/story-fndv2ypb-1226694868225

Bruno Cullen opens up on peptide probe at Cronulla Sharks

Peter Badel
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
August 11, 2013 12:00AM

CRONULLA troubleshooter Bruno Cullen believes Paul Gallen and other NRL players were "hoodwinked" in a supplements regime and believes targeted stars must be cleared by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

In a revealing interview with The Sunday Mail, Cullen, the former Broncos chief executive, opened up about the ASADA peptides probe, the future of the embattled Sharks and why leading NRL players should escape punishment.

"It's all about getting the bad guys," Cullen said. "If any player gets suspended over this (drugs probe), it would be unfair.

"It was my job to get some good people in place at Cronulla and I feel I have done that.

"I am not death-riding the club. I wish Steve Noyce, Gy Wallace and the board every success going forward."

Cullen quit as Sharks CEO a fortnight ago, labelling his position "untenable" after the new Cronulla board offered apologies to four staffers sacked by the previous regime amid the ASADA doping probe.

Cullen had originally been appointed by the NRL in March to beef-up Cronulla's governance as ASADA ramped-up investigations into the club's supplements program.

After a sweeping probe now spanning six months, ASADA are under mounting pressure to deliver scalps.

Cullen refused to comment specifically on whether Cronulla players were injected with banned substances in 2011, but says they are innocent victims who deserve clemency.

THE PLAYERS

ABOUT 30 NRL stars have been issued with interview notices by ASADA. They include Manly duo Brett Stewart and Anthony Watmough, plus 14 Cronulla players headed by Gallen, John Morris, Ben Pomeroy, Wade Graham and Ben Ross.

Queensland-based NRL players Glenn Hall (Cowboys) and Titans duo Albert Kelly and Luke Douglas have also been summoned given their previous stints at either Manly or Cronulla.

There is no suggestion any of the group are guilty of doping. Sports scientist Stephen Dank has denied supplying players with banned substances and Cullen hopes the playing group are not hit with sanction.

"Personally, I hope the players are cleared because I believe they have been hoodwinked," he said.

"I'm not saying they have taken illegal substances but, if they have, they are the innocent parties in all of this.

"They have just done what they should as professional footballers and followed the advice of people who should have their best welfare at heart.

"I don't think one player would enter into an illegal-substance program thinking they were cheating.

"Gallen is in the same group. I believe they received poor advice and shouldn't be accountable for it."

ASADA

"I think ASADA and WADA will stick rigidly to the rules," Cullen said. "What evidence they can gather to enforce the rules is the sticking point. If they can prove someone took something illegal, they probably have the right to hand out a suspension. I believe it might prove very difficult to prove player X took substance Y 100 per cent, I don't know if that will happen.

WHEN WILL IT END

"ASADA will run their own race and they won't be hurried or pressured," he said. "They were given new powers with a change in legislation which came into effect on August 1, so they will exhaust the new powers to gather more information. The best-case scenario is this ending just after the season finishes and everyone saying everything is fine, let's get on with 2014.

"I doubt that will happen. If players are subject to suspensions or orders then the legal battle begins again."

FUTURE OF CRONULLA

"The land development has the club fairly well positioned, but the elephant in the room is the drug issue and it can put them under extreme pressure," he said.

"The whole drugs issue has impacted them badly on commercial sales and sponsorships.

"The Sharks may have to go to the NRL and get some sort of advance or loan.

"The best-case scenario is that nothing happens, all is forgiven and sponsors jump back on board and very quickly the organisation re-establishes itself and can survive with the development that goes ahead over the next five to 10 years.

"The worst case scenario is very, very bad and Cronulla would need financial assistance in going cap in hand to the NRL, who they have upset I would suggest by reinstating the staff.

"There are real dangers but the Sutherland Shire is a loyal area and they will fight."

THE NEW BOARD

"It was untenable for me to stay if the CEO and the board can't work totally together," he said. "On this ASADA matter, they worked aside from me.

"In any event, I felt from a structural point of view I did what the NRL asked me to do so my time was effectively up.

"I couldn't work with the new board so I'm relaxed with that and I'm sure they are too. I'm not death-riding them ... I hope it works out for Cronulla."

 

[Parra]

"the elephant in the room is the drug issue" - I do not think it means what he thinks it means.

 

[DC_fan]

Player threat to sue Manly Sea Eagles

MANLY are facing an uncertain future and legal action from at least eight players if they are accused by ASADA of doing something wrong.
To make matters worse, there is no certainty that majority share-holder and one of Australia's richest men Rick Penn will be there to bail the club out.

The Sunday Telegraph understands Penn is considering selling his shares in the club because of his strained relationship with part-owners Quantum.

Current players George Rose, Steve Matai, Richard Fa'aoso, Ben Farrar, Brett Stewart and Anthony Watmough have been asked to attend ASADA interviews.

Penrith's Dean Whare and Parramatta's Darcy Lussick - both former Eagles - will also be questioned in relation to their playing days at Brookvale.

The eight players are adamant they have done nothing wrong.


Coach Geoff Toovey and his predecessor and now Canterbury coach Des Hasler will also be interviewed.

The players have already been briefed by lawyers about potential outcomes of the club-initiated supplements program.

The request to interview beefy prop Rose has at least provided some light banter at Brookvale.

Of all the players in the NRL, he would be the last you would think would need any supplement to increase an already massive frame.

Any threat of legal action would place enormous pressure on Manly's finances.

Despite the team's successes in recent years, the Sea Eagles have been flat-out making an annual profit. The only thing that was working in their favour is the personal wealth of part-owner Penn.

Sources have revealed Penn has decided to sell his shares if the right buyer emerges, although he would stay with the club if Quantum got out.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...manly-sea-eagles/story-fni3fh9n-1226694798300

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/wada-wo...epares-to-charge-essendon-20130811-2rq9h.html

WADA would appeal 'soft' sanctions as AFL prepares to charge Essendon

Date
August 12, 2013

Roy Masters
Rugby League Columnist

The AFL is expected to charge Essendon on Monday, together with the club's coaching, training and medical staff, over abuse of its doping code - signalling tough penalties against coach James Hird, who condoned a program in which multiple players received multiple injections of potentially dangerous drugs.

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority sanctions against several Essendon players will follow but there is no determined end date, the imminence of the AFL finals being irrelevant to the anti-doping body's investigation.

On Friday, ASADA told its stakeholders the AFL would charge Essendon on Monday. Because the AFL and ASADA have conducted a joint investigation since Essendon self-reported its concerns in early February, they can take advantage of each other's rights via their respective powers, the AFL's code of conduct and ASADA's legal powers.

This effectively means any weaknesses in ASADA's legislation regarding penalties against ''support people'' can be covered by the AFL's catch-all clause, ''bringing the game into disrepute''.

Under the World Anti-Doping Agency/ASADA code, it is not an offence for a coach to use drugs for personal use.

For ASADA to make a case against Hird, club doctor Bruce Reid or football manager Danny Corcoran, it needs to establish the support person is guilty of drug administration (injecting banned drugs to players), possession (supplying it to players from his own stock) or trafficking (directly dispensing known performance-enhancing drugs to players).

The recently released ASADA interim report on the Essendon investigation provides the AFL with enough evidence to charge the Bombers as a club, and their officials, leading to bans, loss of draft choices and fines. Insofar as ASADA has not, at this point, established a doping infraction, a penalty of loss of premiership points for cheating may be hard to sustain.

The 400-page document does not name one Bombers player, simply because ASADA legislation does not allow it to identify anyone

until it issues a doping infraction. The AFL Commission's response to the ASADA interim report is expected to reflect its concern at the duty of care over its most precious asset, its players.

While there is sympathy for Essendon players who complied with a doping regime condoned by Hird, they will not escape sanction simply because the WADA code demands an athlete be responsible for all substances he or she takes.

According to a source close to ASADA's investigation, ''there will be several footballers in both codes taken to their tribunals''.

Any soft sanctions will be appealed by WADA, which must maintain consistency with punishments in other sports and other countries, including stripping a gold medal from a 16-year-old Bulgarian gymnast at the Sydney Olympics because she tested positive to a banned substance given by her coach, despite her belief it was not banned.

ASADA is now pleased with the level of co-operation it is receiving from the NRL and Cronulla, as 31 players are required for interviews. Because sports scientist Stephen Dank was the architect of the supplements program at Cronulla in 2011 and Essendon last year, the then Sharks board made an early attempt to seek co-operation with the Bombers.

There was no response and future overtures by the NRL have been ignored.

As it transpires, the doping programs at both clubs were very different: Essendon's being almost military with 30-40 injections each player, while Cronulla's, the NRL's poorest club, being ad hoc with four or five injections a player.

Essendon's program lasted well into the season, while Cronulla's was shut down after a couple of months when club doctor Dave Givney became concerned at players' bruising.

While the culpability of Essendon officials may be greater, some Sharks players face two-year bans because they may have continued to take peptides off-site after Dank had been ordered out of the club.

Essendon players were injected under club supervision and have shown a level of co-operation with ASADA from the start. But a six-month suspension, mainly served during the off-season, can be appealed by WADA because its policy requires loss of ''competition'' time.

WADA will use the AFL and NRL cases to toughen its sanctions against ''support'' staff. It will hold a world conference in Johannesburg in November, part of a six-year cycle of updating its code.

The role of Essendon and Cronulla staff will be tabled to demonstrate the need for wider powers against those with a duty of care.

 

[El Diablo]

According to a source close to ASADA's investigation, ''there will be several footballers in both codes taken to their tribunals''.

we'll see

 

[Card Shark]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/make-asada-judge-jury-executioner-20130810-2rovb.html

That article mentions organised crime in the last paragraph.....I thought that was forgotten about :roll:

Made me laugh.

 

[Ernest the Sheep]

geez Masters is hopeless. That gymnast was Romanian, not Bulgarian. She did test for pseudoephedrine, found in cough and cold remedies. She was stripped of a gold medal, but only in the event for which she returned the positive test, and she kept her medals from other events for which she had not returned a positive test. And she did not have to serve out a ban.

 

[PoWdErFiNgEr84]

I think the point Master's was trying to make is that if WADA stripped a 16 yr old of a gold medal grown men cannot expect to use ignorance as an excuse. Like it or not the punishments handed out are ultimately in the hands of WADA because they will appeal any punishment they deem unsatisfactory. WADA couldn't care less about NRL or AFL players.

 

[Stinkler]

I think the point Master's was trying to make is that if WADA stripped a 16 yr old of a gold medal grown men cannot expect to use ignorance as an excuse. Like it or not the punishments handed out are ultimately in the hands of WADA because they will appeal any punishment they deem unsatisfactory. WADA couldn't care less about NRL or AFL players.

And what if the NRL told WADA to go get farkled?

(not saying they will)

 

[Kirky]

And what if the NRL told WADA to go get farkled?

(not saying they will)

All federal funding we receive will be goneski, regardless of who's in power.