1. The Sharks ASADA saga
My chief concern at the moment with this whole Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority matter is whether the rights of the players are being protected. It's all fine to say players should be compelled to provide reasonable assistance to investigators in these interview processes. However, any reasonable assistance provided should be predicated on the belief the investigation process itself has been reasonable. The players should not have been placed under such heavy duress with the very public nature of this saga. From where I sit, all I have seen since that ferocious press conference in February is three months of hysteria, rumour, innuendo and warnings filling the media reports. The players, if accused of wrongdoing, should be entitled to the presumption of innocence and to the right to remain silent. I still hold the belief that ASADA should be told to charge players with offences based on the evidence in its possession. If it does not have the evidence, it should go away until it has that evidence. The public pressure placed on these players via the constant barrage of misinformed and exaggerated media reports surely renders this interview process unfair.
