Caroline Wilson article re Swan and bad behaviour

[the distributer]

Rumor has it that Swan has been "charged" and it will be on the front page of tomorrows Herald Sun. Don't know how reliable my source is but with all the shit brewing over the past 2 days I would not be surprised. The reaction from Eddie today is what has me worried, he would normally slam anyone that said something like that about one of our stars but chose not to. Really hope this is not true as it has the potential to derail our season before it even starts. Before anyone asks I was not told who or why he was charged but was told it will be big news tomorrow.

She would have broke the story though if true, in fact she would be negligent in her job if she didn't, i call bullshit.

 

[Buena]

Rumor has it that Swan has been "charged" and it will be on the front page of tomorrows Herald Sun. Don't know how reliable my source is but with all the shit brewing over the past 2 days I would not be surprised. The reaction from Eddie today is what has me worried, he would normally slam anyone that said something like that about one of our stars but chose not to. Really hope this is not true as it has the potential to derail our season before it even starts. Before anyone asks I was not told who or why he was charged but was told it will be big news tomorrow.

Oh shit...

 

[TheycallmeBruce]

She would have broke the story though if true, in fact she would be negligent in her job if she didn't, i call bullshit.

flipping hope your right!

Bloke I spoke to is not a shit talker.

 

[tazzawazza]

THE AGE has started it again, they started the 'Cloke Saga' which extremely affected Travis Cloke and Collingwood last year and now they have new plans for us.

 

[blaze036]

Rumor has it that Swan has been "charged" and it will be on the front page of tomorrows Herald Sun. Don't know how reliable my source is but with all the shit brewing over the past 2 days I would not be surprised. The reaction from Eddie today is what has me worried, he would normally slam anyone that said something like that about one of our stars but chose not to. Really hope this is not true as it has the potential to derail our season before it even starts. Before anyone asks I was not told who or why he was charged but was told it will be big news tomorrow.

He was happily training today.. highly doubt it

 

[TheycallmeBruce]

He was happily training today.. highly doubt it

Suppose we will find out in a few hours, if the shit is true then surely it will break on the HS website tonight.

 

[go team]

Suppose we will find out in a few hours, if the shit is true then surely it will break on the HS website tonight.

If HS runs with it, we'll need to come up with a whole heap of new insults to pitch at their journalists!

 

[Quicky]

Can we please refrain from some of the tasteless (borderline) sexist comments. I'd hope we are better than that. Cheers.

 

[ManOfClay]

does she have any evidence or is she talking out of her arse?

Probably about as much evidence as the people claiming the Dogs have a drug problem. The only difference is she speculates in the print media and not online.

 

[Paul.]

Rumor has it that Swan has been "charged" and it will be on the front page of tomorrows Herald Sun. Don't know how reliable my source is but with all the shit brewing over the past 2 days I would not be surprised. The reaction from Eddie today is what has me worried, he would normally slam anyone that said something like that about one of our stars but chose not to. Really hope this is not true as it has the potential to derail our season before it even starts. Before anyone asks I was not told who or why he was charged but was told it will be big news tomorrow.

Just saw a pig fly past my window.

 

[Paul.]

​

​

It's poor writing like this that I'm angry about. Not one genuine quoted source. Instead, publishing either hearsay or opinion that is likely to end up in court. The specificity of this article is to such a degree that Swan would be within his rights to go straight to civil proceedings. ​

What's in poor taste is the reference to John McCarthy. The players who were closest to him are being ​

emotionally ​

manipulated with this kind of writing. To suggest (which is the bow she is drawing) that these players are heading toward an early death by going out and partying is one thing, but there's no need to crudely link the two.​

Quite frankly, I don't see any particularly valuable insight that Caroline WIlson brings to football. Why she is even on the payroll at Fairfax is beyond me. I can't see many Collingwood people willingly going onto Footy Classified now.​

I stand with you on this. She's writing bullshit. The Age changed the name of the article twice afterwards.

I look forward to the day Dustin Martin or Richmond slip up.

 

[lyfsux]

I'm pissed off now if I had of known I could've won a brownlow and averaged over 30 possies a game I would of taken drugs when I playing football

 

[go team]

I stand with you on this. She's writing bullshit. The Age changed the name of the article twice afterwards.

I look forward to the day Dustin Martin or Richmond slip up.

FWIW Wilson wouldn't have written the headline in the first place.

 

[keviewiggle]

Just thought I would pop onto your site and see how you guys were coping with the flack going around.
All I can say is it is just like the start of the Cousins saga at WCE.
When Cousins was first named by the press a drug user and the centre of a drug culture within the club I got really angry and upset.
After all he was a state hero, wonderboy and the player who set the standard on te field.
He came from a good family, well educated clean looking and charismatic. How dare the press accuse him of this?
We all made excuses fr him, the club gave him every chance. We believed Ben and the club would get through this.
After all Ben had never had tested positive to drugs.
Finally the club grew some balls and sacked him much to the displeasure of most of the fans.
But not before the saga near on destroyed the club and the careers of a good coach and club executives.
WCE went from Premiers to rock bottom.
I feel for you guys and I know the emotions you are experiencing . Eddie and Garry Pert are neither admitting or denying anything but unless they sort this issue it could end up hurting you real bad.
Good Luck.

 

[Hagla]

Suppose we will find out in a few hours, if the shit is true then surely it will break on the HS website tonight.

Apparently the Herald Sun article is going to be about 2 unnamed players who have signed up to a private clinic for drug rehab.

 

[MeisterBot]

http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/...-abuse-treatment/story-e6frfkp9-1226527031943

AFL players are turning to private rehabilitation clinics to deal with serious illegal drug problems.

At least two Melbourne-based footballers have sought help for treatment of addiction to methamphetamine, more commonly known as ice.

Fisher and Swan?

Plot thickens.

Hope it's not true, and that it doesn't involve anyone at the Club. Still, bad news all around if it is true. Regardless of who is involved. It's one thing to have a big night or two in the off-season, it's quite another to head off to rehab for ice addiction. You just don't want to see that sort of thing in the AFL, or in general society.

At least this article wasn't written as poorly as Caro's. Got quotes, got statements and generally kept the level of discourse above board rather than sinking the claws in with unsubstantiated claims and soapbox pontificating.

 

[Hardas]

In case anyone needs access to the expected story in the Hun:
[It refers to unnamed players seeking help for addiction to ice, but does not make any inference as to which club or clubs they might be from - just that they are Melbourne-based].

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/afl-p...-abuse-treatment/story-e6frea6u-1226527031943

A couple of quotes from his manager:
' Swan's manager, Liam Pickering, was equally upset that senior Collingwood chiefs were not strong enough in their public support towards their beleaguered player. "Apart from a tweet from coach Nathan Buckley, I heard nothing from the club. Surely they need to be stronger when a really disappointing story has been published. I'm meeting with them tomorrow and it will be raised," Pickering said yesterday. "Where are we going as an industry? We run stories with no facts, no quotes, yet we still want trust. "Good luck." ' ...
'Pickering said his client had been training well with Collingwood and had got back to the club before the official return date. Asked about Swan's reaction, Pickering said: "I reckon his father Bill and I were angrier than Dane. He was disappointed, sure, but he tends to take things in his stride. He looks ahead, not backwards." '

And this rather guarded response from the president:
'Asked directly about Swan, McGuire said: "There's no comment about him. We've never mentioned anything about him. "People are focusing on this one player but what we have said consistently that this is a societal problem. I'm sure The Age Christmas party and the Herald Sun Christmas party will have its own issues, as it does every year." Asked if Collingwood had a problem with some players with drugs, McGuire said: "We've got no comment to make in regards to anything other than we are not going to turn this into a witch hunt." McGuire said the Pies were taking the lead on tackling the illegal drugs issue. "This is not about a witch hunt. This is ... a health issue." '

 

[DivideandMultiply]

I am surprised by Eddie's response. I can see how both his and Pert's actions in the last two days could raise suspicions.

To Eddie's credit though, this is not the first time he has tackled the drugs issue. IIRC he penned an article a year or so ago discussing the benefits of ending prohibition and made a compelling argument that drug abuse should be tackled as a health issue.

 

[Hardas]

I am surprised by Eddie's response. I can see how both his and Pert's actions in the last two days could raise suspicions.

To Eddie's credit though, this is not the first time he has tackled the drugs issue. IIRC he penned an article a year or so ago discussing the benefits of ending prohibition and made a compelling argument that drug abuse should be tackled as a health issue.

No doubt, and we could all go around and around in circles about what it all might mean, I guess.
Me thinks it could be a 'damned if you do; damned if you don't' situation. As I said at the start of the thread, it's going to be interesting to see how all interested parties respond.

 

[Old Spice]

Admittedly, my knowledge of meth is limited to 5 seasons of Breaking Bad, but really, Swanny looks far from a meth ravaged wreck.

I highly doubt Swan is one of these two meth clinic patients. I doubt Pickering would be so beligerant and angry if there was an issue at hand. And you could bet your bottom $ the Hun or Age would name Swan if he was one of the men.

And I don't think Ed is being 'guarded' because it's one of our players, but because post the Crosisca story, he feels its too important an issue to get all partisan and narrow about. When he says he doesn't want a witch-hunt, I think that means against anyone from any club.

 

[The Dice Man]

Interesting to read the comments here from pie supporters. Surprisingly honest and open.

I think most fans are getting to the point that it's never a 'club' issue, rather a society issue and there is no reason Aussie rules players would be immune to the same issues.

Wilson's article was cheap, opportunistic and a perfect example of modern journalism. And by extension what kind of society we are living in, a media driven witch hunt society where gossip rules.

**** her!

 

[Smokeyr67]

In case anyone needs access to the expected story in the Hun:
[It refers to unnamed players seeking help for addiction to ice, but does not make any inference as to which club or clubs they might be from - just that they are Melbourne-based].

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/afl-p...-abuse-treatment/story-e6frea6u-1226527031943

A couple of quotes from his manager:
' Swan's manager, Liam Pickering, was equally upset that senior Collingwood chiefs were not strong enough in their public support towards their beleaguered player. "Apart from a tweet from coach Nathan Buckley, I heard nothing from the club. Surely they need to be stronger when a really disappointing story has been published. I'm meeting with them tomorrow and it will be raised," Pickering said yesterday. "Where are we going as an industry? We run stories with no facts, no quotes, yet we still want trust. "Good luck." ' ...
'Pickering said his client had been training well with Collingwood and had got back to the club before the official return date. Asked about Swan's reaction, Pickering said: "I reckon his father Bill and I were angrier than Dane. He was disappointed, sure, but he tends to take things in his stride. He looks ahead, not backwards." '

And this rather guarded response from the president:
'Asked directly about Swan, McGuire said: "There's no comment about him. We've never mentioned anything about him. "People are focusing on this one player but what we have said consistently that this is a societal problem. I'm sure The Age Christmas party and the Herald Sun Christmas party will have its own issues, as it does every year." Asked if Collingwood had a problem with some players with drugs, McGuire said: "We've got no comment to make in regards to anything other than we are not going to turn this into a witch hunt." McGuire said the Pies were taking the lead on tackling the illegal drugs issue. "This is not about a witch hunt. This is ... a health issue." '

Firstly, I now have a modicum of respect for Liam Pickering, and even more respect for Swannie. Why worry about rumour and innuendo?

As for Eddies response, I've said it before, he's keeping his powder dry, gathering the facts and when the time comes Carro and her mates will cop a broadside. His little jibe about the media xmas parties is just a tickle on Carro's soft fluffy belly, Ed will get her to roll over before teaching her to sit, drop, stay and effing beg.

 

[DaVe86]

The problem with the article is that she singled out one player in order to get ratings for the story.

Ultimately, it needed to be a comment story about the culture of drugs in football. She could've hinted about certain players, and spoken and incidents she is aware of. But instead, she outright named a player without putting facts down.

And she didn't make any real allegations about him. It is clear from the content of the article that she is labelling him a drug user. However, she (and the age) are smart in that they don't actually make the allegation. All she says is that he has been asked by Collingwood.


We all know there are many footballers out there with similar issues. She made fleeting mention of another in her article. I could name a stack off the top of my head that I know have used them. But none of the other names would've sold the story.

The media needs another Ben Cousins now.

I actually like Collingwood's response to this. No need to add fuel to the fire. They have highlighted the difficult issue of recreational drugs in sport and stayed out of the spotlight. No point getting on the high horse and stirring the pot. The media is a viscious industry...and the minute Collingwood comes out strongly, you will fnd 3 or 4 other articles about it and some others may start putting facts down.

 

[neroblack]

Pickering can be as angry as he likes about all this, but I'm pretty happy with the measured response from Eddie on this one. He's been consistent in his views on this for some time, and if he came out in his usual form (as he has on trades, other staff being poached, etc) then it would become more about Swanny and less about the issue. Pickering needs to represent his client and that's fine, would be good if he did it quietly though.

There are many, many, current and ex footballers who are "known" as regularly hitting the gear pretty hard. It does make sense for the media to pick a Collingwood player to name and shame when it's our CEO bringing up the issue as strongly as he did.

Honestly, to put it in perspective I'm more worried about Dale Thomas (for example) lifting his game on field this season than I am about any worries Swan may have off field. Hopefully nothing comes to light that changes that!

 

[RICHOLEGEND12]

Gutter journalism at its finest.

Which is why the age should seriously consider sacking Caroline Wilson. If it hasn't already.