News Dons ASADA scandal (Latest: Pg 101 - CAS verdict. Guilty, 12 months.)

[tassiemaniac]

Hird loves to throw people under the bus and take no responsibility for this debacle whatsoever.

I'm starting to get the impression that Hird is attempting to "manage" his way out of much of the responsibility for this whole saga by publicly placing the blame on others for not doing their job. I found this line which I thought was pretty telling:

"Lucas on SEN stated he only received one pain-killing injection in his career. Suggested that Dr Reid was reluctant to give injections at the best of times - This sort of explains why the injection program was enveloped in a cloak of secrecy."

The letter from Dr. Reid to Hamilton with a copy to Hird that Hird claims he only saw a year later coupled with the fact that in January 2012 Hird complains in an email that Dr. Reid is getting in the way of the program all sounds like a careful management of the facts to me. There are inferences and suggestions right through the article that everyone but me stuffed up.

In Hird's view of the world if Hamilton, Corcoran and Evans had done a better job with governance, Essendon wouldn't have been in this mess. I think he is walking a fairly fine line in all of this - if you publicly blame everyone but yourself for this mess, sooner or later you may well get a knock on the door from someone representing one of those implicated saying see you in court.

Sure, Hird has his right to give his version of the truth, but gee he could be a man about it and acknowledge that he copped a 12 month ban for something more than just being let down by everyone else.

In a way it really doesn't matter what he thinks anymore because the support he once enjoyed from both Essendon supporters and the greater footballing community is quickly eroding and this latest input from him is so typical of what people are now sick of - I'm the good guy in all of this because I'm James Hird.

 

[Anzacday]

 

[PicaBoo]

Look! Up in the sky, it's a hird, it's a plane no it's pigs flying

EFA

 

[Old Spice]

Smells very much like the Fat Tony v El Barto case.

Now that the facts are in it's interesting to look at this last 3 years as what it actually was as opposed to what it appeared to be. It has been one long, unremitting PR war since the toilet seat was lifted. The engagement of Ian Hanke - a former John Howard PR adviser and now private (and public) dick and Elizabeth Lukin, another PR wonk who left with Paul Little - by Hird to handle his media strategy has been key. Muddy the waters, create brushfires, set the terms of the debate away from the murky facts, blame other parties and, most important of all, continue the lie.

It's a favoured PR strategy, creating false and counter narratives which confuse and/or exhaust people until they run out of puff. But anyone who bothers to look at the absolutely jarring and incriminating text messages, the chronology of events and litany of strewn bodies will see what a foul individual we are dealing with.

 

[popin]

JonPierik @Pierik_AgeSport
Breaking: Ess 34 have met with @AFLPlayers legal team today in person or via hook up. More soon at @theagesport @RealFooty1

12:19 PM - 15 Jan 2016

 

[rand corp]

Hird is doing what he has always done, which is try to look after / protect himself regardless

 

[Pedro]

To me its become even clearer over the last few days. I can't see Hird weasling his way out to be honest. The recent information coming out about the failure to disclose any of the injections to drug testers, on 30 occasions, says it all. I don't think this was a course of action the players would have decided to undertake on their own. They will have been told collectively not disclose the injections on the Doping Control Forms. Who then told them to do this? If it was Dank alone, I think this would have pricked some pretty serious concerns from the players. I can't imagine the scenario where none of them would have raised concerns with Hird. Or Thompson, Corcoran etc. It seems to me that Hird either had full knowledge that the players were lying to the drug testers, and probably told them to do so. At a minimum, he must have known that they were doing it and either chose to ignore it, or failed to take any action. Either way, it makes him guilty as hell imo. I'd love to hear somebody ask him the direct question about this. I can't see how he can possibly answer it with any credibility.

 

[tassiemaniac]

To me its become even clearer over the last few days. I can't see Hird weasling his way out to be honest. The recent information coming out about the failure to disclose any of the injections to drug testers, on 30 occasions, says it all. I don't think this was a course of action the players would have decided to undertake on their own. They will have been told collectively not disclose the injections on the Doping Control Forms. Who then told them to do this? If it was Dank alone, I think this would have pricked some pretty serious concerns from the players. I can't imagine the scenario where none of them would have raised concerns with Hird. Or Thompson, Corcoran etc. It seems to me that Hird either had full knowledge that the players were lying to the drug testers, and probably told them to do so. At a minimum, he must have known that they were doing it and either chose to ignore it, or failed to take any action. Either way, it makes him guilty as hell imo. I'd love to hear somebody ask him the direct question about this. I can't see how he can possibly answer it with any credibility.

Maybe its time the Age ran a poll - Do you believe James Hird's version of the story? I think somewhere between 85 and 95% would say no.

 

[Quicky]

What's the best article to provide a synopsis of this sorry saga?

 

[Old Spice]

To me its become even clearer over the last few days. I can't see Hird weasling his way out to be honest. The recent information coming out about the failure to disclose any of the injections to drug testers, on 30 occasions, says it all. I don't think this was a course of action the players would have decided to undertake on their own. They will have been told collectively not disclose the injections on the Doping Control Forms. Who then told them to do this? If it was Dank alone, I think this would have pricked some pretty serious concerns from the players. I can't imagine the scenario where none of them would have raised concerns with Hird. Or Thompson, Corcoran etc. It seems to me that Hird either had full knowledge that the players were lying to the drug testers, and probably told them to do so. At a minimum, he must have known that they were doing it and either chose to ignore it, or failed to take any action. Either way, it makes him guilty as hell imo. I'd love to hear somebody ask him the direct question about this. I can't see how he can possibly answer it with any credibility.

You hit on some solid rock there, there is no way on God's green earth that Dank has some secret authority and relationship with the players that bypasses Hird and leaves him out of the loop. It is just a ridiculous proposition.

We also know that Hird texts Corcoran to get him to "pull out his UN skills" to assuage Bruce Reid's concerns about the injections. Are we seriously to believe that Dr Reid doesn't know, nor Hird, about this secret Star Chamber being conducted by Dank, some blow-in from 5 minutes ago?

This is what enrages fans, the massive insult to our intelligence and it just evapourates any sense of leniency that might have existed in regard to the penalty.

 

[Baltimore Jack]

To me its become even clearer over the last few days. I can't see Hird weasling his way out to be honest. The recent information coming out about the failure to disclose any of the injections to drug testers, on 30 occasions, says it all. I don't think this was a course of action the players would have decided to undertake on their own. They will have been told collectively not disclose the injections on the Doping Control Forms. Who then told them to do this? If it was Dank alone, I think this would have pricked some pretty serious concerns from the players. I can't imagine the scenario where none of them would have raised concerns with Hird. Or Thompson, Corcoran etc. It seems to me that Hird either had full knowledge that the players were lying to the drug testers, and probably told them to do so. At a minimum, he must have known that they were doing it and either chose to ignore it, or failed to take any action. Either way, it makes him guilty as hell imo. I'd love to hear somebody ask him the direct question about this. I can't see how he can possibly answer it with any credibility.

We know it happened 30 times
For that to happen there would need to be two separate agreements
1. Hird or Dank agreed to keep it secret and then told the players to keep it secret
It never leaked so for that not to have happened their must have been another agreement
2. The players, collectively, agreed to keep it a secret
As CAS said in their finding in doing that it was "fatal"

 

[tassiemaniac]

We know it happened 30 times
For that to happen there would need to be two separate agreements
1. Hird or Dank agreed to keep it secret and then told the players to keep it secret
It never leaked so for that not to have happened their must have been another agreement
2. The players, collectively, agreed to keep it a secret
As CAS said in their finding in doing that it was "fatal"

I totally agree that this secrecy just doesn't add up somehow the players collectively agreed to lie (through failure to disclose) to ASADA on at least 30 separate occasions and yet not once did they air these concerns with either the football coaches, the Doctor or management? I'm calling BS on this. They are not playing this year because they could not argue they weren't compliant in the cover up. Who at Essendon beyond the players knew of this cover up, who advised/directed them to cover it up and how on earth could the coach not know of the cover up. Forget whether it was or wasn't TB4 - there was a deliberate cover up of the pharmacological regime being administered. To suggest it was only the players and Dank involved in this cover up would be a massive leap.

Its also about time the Marsh and the ALFPA stopped this "we was wronged" rubbish and said to the players who knew, who instructed you to not disclose to the testers and did any of you ever raise your concerns with other senior officials in the club? Are we really expected to believe that somehow the players off their own bat agreed to say nothing to ASADA or anyone else? The players can't be held as victims if they said nothing and came up with this strategy on their own if however there is more to the decisions to cover up this "project" then the AFLPA must change tack and go after the real instigators and decision makers and do it loudly and publicly.

I hope someone soon asks Hird if he knew about the cover up - if he says no I would expect everyone of the 34 to finally realize that this individual has implicated them as being the overseers in one of the biggest cover ups in Aussie Rules history.

 

[Old Spice]

Can you imagine what has to have happened, and what we have to discard, to believe this tale that Dank was running his own exclusive show with the players down at Essendon without Hird's knowledge?

We have to:

1/. Forget who bought Dank into the club
2/. Imagine Dank had a total free hand from the very beginning
3/. Forget that consent waivers were signed by players for the admission of Thymosin
4/. Imagine that Dank didn't advise Hird and relevant staff of the benefits of that supplement, and indeed what variant of Thymosin it was
5/. Imagine that Hird didn't bother to enquire himself into what specific version of Thymosin was being injected and the proposed benefits
6/. Believe that Hird wouldn't check in with Bruce Reid to make sure the supplements were WADA approved
7/. Forget that Dr Reid was physically excluded and kept out of the loop of the injection regime
8/. Forget Reid wrote a letter of protest over said exclusion to Paul Hamilton and Hird, with Hamilton mysteriously the only one to read it and not bothering to communicate it's contents to Hird, despite Hamilton being the GM of Football Operations
9/. Forget Hird texted Corcoran calling on his 'UN skills" to deflect Reid's above stated objections rather than investigate them
10/. That despite all the above, Dank should be allowed to run his crazy freakshow unfettered

Any way you dice it, whether by omission or commission, Hird is guilty. At best of grotesque and cavalier negligence, at worst of extremely cynical and sociological behaviour. Given his subsequent deportment since being charged I tend to the latter. Most of us, I dare say, would feel utterly ashamed and embarrassed about our role in such an operation. No such contrition for Hird it seems. Nutjob.

 

[TradeDraft]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-...nts-sports-scientist-essendon-bombers/7090080
Hird is delusional, can't believe what he is stating. He was all about having proof that all was okay, where is it as now it seems that is blaming others.

"Instead the sliding door we walked through introduced Essendon to the world's of Dean Robinson and, at Robinson's suggestion, Stephen Dank."

"Hird said he was comfortable running a supplements program on the proviso the substances were AFL and ASADA approved, players would not be harmed and gave informed consent, and club doctor Bruce Reid gave final approval."

and Stupid thing is some people Believe the Idiot

 

[TradeDraft]

https://www.facebook.com/inhirdwetrust/?fref=ts

So people still are in the Hird Cult.

Complete an Utter Idiots.

 

[jmac70]

I'm starting to get the impression that Hird is attempting to "manage" his way out of much of the responsibility for this whole saga by publicly placing the blame on others for not doing their job. I found this line which I thought was pretty telling:

"Lucas on SEN stated he only received one pain-killing injection in his career. Suggested that Dr Reid was reluctant to give injections at the best of times - This sort of explains why the injection program was enveloped in a cloak of secrecy."

The letter from Dr. Reid to Hamilton with a copy to Hird that Hird claims he only saw a year later coupled with the fact that in January 2012 Hird complains in an email that Dr. Reid is getting in the way of the program all sounds like a careful management of the facts to me. There are inferences and suggestions right through the article that everyone but me stuffed up.

In Hird's view of the world if Hamilton, Corcoran and Evans had done a better job with governance, Essendon wouldn't have been in this mess. I think he is walking a fairly fine line in all of this - if you publicly blame everyone but yourself for this mess, sooner or later you may well get a knock on the door from someone representing one of those implicated saying see you in court.

Sure, Hird has his right to give his version of the truth, but gee he could be a man about it and acknowledge that he copped a 12 month ban for something more than just being let down by everyone else.

In a way it really doesn't matter what he thinks anymore because the support he once enjoyed from both Essendon supporters and the greater footballing community is quickly eroding and this latest input from him is so typical of what people are now sick of - I'm the good guy in all of this because I'm James Hird.

Hird's going to get a shock when the people he has accused of being responsible reveal their side of the story.

 

[TradeDraft]

Bomber Thompson got off Lightly

 

[jmac70]

What's the best article to provide a synopsis of this sorry saga?

The CAS findings. Cuts through all the BS.

 

[Pedro]

Most of us, I dare say, would feel utterly ashamed and embarrassed about our role in such an operation. No such contrition for Hird it seems. Nutjob.

Well, he did only ask for $1M to take on his holiday. Big of him. It could have been $5M

 

[PicaBoo]

Hird's going to get a shock when the people he has accused of being responsible reveal their side of the story.

Even if Hirds claims are true. To claim as head coach he approved a supplement program without him being end responsible or even involved, opens him up for a massive neglect in his duty of care. He can't wash his hands from this

 

[Schraderbrau]

What's the best article to provide a synopsis of this sorry saga?

Herald Sun if you support Essendon
The Age if you hate Essendon
Twitter if you're angry and want to take it out on something ... anything.

Spoiler: Spoiler

I just read Chip Le Grande's book and that's about the only thing I've read in the whole saga with the appearance of impartiality

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Hird is the gift that keeps giving.
Wrapped up by his chief polyp searcher, Mark Robinson

 

[TradeDraft]

Herald Sun if you support Essendon
The Age if you hate Essendon
Twitter if you're angry and want to take it out on something ... anything.

Or Don't Read Either as not sure what is 100% True or False with the Story.

We know there Guilty but what happened that lead to that?

 

[TradeDraft]

Hird is the gift that keeps giving.
Wrapped up by his chief polyp searcher, Mark Robinson

Robbo is so far up Hirds ass its not funny

 

[Saintly Viewed]

Robbo is so far up Hirds ass its not funny

That's his job, check for any polyps. Probably gives it a lick on the way through