James Hird gone, presser at 3:15 today - The Age

[stewie dew]

(Footy Classified) If Jobe claims that he has done nothing wrong, why is he so down on Dank?

Good point Baltimore Jack, Jobe also very strong that he took nothing banned so wouldn't that mean Dank didn't go rogue, program was above board.

Hird sacking will pass by in a few days and the supplement saga will continue on until the truth comes out. Get the feeling the players are quite worried about the WADA appeal.

 

[pablo668]

I think people missed exactly what happened yesterday.
The truth of the matter is that Essendon the club, the board, the players and the fans have failed to live up to James Alberts expectations.
Therefore he sacked them.

 

[TheArchivist]

(Footy Classified) If Jobe claims that he has done nothing wrong, why is he so down on Dank?

The old 'I did nothing wrong!' defensiveness is akin to saying 'I don't care if what I took was technically illegal in this sport and gave me an advantage over the opposition on the field (as defined by the Code we play under) - I didn't know it was illegal, or in my system, therefore it's not my fault'. How daft would someone be to try and argue in court that it's utterly not their fault, that they have no responsibility that there was alcohol in their system and over the allowable limit when they crashed that car - because there was brandy in the xmas pudding and they didn't know? Do Essendon footballers not get that it really doesn't matter whether they intended to take banned drugs or not? If it's proven to comfortable satisfaction that it was in their system, then they breached the code.

Which of course is to swallow the 'duped' version of events, which I wholeheartedly don't.

 

[Ice-Wolf]

Robb saying its impossible that the players wanted Hird to go "Players were crying at the press conference"

Tears of joy.

 

[Xtreme]

Tears of joy.

Get out the party streamers and popping champagne corks

 

[Ice-Wolf]

Is the first time a coach has been sacked and not just the club but the entire game is better for it?

Terry Wallace at Richmond.

 

[imperial_oz]

Sure looks like Smith was quoting McDevitt to me, with the ""

Could actually be a case of Smith quoting McDevitt who was misquoting Hird...

No. That clearly isn't the case. Read it again.

"This is not the ASADA scandal. It is the Essendon scandal and will go down in history as such." Hird's anger at the joint investigation is well known. But with his career at Essendon now at an end, he said he regretted some decisions that led to the Bombers hiring now-banned sports scientist Stephen Dank and convicted drug trafficker Dean Robinson."

The end of quotes is where McDevitt's comments end. Then it starts referring directly to Hird - his anger and his regrets. One of those regrets, apparently, was Robinson. I don't know where the 'convicted drug dealer' comes from but it clearly didn't come from McDevitt. The bit about his career at Essendon coming to an end should show you it can't be McDevitt saying that.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

either Smith had a senior moment or there's finally a reason why Robinson dropped out of sight and never got an infraction.

 

[jenny61_99]

Jobe last night on FC,talking about Fletch
"he said there were times he had 2 injections in the morning and SD called him back in the afternoon for 2 more" Fletch said it was odd that they had forgotten he had already got his 2 injections that morning.
Caro "lots of injections"
Jobe "not lots,but yes about 50".

So 50 times 42 = thousands. Sounds like lots to me.

 

[Wundo]

Gets along well with Mitchell then?

How's that premiership cupboard looking.. bit bare?

 

[MaddAdam]

Hirdy Dark Zero.

 

[DERIBERATE]

Hirdy Dark Zero.

Not even close. Those guys managed to crash a helicopter and still executed their mission, no casualties, and got all the data. That's pro. How'd they know he was there? Dir, some taxi driver and a satellite video showing a male in the house doesn't hang out the washing.

ASADA couldn't prove what drug came from a factory that was telling them what drug they made.

 

[The King!]

hird was right all along so jokes on everyone else

being paid not to work is the better place i presume he was referring to all along?

wish i could do that

well done Jimmy

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Two things that I need to get of my chest in regards to the recent media coverage of this:

1) Hird apparently turned down $3m to resign last October (when the whole B&F thing happened) but refused. According to Tim Watson, because it's not about the money for Hird. It's about leading these young men and doing what's right. Or what he believed to be right.
Well then, why did he agree to a gag order in his $750k severance pay? If he really wants what is right, and it isn't about money - why wouldn't he refuse that sweetener and tell 'the truth' like he's been promising for so long?

2) Jobe Watson almost turned feral when asked why they didn't take the deal. He had the nostrils flared as he shot back at Hutchy that he didn't do anything wrong, they didn't cheat, so why would he take a deal that admits to it?
Jobe, you don't know what you took. To compete in a sport that adheres to the WADA Code with a banned substance in your system - is doing something wrong. Doesn't necessarily mean you intentionally cheated - but it is a violation.
You don't know what you took. The only reason you choose to believe you didn't take anything banned, is because a bloke called Steven Dank told you so.
Even though ASADA, after a 2 year investigation believe you did, even though the AFL tribunal still couldn't be sure you didn't - you flat out refuse to believe you 'did anything wrong' because Dank told you he gave you something that even your own defence team ruled out?
Even the biggest ******* on the planet, must surely concede that although there is no definitive proof, it's highly likely they were given a banned substance. Therefore, they in fact have done something wrong. They may not have cheated, as such, but they did do something wrong.
So surely it goes without saying, that he is a dickhead for not taking any deal that had him off the hook and back playing footy as per normal within about 6 weeks. And it goes without saying, that if he encouraged or directed his teammates to do the same - he's a shit leader.
I wonder whether the idea of losing his Brownlow played any part in his decision making?

Essendon as a whole, has made some unbelievably mad calls over the past 3 years. Like, as bad as you could imagine. But the players not taking deals is the biggest by a mile.

 

[Armchair Critic]

Jobe last night on FC,talking about Fletch
"he said there were times he had 2 injections in the morning and SD called him back in the afternoon for 2 more" Fletch said it was odd that they had forgotten he had already got his 2 injections that morning.
Caro "lots of injections"
Jobe "not lots,but yes about 50".

I don't think that was what was said though. Jobe stated that you would have to ask fletch , I don't remember him stating he had had about 50

 

[DapperJong]

So 50 times 42 = thousands. Sounds like lots to me.

Which area of your butt did you get the number 42 from?

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

I don't think that was what was said though. Jobe stated that you would have to ask fletch , I don't remember him stating he had had about 50

Fletcher said 50 in his book apparently.

Watson was in the middle of scoffing at the media reports that there were thousands of injections, at which point one of them.retorted that 50 is a lot!

I had the impression Watson didn't seem to think 50 was that many.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Oh bold and italics. You have swayed me. Before i was like pfffffttt

Just trying to differentiate between the topic and my rant. Thought it'd make it easier to read.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Oh bold and italics. You have swayed me. Before i was like pfffffttt

Do you think they should have taken the deal?

 

[DapperJong]

Do you think they should have taken the deal?

Well, the little Mr. Hindsight on my shoulder says hell yes. Although, do we know what the deal was?

 

[imperial_oz]

either Smith had a senior moment or there's finally a reason why Robinson dropped out of sight and never got an infraction.

If what he said is true, surely any conviction would be on the public record and any person involved in the EFC saga getting a drug conviction would attract some substantial media attention. My best guess is either some kind of senior moment or he's badly paraphrased something from Hird. It wouldn't surprise me that somehow Robinson and Charter have been mixed up here.

 

[jenny61_99]

Which area of your butt did you get the number 42 from?

42 players (thinking in terms of squad size, not numbers infracted).

Even at 34 - it's HUNDREDS of injections. That's still lots.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Well, the little Mr. Hindsight on my shoulder says hell yes. Although, do we know what the deal was?

Hindsight??

They didn't know what they were given!!?? How could they honestly say they know they did nothing wrong??

They don't know if they took the field with banned drugs in their system. They can't know they did nothing wrong.


So what they tried to do, was to get away with it. They tried to roll the dice and protect themselves, instead of putting their hands up and taking responsibility for their actions or lack thereof. But clearly they ****ed up. Big time.

No doubt they were advised to do so by some sleazy lawyer or high rolling powerbroker whom made their fortune from doing the exact same thing. But as has been the case throughout this saga, they've been very poorly advised and very poorly led.

 

[van peebles]

Good point Baltimore Jack, Jobe also very strong that he took nothing banned so wouldn't that mean Dank didn't go rogue, program was above board.

Hird sacking will pass by in a few days and the supplement saga will continue on until the truth comes out. Get the feeling the players are quite worried about the WADA appeal.

The players believed advice from the football club legal eagles all along,and were content to play good footy all the way through.
Until the WADA appeal set the cat among the pidgeons and they realised they were all alone at that time and forever.
Then they stopped trying,Their managers probably informed them that under the contract they still had to train and play to collect their wages.
End result was something had to break and it was the board.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

If what he said is true, surely any conviction would be on the public record and any person involved in the EFC saga getting a drug conviction would attract some substantial media attention. My best guess is either some kind of senior moment or he's badly paraphrased something from Hird. It wouldn't surprise me that somehow Robinson and Charter have been mixed up here.

my money is on it just being a **** up, but the ACC can be very secretive and much of what they do is cloaked by legislated mechanisms so who knows?