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ESSENDON coach Mark Thompson insists his players aren't facing health risks over the club's 2012 supplements program, despite revelations the AFL was monitoring them over fears of cancer and hormonal problems.
Thompson said on Friday the Essendon players had been extensively briefed by club officials regarding the supplements given to them.
"I think it's OK. The players have been communicated to by specialists and the drugs, the supplements that we have given the players, they know that they're not harmful," Thompson told reporters.
"There's no risk. One actually helps in part of the treatment for cancer.
"So we haven't got a problem there at all as far as our communication and our players' awareness of what's healthy and what's not."
All of a sudden Essendon knows what was given to its players.
And Mark Thompson is dispensing medical opinion.
With the number of inconsistent statements being made by Essendon club, officials, players, I think we're at the flow chart stage.
Thats a relief. The Bombers have actually been protecting their players against cancer by giving them these drugs. I think a few apologies are in order...
yob wrote:Looking a bit too far in to it to be honest. It's confirmation bias - everything that suits the club is blasted in to the public domain with a howitzer.
It kind of does. People who pay attention can blast it with a howitzer in their own mind, but plenty of people will see only a bit of BS and assume there's a witchhunt against poor old James.
What he have though is Essendon's pure, uncut Colombian-grade bullshit being given equal weighting to the reasonable and damning case against them. That's totally fair in court when a pretty smart person will stand above it all and pass judgment. But the in media and the public arena where there's no authority to make a call on the truthfulness of a situation, Essendon get to keep lying and weaseling away from their just desserts. As long as they have mates at the Hun looking after them anyway.
Dons summary starts at about 10min. After watching it it's pretty hard to see what Essendon is whining about given what's laid out about their conduct (all of it old, but in one summary is damning)
Last edited by Simmo79 on Fri Jul 04, 2014 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
We are very concerned about comments made by the AFL’s head medical executive Dr Harcourt, at a conference in November last year.
It is regrettable that Dr Harcourt chose to engage in irresponsible speculation about the health of our players at an international conference, without talking to the Club and its players.
Independent medical experts have provided information and feedback on the supplements issued to players, and given the club a high level of comfort regarding the short and long term health of our players.
Dr Harcourt’s presentation raises many important questions including whether or not he breached confidentiality? If he had the authority to make the presentation? And if not, what action will the AFL take?
Dr Harcourt also suggests our players ‘passively’ accepted the use of supplements – this statement is offensive - our players took considerable steps in this regard.
They insisted on being provided with informed consent
They insisted on the club doctor approving all supplements
And they insisted on all supplements being approved by WADA
In 2012 and 2013, we conducted comprehensive medical evaluations of our players and we continue to provide ongoing monitoring.
We will continue to put the health and welfare of our players first.
Bombers are umming and ahhing over whether James Hird will return this season when his ban lifts next month. This is interesting, because they're paying him to be the coach, after having extended his contract, after the club has been sanctioned by the AFL. Maybe the club's management just thinks paying a million per year of members' funds, aka general revenue, for nothing is just the cost of doing business?
So the head drug cheat thinks coming back this season will be a distraction? Correct, but he's got rocks in his head if he thinks it will be any different next year.
The sooner the club rids itself of everyone connected to the scandal the better off it will be.
Stunning documents released in the Federal Court on Friday allege the AFL all but knew Essendon was the club being investigated by the Australian Crime Commission last year.
By the start of winter, sports minister Kate Lundy was feeling the heat from a partyroom fretting over an increasingly unwinnable election, and AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan was worried about the impact of the scandal on ticket sales for that season’s finals.
At a meeting in Canberra on June 4, Lundy’s departmental deputy secretary Glenys Beauchamp delivered ASADA officials instructions from the minister. According to notes taken by Elen Perdikogiannis, ASADA’s general manager of anti-doping programs and legal services, Beauchamp told them: “Min — her colleagues at her, or accusing her of hampering chances of re-election — you need an outcome.’’
