Essendon out – Hird banned
Essendon coach James Hird has been banned for 12 months, while the AFL club has been fined $2 million and thrown out of this year’s finals series as punishment for its 2012 supplements program.
The Bombers have also been stripped of draft picks for 2013 and 2014.
The Bombers will lose both their first and second round picks for 2013 and 2014, but will be given a pick in 2014 immediately after the first round.
The Bombers will be deemed to have finished ninth in 2013.
Football manager Danny Corcoran has been given a six-month suspension from AFL effective from October 1, but with two months of the ban suspended, while assistant coach Mark Thompson has been fined $30,000.
But club doctor Bruce Reid is fighting his charge, which will be heard at on Thursday morning.
The unprecedented penalties for bringing the game into disrepute and conduct unbecoming follow two days of talks between Essendon, their four charged officials, their legal representatives, and the AFL trying to agree penalties.
It has been 205 days since Essendon announced they had concerns over their 2012 supplements program.
AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick expressed his distress at a saga which has dragged on for nearly seven months and overshadowed the season, while chief executive Andrew Demetriou called it a “sorry saga”.
“The AFL Commission shares (AFL fans’) anger, and frustration that the 2013 season has too often been dominated by headlines we’d rather not see,” he said as he announced the penalties in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
“The issues involved in the Essendon Football Club’s supplements program are deeply disturbing.
“The investigation undertaken over the past six months, and the actions we have taken today reflects this gravity.” Demetriou said Hird had apologised to the commission for his role in the supplements saga.
And he said that former Bombers sports scientist Stephen Dank, who played a pivotal role in implementing the suspect supplements program, had “a lot to answer for”.
“This is the most significant sanction in AFL history,” Demetriou said of the unprecedented penalties.
In a statement after the penalties were announced, Essendon said Hird would be welcomed back as Bombers coach after his ban was served.
“We recognise that failings occurred at our club during this period,” chairman Paul Little said.
“We must and do accept accountability and apologise for them.
“We have learnt from our mistakes and made substantial reforms to our governance and people management practices to ensure the club will never be in this position again.”
Little said assistant coach Simon Goodwin will coach the Bombers in Hird’s absence for their last match of this season – a now-dead rubber against Richmond on Saturday night at the MCG.
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Demetriou also confirmed Hird had dropped his Supreme Court action against the league, which had been launched last week after the AFL released its charge sheet against the club.
Hird did not appear at an Essendon media conference at AFL House held immediately after the AFL announced its penalties against the club.
Little said Hird had fallen on his sword to protect the club, shown significant remorse, and had requested not to be involved in the media conference.
But Little said Hird was not “ducking the media”, and that he was very keen to continue his coaching with Essendon once he had served his ban.
“James Hird told the commission tonight he had taken responsibility for the shortcomings in the 2012 supplements program,” Little said.
“There is no doubt in my mind James Hird agreed to accept these penalties tonight so that the club could move on … James has put the best interests of the players, the club and as a whole, the AFL (ahead of himself).”
Little emphasised the Bombers are placing a high importance on the welfare of their players.
“From our players’ point of view, there is a significant amount of monitoring going on now to ensure that their health and their welfare is uppermost in our strategic thinking,” he said.
By the end of Tuesday night the AFL decision had answered some questions. But many remain.
– Did Essendon players take banned drugs?
Neither the AFL or Essendon can answer it.
– What does it mean for Saturday night’s game between Essendon and Richmond?
What attitude do the Bombers take? Flat out, in a bid to stick it to the AFL one last time? Or will they really care? Do they turn up just to take their frustrations out on finals-bound Richmond?
– Who will coach Essendon next year?
Mark Thompson doesn’t want to be a head coach again. He’s known to dislike dealing with the media, who will pepper him with peptide questions. But will Essendon officials lean on him to become a stop-gap? Do they trust one of their untried assistants such as Simon Goodwin, who will coach the Bombers on Saturday night, or Sean Wellman? Will a club outsider want to be a glorified seat-warmer until Hird returns after a likely 12-month suspension?
– Can Hird return as coach after serving a ban?
They say a week is a long time in football. Well, how about a year? AFL chief Andrew Demetriou says Hird will be “welcomed back to the AFL family” but can Hird seriously expect to keep pace with the fast-moving industry? Will anyone ever believe in him again?
– Will Essendon players walk out?
Legal experts reckon there is a case: that Essendon’s failure to offer a safe workplace means players can terminate their contracts and walk to rival clubs. But will any other club want them, given they still could be charged with doping offences by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA)?
– What happens to Jobe Watson’s Brownlow medal?
The Essendon captain won it last year. But he’s publicly admitted that he believes he took the anti-obesity drug AOD-9604 – which the World Anti-Doping Agency says is a prohibited substance. If charged by ASADA, does he keep the medal?
– What happens to Stephen Dank?
It beggars belief that Dank, the sports scientist at the heart of the scandal, can refuse ASADA’s interview requests. Why hasn’t ASADA used its newly-created powers and compelled Dank to talk?
– What does it mean for Bruce Reid?
He’s the longest-serving senior doctor in the AFL, been with Essendon since 1982, but is fighting against the charges. His case resumes Thursday but will it impact on his ability to practice medicine? In a field where reputation is everything, and aged 67, is he damaged goods, regardless of the outcome of his case?
– Who leaks from the AFL?
The penalties have been widely reported for weeks. Who, inside the AFL, is the tell-tale?
In further developments this morning, James Hird held a media conference outside his home and remained defiant.
Asked on Wednesday morning if he conceded he had broken the rules, Hird replied: “not at all”.
“I didn’t break the rules … those charges have been dropped,” he told reporters outside his home.
“We’ve agreed to move on.
“There’s a level of responsibility you have as a senior coach.
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“There were things that went on at our football club last year that shouldn’t have happened and as senior coach I have to take some responsibility for what happened and not doing more to stop it.”
It was the first time Hird has spoken publicly since his suspension.
The greatest scandal in AFL history came to a head on Tuesday night when the league announced massive penalties for the Bombers.
Hird was banned from the league for 12 months and the club was taken out of this year’s finals series, as well as losing draft picks and copping a $2 million fine.
Senior assistant coach Mark Thompson was fined and club football manager Danny Corcoran was suspended for four months.
Hird will return to coach Essendon once his suspension is over and he hopes Thompson will fill the role during his absence.
Thompson has made it clear he does not want to be a senior coach again.
“We’d all like to see Mark Thompson do it – he’s the obvious choice,” Hird said.
“That will be a decision for the club and Mark.”
Hird added he felt the club had been unfairly dealt with since the Bombers came under investigation on February 5.
While the AFL has handed down its penalties, an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation is ongoing.
“I am really sorry, dreadfully sorry, about what happened, that it had to go through this,” Hird said of Essendon.
“The way it has been treated, I don’t think is fair.”
Last Thursday, when the AFL and Essendon were at war over the crisis, Hird took out a Supreme Court writ against the league.
Hird’s decision on Tuesday to withdraw that writ was one of the key elements in the AFL Commission finally being able to confirm its punishments.
“It’s time to move on – really, the game needed to move on,” he said.
“It wasn’t good for anyone in the game and particularly our players and our club.
“Fighting a battle in the Supreme Court against the AFL on a matter of principle I just think was probably not the right thing to do for our players and even for myself and my family.”
Hird said he told the Commission on Tuesday night that he was deeply sorry for what happened at the club last year.
He took “a level” of responsibility for what happened.
Hird said it had been a trying time for everybody, especially the club’s players.
“Speaking to the players last night and speaking to them this morning, I think we’re all disappointed at the level of sanctions that have been put on the club.
“But we understand that some sanctions had to be placed on our club and it’s time to move on.
“From my point of view, it’s disappointing not to be coaching next year.
“But I should’ve known what was going on. I should’ve done more and I’m very disappointed that I didn’t.”
Under the penalties, Essendon will finish ninth for the season and it means Saturday night’s match against Richmond is a dead rubber.
“We’re all disappointed at the level of sanctions that have been put on the club, but we understand that some sanctions had to be placed on our club and it’s time to move on,” Hird said of the Essendon players.
Asked if he felt any relief now his penalty had been decided, Hird said he was still trying to come to terms with it all.
“It’s been so raw,” he said.
He added one of his first duties would be to apologise to neighbours for the regular morning media packs gathered outside his front door over the last few weeks.
Hird also planned to speak in greater detail about the scandal.
“I would definitely tell my side of the story,” he said.
“You need to give me a few days just to catch my breath and work through that.”
Hird made it clear he would follow Essendon’s progress keenly during his suspension, saying he had been a fan of the club since birth.
“I don’t think I could ever step away from Essendon – it’s part of who I am,” he said.
– with Guy Hand
