The Essendon saga may have reached a climax last night, but its tale is not yet told, supporters of James Hird say.
Just hours after the Essendon coach’s admission of guilt and acceptance of a 12 month suspension, his lawyer, Julian Burnside, pitched his innocence, spruiking the narrative that Hird had taken a bullet for the team.
“James could have gone on defending this charge and probably would have cleared his name,” Burnside told Melbourne’s SEN Radio on Wednesday morning.
“He decided to put the club and the players’ interests ahead of his own and that’s pretty heroic.”
Guilty as charged, your Honour, but not guilty as charged -it’s a novel position to take in the face of a mountain of evidence.
Ever since concerns about the supplements regime became public in February, Hird has maintained the he was “quite happy to tell the truth at the right time”.
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When that time came on Tuesday night, Hird declined to attend the press conference and went home, leaving Burnside and club president Paul Little to bang his drum.
Little fronted the media conference to apologise to players, supporters and the AFL Commission.
As for Hird’s “truth” – there was a signed admission by the club legend to having “contributed to the Essendon FC’s failure to take sufficient steps to ensure the health, welfare and safety of players in relation to the Program”; that “when he became aware of facts that suggested that unsatisfactory practices were occurring, the action he took was not sufficient to stop those practices”; that “he did not take sufficient steps to avoid there being a risk that players may have been administered substances that were prohibited by the AFL Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code, and any such risk is an unacceptable risk.”
AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick told reporters Hird had been “quite remorseful” in his eight minute apology and admissions.
If we are to believe Burnside’s version, this remorse and admission of guilt would appear to be a pretence.
Another one of his vocal supporters, former Essendon player and high profile commentator Tim Watson, said Hird would still benefit from being able to tell his story, albeit “without being taped; just the media and answering any questions they have”.
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This, Watson said, would show things in a much different light.
Ian Little took a similar line to the Watson and Burnside’guilty, but not guilty’ scenario, implying that Hird had a higher motive in pleading guilty.
“There is no doubt in my mind … that he agreed to accept the penalty so that the club could move on,” he said.
“He has put the best interests of the players and the club and the whole AFL community ahead (of himself).
“I have to tell you that tonight he showed significant class in saying he was sorry and taking responsibility.”
Hird and his supporters can’t have it both ways – he is either guilty as he has admitted or he should contest the charges and cop the findings.
His musings that he would one day like to tell the truth just don’t stack up against the reality of the AFL Integrity Unit’s investigation that took evidence from more than 130 witnesses, reviewed 13,000 documents and examined email servers, computer hard drives, back-up tapes and mobile telephones.
Its findings – matched by the interim report of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the final report of Essendon’s inquirer Ziggy Switkowski – are clear.
Hird was one of those who appeared before the integrity unit, before ASADA and before Zwitkowski.
He’s had his chance, told his version of events and been found to have breached the rules.
The line that he’s simply taken a bullet for the team is an insult to all of those investigations.
Guilty, as charged.
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