Suspended Essendon coach James Hird denies the club reported its 2012 supplements program to the AFL and ASADA.
Hird told the Federal Court that he disagreed with repeated public statements by club officials that the club had self-reported to the anti-doping authority.
“I do not believe the club proactively invited ASADA to investigate these matters,” he told the court today.
“I don’t believe the club agreed to self-report.”
Hird said former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan told then Essendon chairman David Evans that the club had been guilty of doping and should self-report.
“He (Mr McLachlan) said it would go better for the club if we came forward in a proactive way,” Hird said.
“It was on their advice we came forward.”
Demetriou has denied pre-warning the club.
Hird said yesterday he did not believe the Bombers had done anything wrong, but agreed to toe the club line, having been asked “not to shirk the issue”.
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He said he only signed a deed of settlement with the AFL, which held him partly to blame and resulted in his 12-month suspension, after “threats and inducements” were made.
Hird and Essendon are claiming the AFL and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority’s joint investigation was unlawful and say the resultant show cause notices, alleging doping by 34 players, should be thrown out.
But ASADA says its probe was legal, and to suggest otherwise would be “nonsense on stilts”.
