The Essendon Supplement Scandal

The Essendon Supplement Scandal

The events that unfolded early February 2013 involving the Essendon Football club were shocking as they were complex.  Following a 12 month investigation by the Australian Crime Commission which particularly targeted Drugs in The National Rugby League and the Australian Football league; revelations from the Essendon club and former players prompted the AFL and ASADA (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority) to begin an investigation into the clubs supplement programme during the 2012 season. The findings shocked both the AFL and the Australian sporting community labelling 2012 as “the darkest year in AFL history” (The Australian 28 August 2013, p.36).

The issue came to a head when the Essendon Football Club’s dealings with sport scientist Stephen Dank came under investigation and were considered suspicious. The Essendon club invited ASADA and the AFL to investigate their sport science program in 2012 which was over seen by Mr Dank. The investigation prompted Essendon to stand down their High performance coach Dean Robinson almost immediately (Herald Sun 2013).                                                                                                                                     

The shocking findings of the investigation revealed that the Club’s players were urged to have approximately 40 injections during the 2012 AFL season. Possibly the most shocking part of the findings was that Mr Dank accused the clubs head coach, James Hird, was also administered with these injections (Herald Sun 2013). Mr Dank stated that all involved where completely aware of what was happening “I’m certainly very surprised given how much time we spent discussing it with them (Players and coaching staff)” (The Age 6 February 2013, p.2). Further allegations were raised when Mr Dank told the Essendon club that he received a letter from WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) which stated that the drugs he wished to administer where cleared as legal. However, it became apparent that this was not true when an email from WADA to Mr Dank prompted him to contact ASADA as “drug preparation may vary between countries” (Jane Kuersch Journalism 2013). It was then revealed that the Essendon players did sign consent forms that prescribed weekly injections of an illegal substance. However, According to Essendon, this doesn’t prove that they were administered with the injections (Herald Sun 2013). ASADA then commenced interviews with Essendon players, quizzing them on around 35 substances linked to the Club and their former sport scientist Mr Dank. This revealed that at least of 6 of these substances were banned for athletes (Herald Sun 2013). The nail in the coffin was in June when star player for Essendon, Jobe Watson on national television admitted to have been injected with one of these illegal substances. He declared that “I signed that consent form” and “I believed it was legal at the time” (Herald Sun 2013).   

                                                                                                                           

The events that have occurred over the past year have been a long, grueling and painful process for all involved. It has forced the governing bodies to react in a shift and severe way to protect the image and reputation of the AFL and indeed Australian sport as a whole. The Penalties handed down by the AFL and ASADA were the most severe in the AFL’s history and has caused controversy itself. The penalties included large fines, loss of draft picks and several members of the club being fined, banned or they have stood down in disgrace.                                                       

In May, Ian Robinson stood down as Essendon’s CEO as he felt a strong responsibility for the scandal saying he is accountable for everything that happens to the club, even there supplement programs even though he played no part in it or knew anything about it “We let down our players and their families, I sit here today saying that our club let those people down and there is no excuse in not knowing” (Herald Sun 2013). Chairman David Evans also resigned in June for quiet puzzling reasons. Although playing no part in the scandal, the night after Essendon lost a game against Hawthorn, he suffered a physical breakdown.  Mr Evans complained of breathlessness, lighted headedness and struggling vision (Herald Sun 2013).              

However, it was members of the coaching staff that were involuntarily penalized as they did play a role in the scandal. Despite strong support from Essendon fans, Head coach James Hird has been banned for 12 months from the club and a decision will be made over the next couple of weeks who his temporary replacement will be (The Age 17 September 2013, p.40). Although, there have been strong claims that it is no longer whether Mr Hird should couch Essendon again; it is whether he should ever couch again. “A man with such flawed judgement, so disconnected from what is actually happening about him, is surely a permanent risk” (The Weekend Australian 24 August 2013, p.41).  Mr Hird has been humble about his ban stating he is “deeply sorry and does take a level of responsibility for what happened” (The Herald 28 August 2013, p.81). Assistant coach Mark Thompson has been fined $30,000 and the club manager, Danny Corrora has been banned for 6 months for their role in the scandal (AFL 2013). It is also the clubs it’s self that has been punished both in the short term and long term. The clubs had been fined a total of 2 million dollars for bringing the game into disrepute and also ejected from the 2013 finals (AFL 2013). This ejection would have been a major blow for the club and the players as they were big contenders in the completion in the lead up to the finals. In the long term, the club has also been stripped of draft picks for the coming 2014 season (AFL 2013). This will obviously affect their team and the club in not only next season but seasons following as well.  

The Essendon supplement scandal has both shocked and negatively affected the AFL, ASADA, The Essendon football club, their fans and the Australian sporting community. The investigation that revealed the controversy has indeed put a stain on the AFL’s and Essendon’s reputation as both professional organisations and role models for their great game. However, this will be a wake up call for all sporting codes in Australia and will hopefully bring positive changes in to avoid any further event that further damage professional sport in Australia and the world.

By Jordan Reeve

Reference

Denham, G 2013, ‘Bombers bracing for more penalties’, The Australian, 29 August, p.36.

Fairfax, J 2013, ‘Dark days cast shadow over field of dreams’, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 August, p.9

Gleeson, M. Nial, J 2013, ‘Essendon engulfed by drug controversy’, The Age, 6 February, p.2

Herald Sun 2013, ‘Essendon drug scandal: The story so far’, Herald Sun Sport, viewed 14 September, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-scandal-the-story-so-far/story-fni5f6kv-1226635822954

Hogan, J 2013, ‘Essendon reveals panel to find Hird replacement’, The Age, 17 September, p.40

Kuerschner, J 2013 ‘Public Relations Austrlian Sports Investigation’ Viewed 20 September,  http://janekuerschjournalism.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/public-relations-essay-australian-sports-investigation/

Le Grand, C 2013, ‘AFL to drop case against doctor’, The Australian, 13 September, p.1-2.

Minear, T 2013, ‘Essendon booted from finals’, The Herald Sun, 28 August, p.81

Phelan, J 2013 ‘Essendon punished: as it happened’, Viewed 19 September, http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-08-27/live-updates-dons-at-afl-house

Smith, P 2013, ‘Couch must answer for arrogance’, The Weekend Australian, 24 August, p.41

Smith, P 2013, ‘Hard lessons to be learned from year of chemical chaos’, The Australian, 28 August, p. 36.