James Hird interview live on ABC24 this Sunday night

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It just gets better


Former Essendon coach James Hird says the banned 34 players made a "mistake" in keeping the injecting program a secret from anti-doping testers, and insists there was no directive from the club to do so.

[one-eyed]

Five burning questions Hird wasn’t asked

Adam Baldwin
Foxsports
January 21, 2016

IT was supposed to be the exclusive James Hird interview that would address the burning issues confronting Essendon in the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) findings.

Instead, the focus was not on the answers but the questions.

The former Essendon coach was interviewed before a live audience by ABC News 24 journalist Tracey Holmes at Sydney’s Ethics Centre on Sunday night.

However, after 50 minutes, the football community was no wiser about the specifics of Essendon’s 2012 supplements program.

Social media went into overdrive, with punters pleading for Holmes to ask the questions that have gone unanswered since the blackest day in Australian sport almost four years ago.

Here are five key questions James Hird wasn’t asked:

1. If you were supportive of Bruce Reid’s concerns about the injection program, why did text messages sent to then football boss Danny Corcoran in 2012 suggest otherwise?

Hird told Holmes he was sensitive to chief medical officer Bruce Reid’s concerns around the club’s supplements program.

Hird claims he even advised Reid to email then football manager Paul Hamilton detailing the situation.

But, a text message uncovered by Fairfax Media sent by Hird on January 30 also refers to Reid’s intervention as “frustrating”.

“Organise a meeting with you me Reidy, Danksy [Stephen Dank] and Weapon [Dean Robinson] the day you get back. Reidy has stopped everything which is getting a little frustrating.”

2. Why did Essendon players omit supplements they were being given from testing forms provided to ASADA?

Some Essendon players told the doping investigation they were asked not to reveal details of the club’s supplements program to ASADA doping control officers.

This is one reason why the players were not considered eligible for a discount on their bans under the “no significant fault, no significant liability” provision.

3. Why were Essendon players asked to sign consent forms before participating in the supplements program?

If the supplements program in place at Essendon in 2012 was legal and designed with the players’ long-term health in mind, why were they required to sign a consent form?

Furthermore, the consent form stated the program was WADA compliant, which has since been proven not to be the case.

4. What do you make of Stephen Dank’s admission that Essendon players received TB4?

Hird described Dank as the only man who knows what supplements the Essendon players were given.

He maintained the Essendon players were innocent and stated his belief that they were supplied with approved supplement Thymomodulin and not the prohibited Thymosin Beta 4 (TB4).

However, this is in contrast to the CAS finding and what Dank told Fairfax investigate reporter Nick McKenzie in 2013 before citing confusion to clarify his comments.

In fact, TB4, almost the most crucial term in this whole case, barely received a mention in Holmes’ questioning.

5. Why haven’t you spoken to former club chairman and close friend David Evans since July, 2013?

This was one of the few revelations that came from the interview, however Holmes failed to probe Hird on the specific reasons behind the relationship breakdown.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/james-hird-interview-five-questions-former-essendon-coach-wasnt-asked-by-tracey-holmes/news-story/918172e762d448e8143712c36f9fa5c9?sv=36189262d6f4cbdb9bbd1b490e9421bd