ASADA to provide evidence to Essendon players Jon Pierik
The Age
September 25, 2014 The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority has revealed it will provide a "comprehensive summary" of evidence against the 34 Essendon players issued with show-cause notices, and has suggested it is open to a deal with players prepared to come forward.
The anti-doping body explained to Fairfax Media on Wednesday night how the next stage of the process against the Essendon players would unfold, now that the Bombers and coach James Hird have lost their Federal Court case attempting to prove the investigation into the club's 2012 supplements program was unlawful.
An ASADA spokesperson said the show-cause process was on hold while the Bombers and Hird debated whether to appeal the Federal Court decision. The two parties had 21 days from last Friday – when Justice John Middleton made his ruling – to make a call. The Bombers board met on Wednesday, with the appeal understood to be a key point of discussion.
"The show-cause notice process for the 34 former and current Essendon Football Club players will remain on hold while the Federal Court appeal period is in place," the ASADA spokesperson said.
"What we do next will be determined once the appeal period expires or an appeal is lodged."
The spokesperson said once that decision was resolved, ASADA chief Ben McDevitt would become involved.
"In the event the appeal period expires and no appeal is lodged, it is the intention of ASADA CEO Ben McDevitt to provide the players with amended show-cause notices," the spokesperson said.
"The amended notices will set a new date for the lodgment of submissions and include a comprehensive summary of the evidence in support of the case against the players."
The players were initially given show-cause notices in June but these did not include a summary of evidence. The notices were put on hold when the Bombers and Hird lodged their court case.
The AFL Players Association and its lawyers have repeatedly asked for the anti-doping body to provide the evidence it has alleging the players were given the banned peptide, thymosin beta-4, during the sports science program run by Stephen Dank.
The players would then have up to a fortnight to respond and show they should not be added to the Register of Findings.
The Anti-Doping Review Violation Panel, a body independent of ASADA, then assesses a brief of evidence and the responses of the players. If a player is added to the Register of Findings, this the first step towards infraction notices being administered by the AFL.
The players face suspensions of up to two years but have maintained they are not interested in a deal.
However, ASADA has suggested it is open to a deal with any player prepared to come forward. "We are open to that prospect as we are with any athlete facing a possible doping violation," the spokesperson said.
Should players change their mind, one possible deal is that they do not admit to guilt, having been duped into being given a banned substance, and are handed a six-month sentence, meaning they would miss few matches.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/asada-to-provide-evidence-to-essendon-players-20140924-10ll6v.html
