I missed it and with the cricket on tonight there won't be a replay on Gem later.
My Tech Guru source has provided a transcript of the show last night ...
Footy Classified - Wednesday, August 21, 2013CRAIG HUTCHISON: Football turmoil tonight. Dramatic day with the AFL and Essendon in an unforeseen war like never before. James Hird heading to the Supreme Court taking action against AFL and Andrew Demetriou claiming he’s been denied natural justice.
CAROLINE WILSON: AFL called in all the clubs, along with Paul Little. Essendon convinced the AFL working a way to remove them from the finals come what may. Deal has broken down – stumbling blocks 12 month suspension to James Hird. Two years of draft penalties.
GARRY LYON: The charges have got the footy world shaking their heads. Number of injections makes for disturbing reading. They are just allegations, need to point that out.
CAROLINE WILSON: If the Australian Crime Commission evidence could be put forward, this charge sheet would be a lot worse than the one put out by the AFL today which is even more horrifying.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Real red flags that made you feel sick as a footy fan that it could go on.
GARRY LYON: Not the game he used to play. Made him feel sick.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Essendon season over today. Even if they’re allowed to play finals, he would be staggered if they win another game. James Hird, will he coach another training session? He’ll try to but with everything on his mind will be difficult.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Initial warning on 5 August 2011, during the meeting James Hird was informed by the AFL’s Manager Integrity Services that peptides were a serious risk to the integrity of the AFL. (He) implored Hird to report to the AFL if he came across any information relating to peptides.
Benita Lalor concerns – 23 August 2011 – No meaningful proof of beneficial effects, no date on the side effects/long term use of Lactaway in elite athletes and potentially relevant warnings that its use may cause additional muscle damage. On getting this information, James Hird emailed Danny Corcoran, “This is what we’re dealing with.” Two days later Dean Robinson appointed.
GARRY LYON: This is the thing that slapped me between the eyes – Bruce Reid letter to James Hird dated 17 January 2011:
Dear James/Paul, I have some fundamental problems being club doctor at present. (Lyon thinks this is the most powerful statement of the whole letter). This particularly applies to the administration of supplements.
Last week the players were given subcutaneous injections, not by myself, and I had no idea that this was happening and also what drug was involved.
One wonders whether if you take a long stance and look at this from a distance whether you wouldn’t want your children being injected with a derivative hormone.”
Bomber Thompson May 2012 – During the May meeting, Thompson resolutely advised Dank that the injecting of players was to cease.
After the May meeting and until at least 5 August 2012 the players continued to receive injections from Dank.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Says he’s asked about Bomber Thompson and his part in that, and there was a number of people angry in that room about the program and Bomber Thompson was the most aggressive.
GARRY LYON: Why didn’t it stop after Bruce Reid letter?
MATTHEW LLOYD: Doesn’t know, maybe the faith in the people that they trusted.
CAROLINE WILSON: Why is Bruce Reid being charged by the AFL given this letter? James Hird is denying that he received that letter but the letter is addressed to him. He does admit that he discussed with Reid his concerns.
GARRY LYON: Speaks to the cavalier nature of what was going on. Bruce Reid pushed aside as he wasn’t up to the modern way or just ignored?
MATTHEW LLOYD: He did believe it had stopped and that it was amino acids and vitamins that were moving on from that period of time and later found it wasn’t the case.
CAROLINE WILSON: Bruce Reid became very emotional today in his surgery at Epworth. Saying Andrew Garnham shouldn’t?? have told Essendon AOD was legal. Patients heard Reid getting upset and had to be taken into the office of Peter Larkins to settle him down.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Today was flashpoint. Was tracking towards a deal, but with doctor breaking rank and the parents meeting set the AFL off today. AFL released this today and reaction very emotional.
CAROLINE WILSON: And Essendon’s refusal to accept draft penalties.
GARRY LYON: On James Hird’s response today – extraordinarily defiant James Hird today, but has to be said he has maintained his innocence through this whole thing.
CAROLINE WILSON: James Hird career close to finished as a result of this scandal. Could have survived if he had taken responsibility at the beginning and attempted to fix the situation behind the scenes. As recently as a month ago he could have salvaged his career. His total undoing has been the manner that he has chosen to fight this. Lost the support of the public, losing the support of the 17 AFL clubs, and did not hear one mention about anyone but James Hird and Andrew Demetriou. Never heard the welfare of the players mentioned once.
GARRY LYON: Right to defend himself. Do we need to hold fire?
CRAIG HUTCHISON: No. Sad for him, admire him like everyone else, but he’s clearly in denial. Haven’t heard him concede mistakes, or addressing them, other than the first day. If someone has got a vendetta against you, what is the motive for the AFL to bring down Hird, one of the games greatest players, if they didn’t genuinely feel that that club had done some wrong. The AFL doesn’t have a motive, trying to get the best result for the game. It was about James Hird today. Would have liked to see him try and take more responsibility.
CAROLINE WILSON: The ASADA evidence and the AFL investigation which he insists is illegal, the Chief Government Solicitor denies that. He said on day one that he was shocked that he was sitting here today. You read this and you wonder what he was saying back then. He said he takes full responsibility for the football department. Has said privately that he regrets he said that and that he was advised to do that by someone in PR. Even that first day he now backs away from.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Feels sick at the moment. Tougher now than in February because he believes a lot in what he has had to say. They have let down their players. Can’t wait to hear what he owns up to. Bomber Thompson the other night said he will face up to 10 or 20 per cent. I can’t wait for it to go to the courts – Essendon think the truth will come out in the courts.
CAROLINE WILSON: All we’ve heard is legal arguments and legal obstacles, attacks on the AFL, procedural problems with the investigation. Wonders why Matthew Lloyd isn’t more angry on behalf of his former team mates.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Everyone in footy is barracking for him to be right.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Could Stephen Dank have let him down?
CAROLINE WILSON: Stephen Dank is the main rogue in this. James Hird emerges from the investigation as the main architect of this program still at the club.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Bomber Thompson tried to stop it.
DAMIEN BARRATT: The AFL has held back so much more detail – text messages exchanges, some of which referred to in 35 page sheet. Some texts not even referenced yet. Charges that they are prepared to defend to the absolute nth should they be challenged. The Australian Crime Commission and ASADA reports have not been referred to yet. Those two documents could still see the light of day, particularly the ASADA report which is obliged under legislation to be tabled once it is completed. More detail to emerge.
Calls from player managers who are concerned. Their main concern was to get the players off and they’ve been quite comfortable up to this point. But conversations he’s had, they had read the report like a lot of us and have been blown away by the level of detail in it and the level of concern for their players. They are considering their own positions with regards to their players. To date they’re more than happy with others to deal totally with what happens with their players, but that could change on absorbing this information today.
Drugs mentioned – Thymosin Beta 4 – “Dank: “Don’t forget how important Thymosin is. This is going to be our vital cornerstone next year.”
Dank was referring to Thymosin Beta-4 and not Thymosin Alpha. In late May 2012 Dank discovered that the Thymosin he had been providing the players (alleged to be Thymosin Beta-4 but disputed by Essendon) was in fact prohibited.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Whether Thymosin Beta-4 was used on the players or used for other means which is also in dispute.
CAROLINE WILSON: Circumstantial evidence at the very least used on the players. ASADA already believe they have enough evidence to serve infraction notices on the players, but they are waiting until the legislation kicks in and they will continue with their investigation.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Mexican drug – Hooper states that 34 Essendon players were injected with an amino acid compound sourced by Patient A from a chemist in Mexico. The identity and integrity of the commodity was inferred by Hooper from labelling without independent or professional verification. Additionally, the amino acid appears to have been in storage at HyperMED for a considerable time prior to its use. Save for the above, Hooper does not know the content or source of the amino acids he injected into the players at HyperMED.
GARRY LYON: If that turns out to be true, that would be enough for him as a player to walk out of that footy club and never return.
MATTHEW LLOYD: He is with Garry on that as well. He says he’s got doubt on some things because he speaks to people at the club, On this one it’s unforgiveable.
CAROLINE WILSON: No-one is denying the story. The Essendon fans made a joke out of it, which shows how crazy they’ve become and they’re even trying to deny it came from Mexico and said it was New Mexico.
MATTHEW LLOYD: That goes to the core of what set off the alarm bells in Bruce Reid.
GARRY LYON: Garry said if it was him, he’d walk out and he would encourage players to walk if all that was true.
CAROLINE WILSON: The only reason Essendon stopped that program was after they got the bill for $61,000.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Side effects the AFL allege James Hird had from his own use.
Hird Side Effects: In or about October 2011, Hird received, on club premises, vials of Melanotan II and syringes from club high performance coach, Dean Robinson. Following his self-administration of injections of Melanotan II Hird suffered ‘REDACTED’ side effects.
GARRY LYON: Supreme Court action that he is taking will be denying he self-injected a substance.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: On Paul Little’s reaction today. The bombers have released a report on their website where it details what he says were the AFL’s undertakings to try and find a compromise, and revised charges that were sent to them last Friday.
Removed:
(i) Players were administered substances that were prohibited by the AFL Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code.
Replaced:
(ii) There was an unacceptable risk that players may have been administered substances that were prohibited by the AFL Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code.
(iii) The club is unable to determine whether players were administered substances prohibited by the AFL Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code.
CAROLINE WILSON: As bad and sickening as charges were, nothing in there that people at Essendon tried to cheat. Shows they were totally irresponsible, they tried to push boundaries, they put their players in a dangerous position and even allowed them to be used as guineapigs, but in no part saying they cheated or that James Hird did.
Matt Finnis – our association has no tolerance for conduct which compromises the duty of care to our players. Shocking to see that the concerns of health professionals can be ignored, and a club that seemed intent on pushing the boundaries, regardless of their potential impact. It is not apparent to me, based on my reading of the interim report, how the club can be certain that no player’s health was put at risk by virtue of its supplements program.
CAROLINE WILSON: Went on to say that if no player has no long-term side effects from the program it will be good luck and nothing else and this must never happen again. Was always going to be a moment when the players association stepped over from supporting Essendon and the players to turning on Essendon.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Why wasn’t the players association stronger a week ago with their concerns after they had read the report then?
CAROLINE WILSON: They were. They went in and they spoke to the players and they made it clear how concerned that people involved in this program were still at the club and they were privately even talking about their own action if the AFL didn’t take action. The tipping point was the comments to the players and their families and afterwards by some, including Tim Watson.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Matt Finnis did speak to the players last week and went down like a lead balloon in the sense that not playing finals there was the reality. The whole air has gone out of the bomber players’ season.
Tim Watson – the club had tried to be as open as they possibly can right throughout this and that’s what they were tonight. On the substances in the report, they gave a detailed outline as to what they were and the effects of those if there were any, and those fears have been allayed.
CAROLINE WILSON: AOD 9604 is a WADA-banned substance. The AFL in February didn’t withhold information from Essendon.
Andrew Garnham – “The advice that I had at that time was that AOD 9604 was considered under Section S2 of the Anti-Doping Code and was regarded as not prohibited.
CAROLINE WILSON: Andrew Garnham has sowed the seeds in the minds of Essendon, primarily Bruce Reid and others, that the AFL that had a conspiracy against Essendon. It is so irresponsible of what he has just said. He has been flagged as an AFL person. He is an Essendon consultant and should never have made those comments.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: ASADA refutes comments by Andrew Garnham: “In relation to comments last night by Dr Andrew Garnham, we have been advised in writing by ASADA CEO Aurora Andruska this morning that: AOD 9604 is not approved for human use and logically it couldn’t be considered safe to use. ASADA reiterates that at no point has it advised any party that AOD 9604 was permitted in sport, and our advice to the sporting community has always been consistent with WADA.”
CAROLINE WILSON: Andrew G has no written evidence that ASADA told him that. He’s got his own notes, and ASADA now denies that he was ever told that.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Essendon would still run with it if it was approved?
CAROLINE WILSON: Banned by WADA under the SO category in early 2011. They’re saying the AFL all year has kept this dreadful secret, this secret that has been burdening the players and they should have told them.
MATTHEW LLOYD: So is Bruce Reid wrong?
CAROLINE WILSON: Bruce Reid believes the conspiracy theory that the AFL kept secret their knowledge of AOD being legal. Andrew Demetriou said in April that it was a grey area.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: The fact it was banned wasn’t spelt out.
CAROLINE WILSON: They should have checked with WADA. It is ridiculous to suggest that the AFL kept secret their knowledge that it was legal, when they didn’t know that and it wasn’t.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: The Footy Show will have more tomorrow.
CAROLINE WILSON: Essendon concerned the AFL could find some way of suspending them from the finals before the charges are heard. Definitely some aces up the sleeve of Mike Fitzpatrick. Paul Little for the first time will be put alongside other club presidents. Caro hasn’t found a club that aren’t completely disgusted with the Essendon Football Club tonight. Spoken to the majority of the clubs.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: Will Essendon play finals?
CAROLINE WILSON: No.
GARRY LYON: Yep.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Thinks they will but not the best for them – penalised sooner rather than later and could hurt them in the long run.
CRAIG HUTCHISON: If they try and play finals they’d be foolish.
MATTHEW LLOYD: Will they miss games next year.
CAROLINE WILSON: Not sure but thinks they’ll lose draft picks
