BEN COUSINS [merged]

[mightytiges]

LOL Cousins raking up 50 possessions every week for Coburg 

[torch]

well we can't now ... banned for 1 year ...

[Mr Magic]

LOL Cousins raking up 50 possessions every week for Coburg 

Interesting.

Do they drug test at VFL level?

FWIW I think he's finished at AFL level.
Will be absolutely amazed if he resurrects his career from here.

[WilliamPowell]

Do they drug test at VFL level?

Yes they do

If Benny was to play in the VFL - ASDA would be there all the time 

well we can't now ... banned for 1 year ...

Not true torch - he is free to play in other comp in AUstralia bar the AFL

[one-eyed]

The LAPD won't announce if they're charging Cousins until after his AFL commission hearing on Monday.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22769051-663,00.html

How can u be charged for Binging,FFS!!!

More media crapola kiddies.

FYI,There is no law enabling LAPD to charge an individual for, "Binging"

Nothing in the pocket - Nothing to charge.

Ben could,for example,simply say his drink was spiked...which i think it probably was.

Cuzz is a very  cunning,astute character who was lived on the opther side of the law for most of his life.

They wont be charging him with anything.
Why.
Because he is adhering to the Law(s) "They" put in place.

You're right Ox. The LAPD have decided not to charge Cousins. The only thing they could have pinged him for was drug use which would have only meant a court would have sent him to rehab anyway.

[WilliamPowell]

There is a part of me that feels for Benny.

I mean over the years there have been others that have IMHO bought the game into as much if not more "disrepute" than Benny - who's greatest crime is being an idiot and ruining his own life.

Let me see IIRC there was one F Gehrig who urinated on a female at a nightclub - not onlt did his club ignore it but so too did the AFL. Then there was another Fraser who played for Carlton who clocked someone because they were looking at him. IIRC that one ended up in court and Fraser B got a bond. Again the league did nothing

There was Didak in 2007 - and he received no punishment from the league.

One could go on but why bother ??? It seems to me that the AFL should have done something earlier, didnt and are making up for it now. They are stuck with an illicit drugs policy (3 strikes) that let's people get away with doing drungs not once but 3 times before they will do anything. It's crazy

Once more they (the AFL) have shown they have different rules for very different fools

[DallasCrane]

There is a part of me that feels for Benny.

I mean over the years there have been others that have IMHO bought the game into as much if not more "disrepute" than Benny - who's greatest crime is being an idiot and ruining his own life.

Let me see IIRC there was one F Gehrig who urinated on a female at a nightclub - not onlt did his club ignore it but so too did the AFL. Then there was another Fraser who played for Carlton who clocked someone because they were looking at him. IIRC that one ended up in court and Fraser B got a bond. Again the league did nothing

There was Didak in 2007 - and he received no punishment from the league.

One could go on but why bother ??? It seems to me that the AFL should have done something earlier, didnt and are making up for it now. They are stuck with an illicit drugs policy (3 strikes) that let's people get away with doing drungs not once but 3 times before they will do anything. It's crazy

Once more they (the AFL) have shown they have different rules for very different fools

 
Well said WP.

[mightytiges]

There is a part of me that feels for Benny.

I mean over the years there have been others that have IMHO bought the game into as much if not more "disrepute" than Benny - who's greatest crime is being an idiot and ruining his own life.

Let me see IIRC there was one F Gehrig who urinated on a female at a nightclub - not onlt did his club ignore it but so too did the AFL. Then there was another Fraser who played for Carlton who clocked someone because they were looking at him. IIRC that one ended up in court and Fraser B got a bond. Again the league did nothing

There was Didak in 2007 - and he received no punishment from the league.

One could go on but why bother ??? It seems to me that the AFL should have done something earlier, didnt and are making up for it now. They are stuck with an illicit drugs policy (3 strikes) that let's people get away with doing drungs not once but 3 times before they will do anything. It's crazy

Once more they (the AFL) have shown they have different rules for very different fools

Yep well said WP  .

I reckon the AFL acted this time around to get the Federal Government off their back.

[FooffooValve]

I reckon the AFL acted this time around to get the Federal Government off their back.

Yeah probably true to some extent, but I reckon the ban is also in Cousins's best interests, health-wise. So I guess the AFL are due some credit for that, even if their intentions are not entirely pure.

[one-eyed]

‘No VFL club could afford Cousins’: Ayres
footygoss.com
Nov 20, 2007

Former Hawthorn defender and newly appointed Port Melbourne coach Gary Ayres says that VFL clubs would find it almost impossible to lure troubled former West Coast star Ben Cousins given the league is not cashed up enough to pay the 2005 Brownlow medallist.

Cousins was banned by the AFL Commission on Monday after he was charged with bringing the game into disrepute, but Ayres, a five-time premiership player with the Hawks suggested that the option of getting Cousins to play with any local league side would signify huge hurdles.

“What would Ben want? That would be the other interesting scenario,” Ayres said on Tuesday.

“With a salary cap of about $250,000, I would say that no VFL club would be able to afford Ben Cousins from a payment point of view.”

Cousins’ ban does not specify whether he can or cannot play in a lower league with the WAFL and VFL set to ponder their positions on the issue in the coming weeks.

Link.

[Mr Magic]

Hard to believe he won the Brownlow medal for Best and Fairest in the comp in only 2005.

It's been some fall from grace in two years..

[mightytiges]

I reckon the AFL acted this time around to get the Federal Government off their back.

Yeah probably true to some extent, but I reckon the ban is also in Cousins's best interests, health-wise. So I guess the AFL are due some credit for that, even if their intentions are not entirely pure.

True FFV.

[one-eyed]

Eagles' big decision
21 November 2007   Herald Sun
Daryl Timms

WEST Coast is facing a million-dollar payout over its sacking of Ben Cousins.

The fallen Eagles star is believed to be considering suing his former club over his dramatic axing last month.

Prominent legal advice suggests Cousins would have a solid case if he argued wrongful dismissal after the Eagles sacked him following his arrest in Perth last month.

Cousins agreed to a substantial pay cut when he had his contract amended following his admission of a substance-abuse problem in March.

However it's believed the Eagles had agreed to pay him about $600,000 a year under his revised contract, which expires at the end of 2009.

Although the Eagles have sacked him, they won't officially delist him until after Saturday's national draft.

The AFL would have to rule whether the Eagles need to include money in their salary cap if Cousins was compensated for his sacking.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22794523%255E19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Cousins has six-month buffer to decide on 2008 return
Rohan Connolly and Stathi Paxinos | November 21, 2007

BEN Cousins can decide to reignite his football career as late as the end of next June and still be eligible to play in 2008, increasing the likelihood that he will play again before his 12-month AFL ban expires.

AFL Victoria yesterday confirmed that should it permit the suspended Brownlow medallist to play in the VFL next year, he would have until June 30 to submit an application.

VFL clubs are required to submit lists for the 2008 season by March 15, but are allowed to make alterations to their lists until June 30.

Melbourne (Sandy), Hawthorn (Box Hill), Adelaide and Essendon (Bendigo) aren't interested. St Kilda (Casey) are open to the idea, Bulldogs (Willy) haven't discussed it while Collingwood said "no comment". No mention of Richmond (Coburg).

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/cousins-has-sixmonth-buffer/2007/11/20/1195321781548.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[richmondrules]

Hard to believe he won the Brownlow medal for Best and Fairest in the comp in only 2005.

It's been some fall from grace in two years..

I wonder if he was using drugs back then. ICE is performance enhancing initially. Brownlow and premiership? I don't have much sympathy for his fall from grace. There are consequences for actions and he needs to face them. This is not to say I don't feel a sense of compassion towards him and I do have a fair bit of concern for his health. No person should have to go through what he is going through currently or endure the demons he is going to have to face. I certainly wish him the best for a full recovery. Good luck Ben.