Essendon must fight legality of ASADA-AFL investigation after show cause notices issued, Mark Robinson writes
ESSENDON’S D-Day has arrived. Now it’s time for chairman Paul Little to launch D-Day himself, as the club strongly considers filing a Federal Court challenge today.
Mark Robinson
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ESSENDON’S D-Day arrived yesterday.
Now it’s time for chairman Paul Little to launch D-Day himself.
Last night the Bombers were strongly considering filing a Federal Court challenge today to the legality of the joint ASADA-AFL doping investigation.
This is not about the “show cause” notices received yesterday, but about the process and confidentiality of the joint AFL-Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority probe.
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People will say it is a technicality, but Little has always held firm the players did not take banned drugs and believes the “evidence’’ collected by the investigation was not proof the players did take banned drugs.
Now that that evidence has been presented to the players — who must now prove they didn’t take banned drugs — Little must take the ultimate step.
Life turned on its head for the Bombers yesterday.
There will be countless days of turmoil to follow, but yesterday it became so very real for Essendon players, their families and the footy club.
The Bombers have maintained their belief their players didn’t take banned or performance enhancing drugs.
Now they have to prove they didn’t.
That’s what show cause notices demand and it’s expected the players won’t answer the notices inside the 10-day requirement.
The Bombers will take legal action to defend their players as a matter of course, which means this godforsaken investigation could continue for at least another 18 months.
Or Little could go to the very source and challenge the entire investigation.
Not so long ago, before he was forced to accept the penalties from the AFL last August, Little was a fierce fighter for the Bombers.
Today, he is expected to take up the fight again.
He hinted at that yesterday when he said in a letter to members: “I can confirm we are exploring all legal options for our players in the unlikely event they receive show cause letters from ASADA — we make no apologies for that.’’
By late afternoon, unlikely became fact. By late last night, fact became war.
Little may have buckled under AFL pressure to accept the fines, and suspensions and draft penalties, but he won’t be buckling on this one.
Already, he was prepared for the worst and had mobilised a five-man legal team for the players.
What is known is the players will not accept guilt over any charges that they took banned drugs under the supervision of former sports scientist Stephen Dank and former high-performance chief Dean Robinson.
Little told the Herald Sun on June 11 no Essendon player would accept a “no fault, no negligence’’ position.
“To get that warning and to get that relief, you need to have been found to have taken a substance and our players don’t think they have,’’ he said.
“They are not going to use that clause, I promise you.’’
So, what of the players?
The 2013 season was a disaster for them after they were banned from playing in the finals series.
Their 2014 is up in the air and show causes could well ruin this season, and almost certainly the next.
Little has the power to stomp all over it.
If not, the evidence will focus on the potential use of thymosin beta 4.
Clearly, by the show cause notices issued yesterday, ASADA is adamant the players were given TB4 and not thymomodulin, the form of thymosin approved for athletes.
Dank, who is the man at the centre of the supplements scandal and who has refused to be interviewed by ASADA or the AFL, has continually denied he gave the players banned drugs.
Strangely, Dank takes a back seat again, because if Little launches Federal Court proceedings today, and it’s almost certain he will, then Dank’s day in court drifts even further away.
Originally published as Essendon must fight legality of ASADA-AFL investigation after show cause notices issued, Mark Robinson writes
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