AFL 2022: Craig Kelly says current players need to take responsibility for drug issues and stop blaming others
Players have to ‘get off their backsides’ and get help for themselves if they have issues with drugs according to influential player agent, Craig Kelly.
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Powerful player agent Craig Kelly has hit-out at Nick Riewoldt over his drug claims and said the current playing cohort needed to take more personal responsibility for any substance issues.
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The drugs debate has flared after it was revealed former Saint Sam Fisher had been arrested and was facing the prospect of jail time over drug trafficking charges.
While Riewoldt said more had to be done for players transitioning out of AFL ranks, Kelly said players also had to take more ownership of their own substance issues given the amount of resources dedicated to the problem.
Kelly, who is one of the most influential voices in the football industry as the boss of management giant TLA, said footballers at the top level had much more welfare support than others in the community.
“What we have got to understand is the players have got a responsibility,” Kelly said on SEN.
“The players have got to realise they have got to get off their backside and they have got to actually look after themselves.
“If they have got problems, the support is there.
“Stop blaming everyone else and let’s get them making sure they actually (take responsibility) and do something for themselves as well as the people around them.”
Kelly said the drug awareness education and player support programs had improved since Riewoldt had retired in 2017 and certainly since Melbourne chief executive Gary Pert raised concerns about “volcanic” levels of drug-taking in 2012 at Collingwood.
Riewoldt was adamant players were slipping through the cracks but Kelly said the former Saint had over-stated the problem considering recent improvements in player welfare.
“He is out of line saying there are a lot more players out there (with serious drug problems). There is a lot less than when he was playing,” Kelly said.
“There was a generation and a group … and we were getting better and I would suggest that was probably the period when Nick was there and Sam and plenty others (who had problems), we know that,” he said.
“I remember when Perty blew up in regards to the drug issue and we got better as an industry.
“We have got a lot better with mental health over the last few years and all the issues there.
“Do you believe the players get enough support and are they looked after enough?
“Fair to say they have got plenty, and way more than the normal group of people in society.”
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan weighed in on Friday, saying the league and clubs needed to find more effective ways for players to build a life after football while still in the club environment.
McLachlan said there was a personal responsibility for many players as he reflected on Fisher’s issues.
The league’s proposal that players must be in some part-time work or education before they signed a second AFL contract has been knocked back by the industry.
But McLachlan told 3AW there had to be a better way to reinforce to players that they could not leave those issues until post-career.
“Our players are getting a hell of a lot of education. There are doctors, welfare officers, we are also one of the few sports that have an illicit drugs policy with health and welfare at its core. There is a framework to help and then there is a point where there is individual accountability and people have to make their own decisions,” he said.
“The focus for us, if we step out more broadly is the AFL, the AFLPA and clubs have to keep focusing on transition.
“And that means when they are playing being the best footballer they can but having an eye on life after football and the transition and that’s a big part of the opportunity. It goes beyond Sam’s case
“For a lot of players they are finding the transition difficult and we have to work about how we talk about it, whether it’s part time work or trades or courses or study and having an eye as they try to be the best they can to what life after football looks like.”
‘Concerned’ teammates’ tried to prevent Saint’s drug tragedy
Glenn McFarlane
Former St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has detailed how ex-teammates of Saints defender Sam Fisher were so concerned about his welfare in recent months they tried unsuccessfully to stage an intervention.
It comes as former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire called for an overhaul of the AFL’s illicit drugs policy, saying the current system has become “a passport for players to get into drugs”.
Fisher is currently on remand after last week being arrested on serious drug trafficking charges across state borders. He faces the prospect of serious jail time if convicted.
When asked if Fisher’s former Saints teammates had tried to intervene recently, Lyon told Footy Classified: “They were concerned about his lifestyle and how he was living.”
“I was aware and I was concerned, but (you) hear that many rumours (about players).”
Lyon, who coached Fisher for five seasons, said he knew that he enjoyed partying, but was never told the extent of his issues during his playing days.
“I never saw a troubled person,” he said of Fisher. “Did I know he partied hard at times? Yes.
“He was a very special player for me. He always trained and he always played and he caused no headaches for me.
“But beneath the surface clearly there was a bit going on.”
Lyon said that as coach - under the drugs code - he was never privy to information about players who had encountered drug issues.
“As a coach, you don’t get any of that,” he said. “It’s the club doctor initially.
“I was never informed. To me, (I saw) an incredible athlete, a kind person, he was a star.”
McGuire revealed on Wednesday night that he had raised the issue of players taking drugs at his very first AFL presidents’ meeting in 1999.
He has urged the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association to work together to toughen the drugs code.
“What has happened is the AFL drug code, as well meaning as it has been, has been a passport for players to get into drugs,” McGuire said on Footy Classified.
“We have to get to a stage where we have to stop players getting on the drugs. They are aiding people to get through. I love the health part (to the code), but I think we need to go a little harder.”
SAINTS’ DESPERATE BID TO SAVE FISHER FROM DRUG HELL
—Jon Ralph
St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt says too many ex-players are slipping through the cracks with issues including drug addiction as he urged the league to make transition from the game the greatest issue in football.
Riewoldt spoke for the first time on Monday about the plight of long-time teammate Sam Fisher, who is in jail after being charged with trafficking a large amount of illicit drugs.
He could face up to 25 years in jail, with Fisher battling to find an identity post-football and spiralling out of control until a major police raid early last Wednesday.
Riewoldt told Fox Footy’s On The Couch in an emotional plea that teammates attempted to intervene when they realised Fisher was in deep trouble but realised it was too late.
He said he asked the player union earlier this year to intervene in recent months on Fisher’s behalf as well as for other ex-players but believed the response was inadequate.
It comes as the AFL throws up radical proposals including not allowing players to sign the second contract of their careers if they are not enrolled in an education program or finding work outside of football.
It is understood the AFLPA had helped Fisher, who retired in 2016, over the years, but the union told the Herald Sun on Monday it has strict confidentiality provisions to safeguard players and would not comment.
“It is a cautionary tale. Enough is enough. There are not a lot of Sam Fisher type incidents but there are a lot of players slipping through the cracks,” Riewoldt said.
“That would be my experience that so many players are slipping through the cracks and when they come out the other side their lives are ending up in pretty horrific condition.
“Let this be the line in the sand moment that enough is enough. This is the cautionary tale.”
“The AFL and the AFL Players Association will concede the players’ transition out of the game is the greatest issue in football. Somewhere along the line it’s not working because the condition too many players are finding themselves in post-career is not at the level it should be. And we can do more as an industry. The AFLPA in particular needs to champion this cause and take the lead on this cause to stop this occurring.”
Riewoldt said the upcoming collective bargaining agreement talks were the perfect chance for AFL players to take less money in their pay packets but invest in programs that helped players exiting the game.
It is understood Fisher was a recreational drug user at times in his St Kilda career but his addiction issues only reached fever pitch when he left the game.
Riewoldt said the issues for players included drug use.
“Drugs are a massive part of it. At the moment the (illicit drugs) policy that exists is one that allows players wiggle room to tap into those things. I think that is an issue. “Players who take drugs in the AFL system do so because the system allows them to.”
The AFLPA told the Herald Sun on Monday night there were extensive services available for past and current players, but would not confirm if it had helped Fisher after his career.
“We have a range of services, including a national mental health and wellbeing network of 300 qualified psychologists and psychiatrists. We also provide assistance for those going through financial hardship and subsidise past player medical costs,” Marsh said.
“Many of the issues players are confronting are complex and, to ensure the best outcome for them, it’s important the AFL industry employs a collaborative approach with all stakeholders – AFL, clubs, players, coaches and player agents – because these are shared issues.
“While we have helped hundreds of players through a range of problems, we won’t speak to the specific support we provide individuals as this damages the confidentiality that is integral to our role. We do the majority of our work behind closed doors and it’s vital it remains that way, so it doesn’t discourage any individual member from coming to us to seek assistance.”
Riewoldt says he and teammates attempted to intervene when they realised Fisher was in dangerous territory but did not have the expertise.
“It landed pretty heavy, for everyone close to ‘Chips’,” Riewoldt said.
“A lot of his close teammates knew he had some issues. To this extent when it was laid bare a lot of us were surprised just how bad the situation had become. Then you do a little bit of inward reflecting on what more could we have done, the reflection on our group, our time as teammates. It has been a pretty tough week for all of us.
“Absolutely you do (feel some guilt) but I also know there have been a lot of Sam’s teammates that have done as much as they could, myself included, and some have gone to extraordinary levels involving conversations with family and friends and those close to Sam
“As a group we did as much as we could for Sam but at a time like this you realise how out of your depth you are when a teammate is facing challenges of the kind Sam has faced. I understand the questions will come about us and our group and our leadership but you can put your head on the pillow knowing you did as much as you could.”
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