Essendon drug scandal: Timeline of events
AFTER 36 months, the saga looks to have finally concluded. The saga of the Essendon 34 has dominated headlines for three years, here are the key milestones.
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Essendon’s own report into its 2012 supplements program revealed a “pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented”.
The saga of the Essendon 34 has taken 36 months to play out — here are the key milestones.
February 5, 2013
Essendon “self reports’’ to ASADA and the AFL, asking the league to investigate concerns about the potential inappropriate use of supplements during the 2012 season.
Coach James Hird tells a press conference: “I’m very disappointed, shocked is probably the best word. As a coach I take full responsibility for what happens in our footy department. If there have been goings on within our football department that are not right we want to know.”
February 7
Australian Crime Commission makes its Drugs in Sport report public in a press conference dubbed the “blackest day in Australian sport”.
The Crime Commission’s 12-month Project Aperio identified widespread use of prohibited substances including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs in professional sport and highlighted links to organised crime.
Home Affairs and Justice Minister Jason Clare says: “The findings are shocking and will disgust Australian sports fans. It’s cheating but it’s worse than that. It’s cheating with the help of criminals.”
April 10
Essendon crisis manager Elizabeth Lukin suggests to James Hird he should think about standing down.
April 11
Former Essendon sports scientist Stephen Dank claims through the media that he injected Bombers coach James Hird with Hexarelin — which WADA banned for players in 2004. The claims were denied by Hird and never substantiated. “These claims are horrifying to me, and are being made by a person or people who appear determined to destroy my reputation,” Hird says.
April 12
AFL chief Andrew Demetriou publicly states stepping aside is “an option (Hird) has to consider”.
CAS findings on Essendon 34 in full
April 16
Hird is interviewed by ASADA and AFL investigators for eight hours.
May 6
A report by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski, commissioned by Essendon, finds that poor handling of the Bombers’ 2012 sports science program allowed “a pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented’’.
May 6
Players are allegedly told by ASADA investigators there would be no prosecutions for the use of peptide AOD-9604 because of confusion over its legal status.
May 23
Essendon CEO Ian Robson resigns. He tells a press conference: “We now know that a lot happened at this club in 2012 that just should not have happened. We let down our players and their families; how seriously we let them down is still a matter of investigation. There is no excuse in not knowing, and as CEO, I am accountable and I accept that accountability.”
June 8
Retired Bomber Mark McVeigh says he was shocked by his grilling from ASADA investigators and claims Essendon was plunged into its supplement scandal by “a huge rogue element”.
“There are things that you hear in this interview that you know nothing about and you’ve never heard before and they are quite alarming,’’ McVeigh said. “When I say alarming, I mean things that people may have done who are no longer at the club that no one knew about. You think about your family, you think about your health and it’s quite serious.’’
June 24
“I signed that consent form,” Watson said. “My understanding after it being given through (Essendon doctor) Bruce Reid and the club (was) that I was receiving AOD. (I believed) that it was legal at the time and that’s what I was told I was being given.”
June 27
Watson is booed by Eagles fans in Perth as he leads the Bombers to a remarkable victory.
Late June
AFL figures are alleged to have approached Essendon to inquire what sanctions the club would be willing to accept. A loss of premiership points and sanctions for Hird were allegedly suggested by AFL.
July 1
AFL football operations chief Mark Evans for the first time publicly floats possibility Essendon could have premiership points deducted by the commission.
July 25
The Herald Sun reveals details of Essendon’s “night of crisis” meeting at the home of chairman David Evans on the night of February 4, with conflicting reports over whether AFL boss Andrew Demetriou tipped off Evans over the ACC investigation.
July 28
Days after standing his ground, David Evans quits after suffering a physical breakdown in the rooms after Essendon’s Friday night loss to Hawthorn. “What is happening at our club right now is a tragedy, but I know that it will survive,” Evans said.
July 31
Former Essendon fitness boss Dean “The Weapon” Robinson gives an explosive TV interview claiming he had been asked to conduct “black ops” at the club. Essendon says Robinson’s claims are “totally without foundation”.
August 2
AFL confirms it has received ASADA’s interim report into the use of supplements at Essendon.
August 13
Hird, Bombers head of football Danny Corcoran, club doctor Bruce Reid and assistant coach Mark Thompson are charged with conduct likely to bring the game into disrepute. The Bombers say they will fight all charges.
Mid-August
Proposed penalties are allegedly put to Essendon, long before the hearing and before the official terms of the charges are released.
August 21
Charges revealed. New Essendon chairman Paul Little declares war on AFL. Demetriou tells the public: “I want to state very clearly: there has been no predetermination of this matter by the AFL Commission.’’
August 21
Hird launches Supreme Court action against the AFL claiming he had been denied natural justice. Court documents allege Demetriou and his deputy Gillon McLachlan tipped off Essendon on the “night of crisis” on February 4 that its players had taken performance-enhancing drugs.
August 22
The CEOs of the other 17 other AFL clubs meet and declare their support for AFL.
August 23
As deal offers are being discussed, Little writes an open letter to members and supporters apologising for mistakes and accepting there will be sanctions.
August 25
AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan holds a meeting at his home with Hird and two others.
August 26-27
AFL Commission hearing concerning the charges is held at AFL House. It is later claimed that no evidence was heard by the commission and no cases presented.
Bombers are eventually disqualified from the 2013 finals, fined $2 million and stripped of its picks in the first two rounds of the 2013 and 2014 national drafts.
Hird accepts a 12-month ban and drops his Supreme Court action.
Corcoran (six month ban — two months suspended) and Thompson ($30,000 fine) are also punished. Reid fights on.
September 13
A report in The Australian stating that the charge against Dr Reid would be dropped is dismissed as “deplorable’’ journalism by Demetriou.
September 18
Charges against Dr Reid are dropped and no penalties imposed.
December 5
Herald Sun reveals James Hird is still being paid by Essendon during his 12-month ban.
Demetriou declares on radio: “He’s not allowed to be paid — I want to make that very clear ... If there is one thing I will go to my grave on, I know 100 per cent the AFL is not paying and I know that — Essendon is not paying.”
December 11
Tania Hird makes a spirited defence of her husband outside their Toorak home and says Demetriou knows that James Hird is being paid.
In her first public statements since the scandal erupted, Mrs Hird accused the AFL of a “total disregard for the truth” and “appalling” behaviour throughout the drugs saga, also calling on the league to stop “threatening” her husband and Bombers.
December 13
The AFL threatens to withhold funding from Essendon until it explains whether and why it is paying Hird.
Later that day, the stalemate is resolved with an agreement for Hird to be paid 12 months’ salary before December 31. Little says: “The implied terms of the AFL sanction indicate that James Hird cannot be paid for a 12 month period therefore he will not be paid during the calendar period January 1 — December 31, 2014.”
2014
February 5
A year after the scandal broke, the ASADA investigation continues with no Essendon player charged with using performance-enhancing drugs. The Bombers prepare to launch their 2014 membership campaign.
March 2
The Sunday Herald Sun names 10 current Essendon players who told ASADA they suspected they’d been injected with banned peptides.
In a subsequent email to members and supporters, club chairman Paul Little said: “As previously stated, we believe that our players did not take anything harmful, performance enhancing or illegal during 2012.”
“The disclosure of players names will not change the outcome of the investigation in any way whatsoever, however it unfairly impacts our players, their reputations, their families and our club,” he wrote.
He added: “Our club is by no means in any crisis.”
March 3
Andrew Demetriou announces his resignation as AFL chief executive, effective from the end of the season. He denies the timing of the previous day’s Sunday Herald Sun report had anything to do with his decision.
“It’s been a wonderful journey full of challenges but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said during his resignation speech. “I leave the game with no regrets.”
March 18
James Hird speaks at length for the first time since accepting his punishment, using Essendon’s Fox Footy show The Hangar to reassure supporters of his return when his suspension ends in August.
“I can’t wait to come back,” he said. “I’m counting down the days.
“I think it’s less than six months now to come back and I can’t wait to come back and coach this football club again and coach the players and reward the supporters for the faith they have put in our football club.
March 20
Hird departs for France, where he will spend the next few months with his family while attending one of the world’s most prestigious business schools.
His wife Tania gives an interview to ABC’s 7.30 show repeating her allegation that Demetriou tipped Essendon off about the supplements investigation.
March 21
Club chairman Paul Little expresses his disappointment with the 7.30 interview and says the Essendon hierarchy will discuss Hird’s future at the club.
Demetriou repeats his denial of Tania Hird’s “tip-off” claims and urges everyone to move on.
Tania Hird stands by her comments, saying she was forced to defend her husband from “things that are just not accurate”.
March 26
After a meeting of the club’s board, Essendon chairman Paul Little announces that James Hird will coach the Bombers next year and his contract for the 2015-16 seasons will be honoured.
Little says he believes both James and Tania were genuine in their commitment to respect club protocols and to stop commenting publicly on the drugs saga.
May 12
The World Anti Doping Agency announces it will appeal the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal’s decision
“after a thorough examination of the evidence.”
June 12
Essendon players are issued with show-cause notices by ASADA over the club’s 2012 supplements program.
June 13
Essendon chairman Paul Little announces the club has launched a challenge against the joint ASADA-AFL investigation in the Federal Court. James Hird lodges papers for his own case against the legality of the investigation. ASADA puts the show-cause notices on hold while the case unfolds.
August 11-13
The Federal Court hears three days of explosive revelations including political interference in the investigation from the office of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and evidence from James Hird that he only signed a deed of settlement with the AFL, which resulted in his 12-month suspension, after “threats and inducements” were made.
August 25
Hird’s 12-month suspension ends. He returns to work at Essendon but takes a back seat during the club’s finals campaign.
September 6
The Bombers’ season ends in an elimination final defeat to North Melbourne after the Roos kick five goals to two in the final quarter to win by 12 points.
September 19
Justice John Middleton throws out Essendon and James Hird’s challenge. In a comprehensive ruling, Justice Middleton found all parts of the ASADA investigation lawful, including the provision of the interim report to the AFL.
October 1
A day of drama in which it is at one point mistakenly reported by Fairfax Media that James Hird has been sacked after he defied the club by appealing the Federal Court ruling. But Hird is asked not to attend the club’s best-and-fairest dinner, where stand-in coach Mark Thompson delivers a stirring speech widely perceived as putting his hand up for the job in 2015. The next day Thompson leaves for a holiday overseas.
October 17
ASADA issues fresh show-cause notices to 34 current and former Essendon players. The club is given two weeks to fight the players being put on ASADA’s Register of Findings but chooses not to respond.
November 10
Hird returns to court for his two-day appeal, where he argues Justice Middleton misread key elements of his case.
November 13
Mark Thompson effectively quits the club after a coaching role cannot be found for him. Essendon players are put on the ASADA Register of Findings.
November 14
Thirty-four players are issued with infraction notices alleging the use of banned peptide Thymosin Beta 4.
December 9
AFL Tribunal chairman David Jones bars the media from forthcoming anti-doping hearings despite submissions from the Herald Sun and the AFL.
December 15
Anti-doping tribunal hearing starts. After three days the tribunal breaks for Christmas.
2015
January 20
Anti-doping tribunal resumes.
January 29
Anti-doping tribunal hearings put on hold until February 16, when closing submissions will be heard. Essendon asks AFL to guarantee any player bans will be backdated to November or it could jeopardise the Bombers’ involvement in the NAB Challenge pre-season competition.
January 30
Hird loses his appeal in the Federal Court, with Justice Susan Kenny ordering him to pay ASADA’s legal costs. Hird reserves his right to take the case to the High Court.
February 5
ASADA tells the AFL it will not support a special deal allowing Essendon players to take part in the NAB Challenge, saying participating in the pre-season competition would forfeit their right to backdated bans.
February 27
Hird decides against seeking special leave to appeal his case against ASADA to the High Court, signalling the end of his one-man war against them.
March 31
The AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal announces that all 34 past and present Essendon players were found not guilty of using a banned supplement.
April 20
ASADA announces that it will not appeal the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal’s ruling finding all 34 past and present Essendon players not guilty.
May 11
WADA announces it will appeal the tribunal’s not guilty decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
June 26
Stephen Dank is handed a lifetime ban for his role in the saga.
August 6
WADA reveals in a submission to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that it has found “abnormally” high amounts of thymosin beta 4 — the substance Essendon players are accused of taking — in the frozen urine samples of two players from Essendon’s 2012 player list.
August 6
Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell responds to WADA’s alleged findings by stating “there are real doubts as to the significance of these claims”.
August 18
James Hird resigns as coach of the Essendon Football Club, believing that the club would not be able to move on from the supplements controversy while he was still the coach.
August 26
The Court of Arbitration for Sport announces the timeline for WADA’s closed-to-the-public appeal.
November 9
Essendon fined $305,000 by Worksafe Victoria for breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act relating to the supplements program.
November 16
WADA’s appeal of the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal’s not guilty decision begins at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Sydney.
November 21
The appeal concludes and the three member Court of Arbitration for Sport panel retire to consider their judgment.
December 23
Court of Arbitration for Sport announce a decision on WADA’s appeal will be handed down the week commencing January 11.
January 12
The Essendon 34 found guilty of doping. Twelve current Bombers stars including skipper Jobe Watson, Dyson Heppell and Michael Hurley have been slapped with a 12 months ban.
READ MORE:
PANAHI: ‘AFL’S ARROGANCE BACKFIRES SPECTACULARLY’
GUILTY: PLAYERS HIT WITH 12-MONTH BANS
ESSENDON SAGA: HOW WE GOT TO HERE
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