As it can be proven McDevitt’s statements were false and misleading on numerous occasions, the only conclusion a reasonable person can make is both major parties and parts of the bureaucracy have circled the wagons on the ASADA investigation into Essendon.
Reluctantly, I think Bruce Francis may be right.
A Royal Commision may now be required to break this circle.
There are many examples of McDevitt misleading the parliament on 3 March 2016.
He stated on 3 March 2016:
‘They should have gone to the website where you can look up the substances that are banned but we have no evidence they did.’
(Community Affairs Legislation Committee, 3 March 2016 Estimates Health Portfolio, ASADA, p31).
Compare that statement to the World Anti-Doping Authority 2012 Banned List.
The Essendon players were charged with taking in 2012 one, and only one, substance banned by WADA, Thymosin Beta 4. The Senate and anyone reading the Hansard would naturally assume McDevitt was referring to the 2012 WADA banned listed which was posted on the WADA website. Yet, TB4 is not listed. How then could the players look up the substance to which McDevitt was referring? They could not have, because it was not there.
And they had no idea what it was because they were told they were given something else.
How can you look up something you have no idea what it exists, no idea you are taking it and it doesn’t even appear in the website. Bizzare stuff.
Exactly, the players never were told they were taking TB4. Some were told they were taking Thymosin, but that wasn’t listed either.
ASADA and McDevitt have been very loose with then truth.
If they took TB4…
WADA would have directed a player to consult with ASADA and visa versa. Hopeless situation, confusing and complex in its simplicity.
The assumptions made are: if anyone is NOT certain of any substance and those who should know can’t advise you it is o.k, then; NEVER take it. Because the onus is on you, its definitely your fault if you take anything we say is banned and even if we don’t say its banned it could be. That is how the system works.
I urge everyone to have a look at the video attached. I feel justified in my public criticism of WADA protocols and lack of rigor in their processes. The scientists and medical experts who appear in this video are leaders in their fields and their opinions of WADA and their testing procedures is damning. “The innocent athlete who is found guilty is screwed” Sounds familiar.
This is the one that really ■■■■■■ me off. Even ASADA and presumably WADA, as evidenced by the email regarding the status of Thymosin, otherwise known as Thymomodulin, didn’t know what the ■■■■ Thymosin was. How the ■■■■ were the players supposed to find out when the people they were supposed to get the information from, couldn’t tell them. As pointed out, the list of prohibited substances in 2012 didn’t list any of those three terms, TB-4, Thymosin or Thymomodulin. For McDevitt to say otherwise is absolute bullshit of the highest order, and for some wanker in his ivory tower to then turn around and say he hadn’t mislead the Senate is bullshit artistry of the first degree.
The price honest athletes pay is this - anyone could be found guilty whether the tests could be a false positive or negative because WADA believe, it is up to them to keep all sport under their umbrella clean and its a small price to pay IF there is an occasional mistake. For whom I ask? Everything depends on whether WADA/ASADA have their “you are guilty or, you are not guilty glasses on.” For the athletes who are found guilty, once the tests or any results have been destroyed how can anyone ever prove otherwise? Some results kept others destroyed, why? As Stephen Colbert remarked everyone in his family were affected by the finding and it was and is terrible. Basically, his life in Athletics is forever tainted now because that’s how people see him.
In WADA and its subsidiaries, the rot is just not from the top down sadly, it is everywhere and everything they touch with a self righteous attitude, that they alone are saving sport around the world. This is a conflict of interest for everyone involved because of an unconscious mindset. Not having to prove guilt therefore they see everyone as a possible drug cheat! Sport may eventually be the great loser and Government’s are entrenched into this same way of thinking.
the decision is a load of rubbish if that had been you or I saying the same thing as McDevitt in parliament senate estimates we would have been in trouble !!!
Yes and No Helen, it all depends on your connections in high places. A lot of people had a vested interest in this verdict being the way it was. It created a precedent and is no longer a one off Essendon 34 may not have been the first time this has happened but for all of us it was but it certainly won’t be the last. We must keep on fighting to have this unjust verdict of the Essendon 34 overturned and the truth about what really happened made public because it is in the best interest of all athletes everywhere.
And; there are people who hold this secret and they know how, where and why?
This came in my email today
Jan 28, 2018 — This video is about Fact Checking The Court for Arbitration for Sport, (The CAS) #1
As Justice for the 34 will show, none of the sporting or governing bodies involved in the investigation, interim reports, and prosecution of these players have given the appearance of objectivity in the selection of evidence.
None of the sporting or governing bodies involved in the investigation, interim reports, and prosecution of players, perhaps with the exception of the AFL Tribunal, have given any regard to whether evidence could be regarded as expert or scientific. In fact, some supporting evidence needed to be discounted on the grounds of relevance.
The sporting and governing bodies involved in the investigation, interim reports, and prosecution of the players ran their own agenda in order to achieve a preconceived outcome. As a result, the outcome that was reached contains numerous factual errors and is based on suppositions which in many cases are unsupported. For example, The CAS stated they were comfortably satisfied ‘Thymson’ was the banned substance TB-4 but provided no evidence to support that supposition. To make WADA’s circumstantial case at least viable, they had to state this, as the physical, documentary and credible witness testimony supporting another substance, Thymomodulin, was simply overwhelming.
As a consequence of the above, Justice for the 34 believe the prosecution of the case was built on inexact proofs, indefinite testimony, and indirect inferences that do not reach the standard of ‘comfortable satisfaction’ and therefore has no place in Australian sport.
Innocent or guilty, we just want the players to receive a fair go. That’s the Australian way.
Therefore, Justice for the 34 requests an Independent Inquiry in order to:
Investigate and consider all the relevant facts so they are publically available. To date, the evidence against the players has been based on taking ‘bits out that might compromise what we need’.
Investigate the role, motives and ethics of each sporting, government body and the media during the investigation and prosecution of the case.
Identify if any person or organization has breached an Australia law during the investigation and prosecution of the case; make sure everyone is held accountable for their actions; and if warranted, prosecute the offenders.
Investigate a mechanism for a review of this matter in Australia to ensure the players are given the opportunity to clear their names if they so wish.
Review and amend legislation and rules so any identified injustices can never happen to Australian sports people again.
Bruce Francis’s email to Duniam and heaps of journalists today:
Dear Senator Duniam
I am comfortably satisfied that the faceless members of the committee who voted to clear then ASADA chief executive Ben McDevitt of misleading Parliament at his Senate Estimates Hearing appearance on 3 March 2016 are either unbelievably incompetent or have covered up his unforgivable misconduct, arguably corruption. Either way, those committee members who voted to clear McDevitt should be forced to resign from Parliament. They are a disgrace. The Senate is no place for idiots on the Binet scale.
As you are aware, I alleged that McDevitt mislead Parliament on 16 occasions during his 3 March 2016 Senate Estimates hearing appearance. Although I stand by all 16 allegations, the Senate committee only had to uphold one of my complaints to find that McDevitt misled Parliament. For the benefit of your Senate colleagues I shall dissect two of the allegations.
Example 1:
McDevitt said::“There were over 100 text messages that unveiled a plan to source Thymosin Beta-4 for the purpose of doping the Essendon team.”
My Comment:
I knew that McDevitt had lied and that there was no such text. There wasn’t a single text as quoted by Mr McDevitt let alone over 100 such texts. In the 434-page ASADA Interim Report, Dank’s name from memory was mentioned 1189 times. Thymosin Beta-4 was mentioned only 18 times and Dank only mentioned Thymosin Beta-4 once. Yet McDevitt told the Senate that ASADA has over 100 text messages where Dank uses the term “Thymosin Beta-4”. If this were true, ASADA and WADA would have included the texts in the Interim Report and in the evidence in the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal and in the Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing.”
All McDevitt had to do to prove I was wrong was to table a copy of one such text with the Senate Committee. He didn’t have to table all 100+ texts with these exact words.
McDevitt tabled his 65-page ‘defence’ on 15 August 2016. McDevitt’s submission did not include a copy of the text he quoted from on 3 March 2016.
On 23 May 2017, 348 days after my FOI request, one of ASADA’s lawyers informed the Australian Information Commissioner that: “No documents containing the clause ‘Thymosin Beta-4 for the purpose of doping the Essendon players exists.’” (my emphasis)
It is incomprehensible, and a dereliction of duty, that the members of the committee cleared McDevitt of misleading Parliament on this issue. Clearly, they are idiots, or worse still, they covered up the ‘crime’.
Example 2:
McDevitt said: “In the words of Stephen Dank, Thymosin was the vital cornerstone of that team-based program.”
My Comment:
I knew that McDevitt had lied and that there was no such text and, accordingly, made an FOI request for the text that used the words “team-based program” (my emphasis). Dank did not use those words… McDevitt has disingenuously and corruptly inserted the words “team-based program” to create the impression Dank was talking about Essendon and he inserted those words to create the false impression that if one player were administered Thymosin, all 34 players were administered Thymosin.
On 6 September 2016, ASADA’s National Manager Operations, Judith Lind, informed me that: “We have identified that there is no document which says ‘Thymosin was the vital cornerstone of that team-based program.’” (my emphasis)
To prove he didn’t mislead the Senate all McDevitt had to do was table the text that included the words Thymosin was the vital cornerstone of that team-based program.”
McDevitt tabled his 65-page ‘defence’ on 15 August 2016. McDevitt’s submission did not include a copy of the text he quoted from on 3 March 2016.
It is incomprehensible, and a dereliction of duty, that the members of the committee cleared McDevitt of misleading Parliament on this issue. Clearly, they are idiots, or worse still, they covered up the ‘crime’.
Yours faithfully
Bruce Francis
Is that his shortest open letter ever?
Short Bruce is better than Long Bruce.
Facts maybe facts but it seems Member of Australian Parliament are far more concerned with holding onto their seats than they are protecting Australian sports men and women and athletes around the world. This is a huge miscarriage of Justice and is no longer a secret that many of our Members of Parliament are as bent as Ben McDevitt and have simply chosen look the other way and condoned this “alleged” corrupt behaviour.
And; all those who could have, should have but didn’t, will reap what they have sown.
Blitz first:
As Justice for the 34 will show, none of the sporting or governing bodies involved in the investigation, interim reports, and prosecution of these players have given the appearance of objectivity in the selection of evidence.
None of the sporting or governing bodies involved in the investigation, interim reports, and prosecution of players, perhaps with the exception of the AFL Tribunal, have given any regard to whether evidence could be regarded as expert or scientific. In fact, some supporting evidence needed to be discounted on the grounds of relevance.
The sporting and governing bodies involved in the investigation, interim reports, and prosecution of the players ran their own agenda in order to achieve a preconceived outcome. As a result, the outcome that was reached contains numerous factual errors and is based on suppositions which in many cases are unsupported.
For example, The CAS stated “there was no evidence that Mr Dank injected thymosin alpha or indeed any other form of thymosin”.
The CAS statement is unbelievable. Consider the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. ASADA documented physical evidence, including lists and pictures, and documented credible witness testimony (more testimony but importantly, more credible witness testimony than WADA needed to convict the players). All this supports the players were in fact given another approved substance, Thymomodulin. How could The CAS Panel make this statement and keep a straight face?
As a consequence of the above, Justice for the 34 believe the prosecution of the case was built on inexact proofs, indefinite testimony, and indirect inferences that do not reach the standard of ‘comfortable satisfaction’ and therefore has no place in Australian sport.
Innocent or guilty, we just want the players to receive a fair go. That’s the Australian way.
Therefore, Justice for the 34 requests an Independent Inquiry in order to:
Investigate and consider all the relevant facts so they are publically available. To date, the evidence against the players has been based on taking ‘bits out that might compromise what we need’.
Investigate the role, motives and ethics of each sporting, government body and the media during the investigation and prosecution of the case.
Identify if any person or organization has breached an Australia law during the investigation and prosecution of the case; make sure everyone is held accountable for their actions; and if warranted, prosecute the offenders.
Investigate a mechanism for a review of this matter in Australia to ensure the players are given the opportunity to clear their names if they so wish.
Review and amend legislation and rules so any identified injustices can never happen to Australian sports people again.
Thank you for your support.
Please make a noise. Sign our petition, like our facebook post and/or like our youtube video.
For further information, contact Justice of the 34 via their Facebook page.
the way that man carried on during the saga & his whole tenure as the head of asada was a disgrace to his public office …seriously I’d be reinvestigating all of the crimes he investigated during his time in the AFP because if his conduct during the saga was any indication of how he conducted himself as a cop then all his work is suspect
someone needs to make a movie or documentary about this
