Tracey might be speaking from experience as an adult - she resigned from her job and practically got run out of town following the vitriol hurled at her.
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Wouldn’t surprise me in the least, but I’d like to know in which way she means.
For starters, I’d go to the AFL Constitution - structured to allow for abuse of power. When Eddie says the clubs are being treated like franchises, they ARE franchises and many of them are dependent on the AFL for their financial survival. So, on the rare occasions when the clubs have meaningful voting rights, so many of them succumb to the AFL. That could have applied to the clubs voting powers in respect of deregistration.
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The CEO of the Norwegian anti-doping agency has called for a proper legal court to replace CAS ( noting that a lot of evidence is collected by police) and also that WADA should be an independent body.
Reportedly the Norwegian Government Vice President of WADA is positioning herself to succeed Reedie as WADA President.
Our rep at the next WADA meeting could do well to talk to her in the margins of that meeting.
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Walter Palmer (General Secretary European elite athletes association) said that anti-doping rules should conform to the law, not the other way round.
Given the adjustment to WADA rules ( with no input from athletes or sports federations) providing for de novo hearings at CAS, at the very least there should be an appellate body . The Swiss Federal Tribunal, which serves the purpose of a body for those subject to Swiss law, cannot perform that function.
I bet that those 18 year old players signing on to their AFL contracts are unaware that their fate could be decided by a Swiss court in Zurich with the proceedings run in the German language.
There is a huge power imbalance. Relevant Australian laws which serve to constrain power imbalances - including those governing workers rights - have zero application in such instances.
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Players testimony from the CAS transcripts.
How did CAS get away with this?
Clelland [QC representing 32 EFC players]: When you took part in the giving of the sample when you were ultimately able to pass urine an hour or so later as you’ve explained, were you asked some questions by the ASADA representative who was taking the sample?
Player: Yes.
Clelland: Did you fill out a form, or did they fill out a form?
Player: They filled out the form for me.
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Do the transcripts reveal that the AFL - their employer which forces the contracts on the players - intercede for their employees on this point? After all, but for the players there would be no-one to generate their salaries and to pay their lawyers.
What is the salary cost of those AFL employees in the AFL Integrity Unit and associated legal hired guns - who spend most of their time chasing down players and club officials?
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Farcical
So ASADA testers told that player that if nothing taken in 3 days before need not document anything on DCF form.
Then CAS pings players for not filling out forms as though it’s some giant sinister group collusion.
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Banging on about power imbalances, most of the CAS cases are not connected to anti-doping, many relate to soccer and nothing to do with the IOC, big money both sides, a lot based on European law, which has strong competition law and human rights ( which encompasses workers rights) . My superficial analysis suggests that those cases are more rigorous, possibly reflecting that there are rights of recourse to European and national courts.
In the CAS Russian cases, power drove the process, but not the results. In the E34 case, the power imbalance drove the process and the results. And, what’s worse, if the Australian Government had not funded the process, none of this would have happened. The Australian Government gives outstanding support to those facing charges in overseas jurisdictions, but not this time.
To Caroline Wilson - there is a bigger picture out there.
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I bet they all know now & yet they are still signing contracts that take away their basic right to not incriminate themselves & that give themselves over to CAS & WADA at the AFL & ASADA’s whim…just what are the Players Association doing to rectify any of that ???
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I can’t get over the despicable actions of our government towards it’s own citizens. Surely when someone commits treason toward the government it is the people they are meaning as the government is supposed to represent the people right? so can a government (another group of citizens given the privilege of working for the people of a country) commit treason against the people …who are the masters of the government???
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Didn’t know what thread to put this in, but seeing as it’s re the AFL failing (again) in their Duty of Care, putting it here.
Joel Wilkinson to sue AFL over alleged racial abuse, sexual harassment
Kay Dibben, The Courier-Mail
May 9, 2018 1:47pm
Subscriber only
A FORMER AFL player with the Gold Coast Suns, who claims he endured years of racial abuse and sexual harassment during his playing career, is about to launch legal action.
Joel Wilkinson is preparing for a racial vilification and sexual harassment case against the AFL, top clubs, coaches and players, in the Human Rights Commission.
Mr Wilkinson, who is of Nigerian descent, played with the Gold Coast Suns from June, 2011, when he was 19, until he was delisted from the Suns in September, 2013.
Shine Lawyers, along with American Attorney Mika Hilaire, have been advising Mr Wilkinson on his legal options, after discussions with the AFL failed, the law firm said.
Mr Wilkinson claims he was subjected to direct discrimination, vilification and harassment on both racial and religious grounds by AFL staff, his club, club officials and teammates, as well as opposition players and spectators.
The legal case will allege Mr Wilkinson faced racially motivated sexual harassment in the changerooms by other players on numerous occasions.
Mr Wilkinson’s lawyers claim his employment contract with the AFL and the Gold Coast Suns was breached, due to conduct which was also in breach of State and Federal anti-discrimination, vilification and harassment laws.
Mr Wilkinson also claims he was not offered future employment with the AFL, the Gold Coast Suns or other clubs because he spoke up about racism against him and because of his association with other players who were also subjected to racial discrimination.
The case is expected to be filed in the Commission by Monday.
Compensation will be sought for loss of past and future wages as well as compensation for pain, suffering and humiliation.
Will Barsby of Shine Lawyers said the Commission would be asked to consider awarding aggravated or exemplary damages.
Joel Wilkinson was nominated for the AFLQ rising star award in 2010 after just four games in the senior league.
He was an AFL Draft combined 20m and repeat sprint record holder and was AFL Queensland State team captain
He was signed by the semi-professional Northern Blues for the 2014 VFL season, in an attempt to be redrafted into the AFL, the law firm said.
Mr Barsby said the AFL had failed in its duty of care to Mr Wilkinson.
It will be alleged the AFL allowed “horrific racial abuse, sexual taunting in the locker room, bullying and mistreatment of Mr Wilkinson to continue, despite repeated requests for help and support”.
“In Australia, playing AFL is a full-time job for many young people and like any job there are laws to protect your rights in the workplace,” Mr Barsby said.
“The AFL isn’t exempt from these laws just because it is a national past time.
“Sport is a business, players are employees.
“The AFL failed to protect Mr Wilkinson from vilification from his very first professional game.
“They have let our client down and allowed the abuse to continue. It has cut short his career.”
Mr Wilkinson’s American lawyer Mika Hilaire said racism was rearing its ugly head across the globe.
“Enough is enough. The time is now for the AFL to put its stance against anti-vilification to action,” Ms Hilaire said.
I guess Mr Barsby is not aware that an AFL contract is above Common Law Rights. 
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The straight dope $8 to download on amazon.
Never forget. No wonder our club is still stuffed. Still no backbone.
What may have been different if the club had backed Hird.
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It wasn’t just backing Hird. They didn’t back the club as a whole. Since the saga, i’ve been unsure of what this club stands for… what/who I am supporting.
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You know what, its not ‘the club’ !!! We the supporters are ‘the club’, not the people that made bad decisions 4 or 5 years ago or last week.
If you think that the people running the club now are not reflecting what the majority of the EFC supporters of the club think they should, then we need to remove them at a board level and replace them with people that do reflect what the supporters feel reflect their values. That will then flow down thrugh the rest of the club.
Ultimately if we voted these guys in, it is our fault (the EFC members) anyway.
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If you’ve been a supporter pre saga, lots of clarity about what/who you are supporting.
The saga represents only a small period in the clubs history, unfortunately you, and every other Bomber out there are having to endure the worst period the club can deliver to its supporters.
It’s a chapter that challenges and questions why you support this club.
If it’s too much of a burden then you have the option of moving on to something else to support.
Personally, my support goes back a long way and this chapter, although hugely disruptive, is not a deal breaker.
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I make no judgments on the current Board’s performance ( incidentally not all of them are elected ) and would not take posts on this site as necessarily reflective of all shareholders.
It is also probably unfair to judge the President by an article in a Directors journal, but if that is about the only public source available to us, it is disappointing that he should single out the club icon and the outsider CEO as the principal contributors to the disaster. No mention of how it could have been better handled ( without raking over old coals) just that we have systems in place.
But I do detect a sense of frustration at how our chances were talked up and the continual invites to put more money into the club.
I don’t know how other clubs engage with shareholder members, but it’s not working well . If we were improving on the field and the players weren’t acting as a bunch of disparate individuals it would be a different matter.
And, I would have liked the President to come out with Bomba’s contribution to the club’s success as compared to a public statement that he was welcome to attend the 93 reunion.
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Any update on Taylor’s trial and Bruce’s foi request? All seems to have gone quiet.
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