And; if you choose to refuse to move on, we’ll make you move on, we have our ways.
Arm twisting Methods of the AFL 101.
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A relative of mine’s ex-partner, worked for the VRC in a Managerial Position when this was going on.
In fact there was an ex AFL employee in a Managerial position at the VRC, who had been moved on by the AFL.
My rellies partner, He/She ended up throwing in the towel even though they were offered substantially more money to stay. A sh1tload more money. Money is no object.
The VRC’S Modus Operandi is very much like the AFL. Hardly surprising is it?
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It’s all about protecting the “brand”.
Nothing about actual justice or facts or due process.
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well to me the best way to protect the brand is to have robust compliance policies & to just act with integrity & fairness to all …something our sporting bodies seem to be unable to do …is it power corrupting or absolute power corrupting absolutely ??
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the latter
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Wood report on National Sports Plan now up on the ausport website( ausport.gov.au)
McKenzie said they will consult with stakeholders (whoever they might be) and do a review of the review. May be just a tidying up and consolidating arrangements in different government bodies.
On Integrity, a National Sports Integrity Commission and a National Integrity Tribunal ( described as like CAS) are proposed. There are also vague references to sports governance. McKenzie seemed fixated on crime and wagering/ match fixing, but said that doping would also be covered.
Bomber1408: She rattled on a lot about support funding for junior athletes. Seems there is some plan for extending the philanthropic funding system involving tax deduction arrangements. The New Daily ran an article on it.
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There is a separate Wood report on sport integrity, available on the Health website. There is a lot of detail to digest, including proposals that National Sports Organisations be given immunity from civil actions in certain circumstances. Also proposals for enhanced ASADA powers.
Proposals for a national tribunal would not involve the replacement of existing sports tribunals.
A lot of this would require legislation.
I note that Danny Corcoran, among others, made a submission.
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Anyone got access to the Rage article tonight?
Government body must ensure no repeat of Essendon saga: Corcoran
Jon Pierik
By Jon Pierik
1 August 2018 — 2:34pm
Danny Corcoran, one of the central figures in the Essendon supplements saga, has urged the proposed new national sports integrity commission to ensure there is no repeat of how the contentious AFL case was handled.
Federal Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie unveiled a wide-ranging report into Australian sport on Wednesday, tackling several integrity issues, including match-fixing and anti-doping concerns.
The report was conducted by James Wood, QC, who once led a royal commission into police corruption. Wood has called for a national sports integrity commission to be given the investigative powers of a law-enforcement agency. This commission would call on officials from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency.
The report also called for criminal sanctions for athletes, coaches and team officials who pass on inside information to bookmakers, while ASADA is seen as requiring tougher powers, with athletes to lose the right to avoid self-incrimination when questioned on doping.
In what league sources consider is a response to how the AFL’s 2013 investigation into anti-doping claims at Essendon was handled with ASADA, the review also wants “guidelines for the conduct of anti-doping investigations which clearly define the roles and responsibilities of government agencies (including ASADA) and the sporting sector”.
Corcoran, who provided a submission to the Wood enquiry, told Fairfax Media his message had been that any future anti-doping investigations be handled solely by ASADA.
“The main issue I had was in any investigation, any interference or dealings with the statutory authority is completely against the foundations of being just that, a statutory authority. That probably was the main thrust,” he said.
"No one can control, in the AFL environment, the leaking and where it comes from but there were probably a lot of people damaged in that in terms of whether they were innocent or guilty. There were a lot of people damaged by the whole thing in the end.
“Anyone [sporting organisation] who wants to deal with them, it’s totally abhorrent to me. If someone is guilty, they are guilty, if they are not, they get a fair hearing. If ASADA, WADA, are ever going to work, that’s how they must treat the athlete, with fairness.”
The AFL and ASADA conducted “parallel” investigations in 2013 after the Bombers had self reported to ASADA, amid fears players had been given performance-enhancing drugs under sports scientist Stephen Dank. The AFL had wanted enough information to make a call on the club’s governance failures in time for the finals.
While this was seen as compromising ASADA’s anti-doping investigation, two Federal Court cases validated the relationship between the two parties and even said it was the exemplar of what should be done.
Corcoran, who had been the Bombers’ head of football, was banned for six months – with two months suspended – as part of the punishments handed down by the league in August, 2013.
While the AFL’s anti-doping tribunal in March, 2015 cleared 34 past and present Essendon players of taking a banned substance, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in January, 2016 over-turned this, and the players would sit out the ensuing season.
“There were a lot of people on new grounds in terms of dealing with these authorities. To be fair, it was probably a big learning curve for everyone involved. I have been involved in it for a long time through athletics. I knew how important it was to protect the athlete’s integrity through the process, regardless of where that went,” Corcoran said.
“One of the foundation rules is that no government, no sporting organisation or individual can interfere with the processes and procedures of the anti-doping authority. That was clearly breached through the process.”
The Wood review has called for a whistleblower scheme to be established, and for the proposed integrity committee to have access to illicit drug-taking results of professional sports “for the purposes of integrating with intelligence and analysis capabilities”.
If approved, the AFL Players Association could fight this, considering it banned the public release of testing figures for illicit drugs in 2016.
Australian rules football and cricket were deemed as two of the top 10 sports most at risk from match-fixing.
“These are the sports that generally attract significant and highly liquid betting markets. While they stand to benefit most from wagering activity, they are also the ones that are at more risk of match-fixing,” the report said.
The enquiry also found that sports integrity was not limited to doping and competition manipulation.
“Equally important is the ability of governments and the sport sector to adequately respond to other integrity issues in the sporting sphere including: harassment, bullying and discrimination; child protection; health-and-safety issues; accreditation of athlete support personnel; regulation and supply of performance and image-enhancing drugs, including in sporting and dietary supplements; gender issues; and corruption of new and emerging sports without identifiable controlling bodies (for instance, eSports),” the report said.
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Thanks
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Where did Pierik get that from?
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From Gill, or maybe the witch.
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The Wood report devotes some space to the high cost of contracting ASADA for doping tests under the user pays system. ASADA is not competitive against other suppliers,but relies on testing as a revenue stream.
So much for the AFL bleating that the Francis FOI challenge would be prejucial to its testing arrangements with ASADA. If the AFL could get it done cheaper elsewhere, there could be potential conflicts of interest in effectively subsidising ASADA.
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And so we move from one Star Chamber to another.
Til I see/read (something/anything) regarding some form of common law rights for athletes and protection of athletes privacy, will continue to think it’s just big wank), and the farkers are getting paid to do it.
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Exactly…athletics with REAL abilities and the REAL reason for any revenue being generated, being farked over by athletically talentless beurocrats and elites, whos only way to get ahead is to shaft the very people that give them their living.
Breathtaking stuff sometimes just shake my head. Don’t get me started on the fairness of the draw, the laws of the game, umpiring or the tribunal…all seriously farked by the talentless elites that run our once great game supported by gutless media brown noses
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Breathtaking stuff sometimes just shake my head. Don’t get me started on the fairness of the draw, the laws of the game, umpiring or the tribunal…all seriously farked by the talentless elites that run our once great game supported by gutless media brown noses
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we all know that the match fixing starts with the FIX-ture in this game if we cant play all teams twice within the season then we play once with interstate teams getting a home game one year & then playing here the next …it is the only fair way to do it so we don’t get the stupid thing of playing Fremantle here at home once every seven years or so …the constant rule changes even during the season has to upset the gambling side of things as does the umpiring, like awarding dodgy free kicks for goal, or trying to bring one or the other team up to make the game competitive …or get a side over the line to help with the betting or finals race …there is so much they need to look at
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Unfortunately, the definition of integrity in the Wood report does not appear to address organisational integrity as compared to the behaviour of individuals. Additionally, an opt- out clause is proposed for the General Division of the National Sports Tribunal, which might otherwise cover decisions such as bringing the game into disrepute or fixture manipulation.
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I haven’t finished digesting the detail of the Wood Integrity Review or the NSP but I would say that the Plan includes all sports and all athletes, not just Olympic sports.
Therefore all athletes are subject to adherence to the WADA Code and the substances on the Banned List (and the testing labs). No mention of the lack of integrity and governance together with their conflicts of interest, and pathetic science.
ASADA will get greater powers, e.g. it will be able to enforce the terms listed in the 60 page Olympic Participation Agreement which require athletes to give up their right of protection against self incrimination when questioned by ASADA.
NSOs will be pressured into signing up to the NSP under threat of removal of Government Funding.
I haven’t noticed yet any reference to their being a requirement to have athlete representation on any of the tribunals, review panels etc.
Miss ellie your star chamber analogy is spot on. As David Howman stated at the recent Hall of Fame Sport Integrity Forum when talking about the recent criminal outcomes of Sepp Blatter regime at FIFA. Howman said that he doubted there would be any change at FIFA because they got rid of those old men only to replace them with other old men. Same could be said of the IAAF (where Howman now works), IOC, WADA, CAS. John Coates is the perfect example of a conflicted old man.
I don’t see the big NSOs like AFL, Rugby League, Tennis, Cricket, Basketball, Netball etc. giving over control of integrity to an independent body. There are too many skeletons buried in all of them and a group of other old men who will do anything to keep them buried to protect their own self interests.
It was gratifying to see that the J34 submission was recognised.
Very cynical about the outcome of all this. From the AFL standpoint the players need to make a stand. They need to break away from the control of the AFL and be truly independent. Paul Marsh, like all his predecessors, is just another AFL puppet. Players are paid very well. $1000 per year/player generates about $800k; throw in some sponsorship and you could easily top a million. Good start to lure a strong and fearless CEO.
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“It was gratifying to see that the J34 submission was recognised.”
Exactly where, please?
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