The big brass at Essendon are hardly likely to say anything now after all this time, they've spent denying whatever it was that was taken???http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/allan-hird-rita-panahi-finally-gets-it-about-the-afl-now-she-needs-to-do-the-same-with-asada/news-story/8fa82d0d2a783099fda49fe8ad681954Allan Hird: Focus needs to be on ASADA as wellAllan Hird, Herald Sun
18 minutes agoTHE penny has finally dropped for Rita Panahi about the AFL.
Her article reveals she now knows the AFL attempted to manipulate the process in relation to the Essendon supplements saga.
Welcome to the party Ms Panahi.
Those of us who have read Chip Le Grandâs excellent book, the Straight Dope, Michael Warnerâs reporting in the Herald Sun and the transcripts of the Federal Court case Hird vs. ASADA have known since 2013 that the AFL has never been interested in the truth.
Indeed, it has actively sought to hide the truth to protect its office bearers.
But as the saying goes better late than never.
All Ms Panahi has to do now, on her self-realisation quest, is to have the same revelation about ASADA under its soon to be departing CEO Ben McDevitt.
She runs the line that Mr McDevitt is some kind of white knight on his charger trying to clean up sport. Well the facts show he is quite different.
The facts show outgoing ASADA chief executive Ben McDevitt is anything but a white knight, says Allan Hird. Picture: Ray Strange
Let me go through some lines she uses to pump up Mr McDevittâs tyres. Ms Panahi quotes Mr McDevitt as saying: âwe know that hundreds, if not thousands, of injections were given to Essendon players during the course of 2012â.Think about that for a minute. If Mr McDevitt knew the number of injections, why didnât he give an exact figure? Itâs either hundreds or itâs thousands.
Either he knew itâs hundreds or he knew itâs thousands. It canât be both.
Perhaps Mr McDevitt is confusing the number of injections with the sweet coloured sprinkles mums and dads use to make fairy bread.
Ms Panahi relies on the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport that found the players had taken Thymosin Beta 4, a substance banned under the WADA code to defend Mr McDevitt.
But how did the players get to be tried by CAS? Simply because Mr McDevitt was after convictions not justice.
The CAS decision could never have been made if Australian legal principles had applied.
That is the precise reason why Mr McDevitt did not challenge the decision of the AFL Tribunal comprising two Australian Judges and an eminent barrister that found the players had no case to answer.
The tribunal used Australian legal principles and Australian rules of evidence when it cleared the players of any wrongdoing.
ASADA had the right under the WADA architecture to appeal the AFL Tribunal decision in Australia. But Mr McDevitt knew that he would lose because the case he ran before the tribunal had been thrown out because of lack of evidence.
Thatâs right, there was no evidence the players had taken TB4.
Ben McDevitt knew that he would lose because the case he ran before the tribunal had been thrown out because of lack of evidence. Picture: Ray Strange
Instead, ASADA under Mr McDevittâs watch gave WADA $US100,000, use of ASADAâs lawyers and the access to ASADAâs failed tribunal case to have the players tried again before CAS.He knew Australian legal principles and rules of evidence would not apply and he knew the case before CAS would be a fresh trial.
So here we have a highly paid Australian public servant funding the trial of 34 Australians in a foreign court knowing they would not receive Australian justice.
Furthermore, under Australian law, there is a simple but powerful principle, double jeopardy, and this means you canât be tried for the same crime twice.
But the Essendon players were, and Mr McDevitt engineered it that way.
Ms Panahi accepts Mr McDevittâs line that the players did not reveal the injections they had as an indication of their guilt. It is simply not true the players did not tell about their injections.
Rita Panahi accepts Mr McDevittâs line that the players did not reveal the injections they had as an indication of their guilt. It is simply not true.
Many did, and in any case, at the time in 2012, there was no requirement for them to do so. That statement by Mr McDevitt, besides being untrue, was an irrelevant distraction.
The players were charged with taking TB4. Yet there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that TB4 was ever mentioned in any document or conversation to the players.
In fact, the players first heard of TB4 when they were charged with taking it. So, what is the point in Mr McDevitt trying to infer the players had something to hide?
Mr McDevitt has history in making things up to justify his case. In his testimony to senate estimates on March 3, 2016, he said the players did not do any research into the substances they were given. He said all they had to do was look up the website.
Well, many people have done so, including some of the players, and the WADA banned list for 2012 does not list TB4.
So, what would be the point of the players going to the website? The substance they were charged with taking was not listed.
All of this of course calls into question Ms Panahiâs attempt to portray Mr McDevitt as some sort of white knight trying to clean up sport. More likely his aim throughout was convictions, not justice.
My advice to Ms Panahi would be: before jumping in to champion someone, do your research. The corollary is also before trying to impugn the Essendon playersâ reputations, do your research.
Allan Hird is a former Essendon player and father of Essendon great James Hird.
Rita Panahi accepts Mr McDevittâs line that the players did not reveal the injections they had as an indication of their guilt. It is simply not true.
Is she for real? Has it ever occurred to her that maybe the players genuinely didnât know what they were injected with.
She has a peanut for a brain.
I am so pleased A.Hird has stepped in. He writes very clearly and succinctly. He is a great figurehead for this.
the âwe donât know what we tookâ line was adopted by the club at the insistence of the AFL spin doctor Ms LukinâŚthe players know what they had it was what they agreed to have âŚdo they know it beyond any doubt âŚno âŚunless they had every substance checked before it was injected into themâŚthey trusted they were given what they were told they were givenâŚand tests would indicate that to be the case. So this we donât know what substances they were is crapâŚthey were charged with TB4 a single substance as no evidence of anything else was ever found âŚno TB4 or referrals to it were ever found either but I guess they had to have something to charge them with seeing as how both ASADA & AFL CEOâs put such stock in the âfactâ that Essendon were drug cheatsâŚwell they had to be didnât they?? Hird & the executive wanted a better supplements programâŚDank was at the club do the mathâŚas far as ASADA were concerned 2 plus 2 did equal five âŚit had to because they couldnât prosecute if the answer was 4 âŚIf I were the club Iâd be coming clean about the pressure to say they didnât know what the players had because I would hazard a guess they did.
they wont even try to clear Hirdâs name by telling all who will listen about the reporting structures & job descriptions at the club. No wonder the poor guy ended up in hospital âŚwhy are people so cowardly & weak? âŚ
Helen, your question is actually your answer.
This is a big talking point. My guess is that whilst there may have been documented job descriptions and a reporting structure the place was pretty shambolic.
As in many organisations, whatâs supposed to happen looks very different to what actually happens.
And you know, how ?, classic dog whistle denigration.
If youâre referring to my description of the club, I know It because it was accepted by pretty much everyone that governance at the club was less than ideal. I think it was Bomber Thompson who described it as âa shamblesâ.
If youâre referring to my general comment, I know that from experience.
While Iâm not suggesting what youâve written is wrong, our governance failings were absolutely accepted by the club, my question has always been, was that failing just a really really helpful coincidence for the AFLâs plan to blame our governance OR were we hiring & paying for the worst managers & quality control auditors money could buy? If our management was sooooo inept, how does the CEO waltz into the biggest A-league club in the country? How does our Operations manager land a job at the AFL, how does the rodeo clown end up at one of the biggest accounting firms in the world? Again, I come back to my earlier post - how could any of the directors who were there at the time survive on our board after overseeing such governance failings? My other question is, by what standard to what measure were these governance failings judged? Most industries have standards & clear guild lines that can be used to effectively measure performance against the industry standard. Which AFL standards & regulations did the club fail, who audited those failings & what non-conformance was actually recorded? Does it all hinge on the Ziggy? Accepting we were a shambles was very much a part of the plan we were sold by the AFL. They simply couldnât have considered blaming staff & trying to clear the players had our management been beyond reproach. So again we are left with no clear evidence of what state the club was actually in. Was there no records? If so then how the hell did the papers know within days that the players had taken AOD, Colustrum, Actovegin, pigs brain extract & the creamofsomyunguy??? 28 odd substances wasnât it? How is that possible with no records? What did the AFLâs auditors seize from the laptops & hard drives - Plants v Zombies & some cat videos?
BTW - Iâm not suggesting I believe the club would have been running like a well oiled machine, not at all, just that I donât buy the official party line.
Iâd be happy of there was an official audit on the club by an independent body that listed specific non-compliance of regulations. Until I see that I have nothing but the story we know was compromised to achieve the AFLâs goals. Its important to remember from the Jmidd that Andruska noted this plan was hatched before the investigation even started. Again maybe it was just fortunate for old Liz that our governance fitted in with their plan to tell everyone our governance was to blame.And allowed Liz to (with little rationale) play pin-the-tail-on-the-Hird.
AhmâŚarenât I Liz?
Liz in the Sky with Diamonds?
Blitz classic. Put it in the thick tank.
