Sorry Saga - Why do we fight?

Haha, an equine vet on all sorts of charges, has been called the equine equivalent of Dank

I think it would be very interesting if the players were to sue WADA/CAS for reputational damage in an actual court of law, in Australia. Lawyery types out there, could they do that? Surely if they went down that route, WADA/CAS would then have to prove that A: they intended to cheat, B: that the substance was banned at the time, C: that they actually had access to the substance, D: that they actually took the substance. It surely couldn’t be too hard given what we all know for a real court to find that CAS ■■■■■■ up.

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They probably signed some iron-clad contract that they can’t say or do anything in exchange for getting a relative pittance from the AwFL to shut up…

But what has happened about NatRat’s case? He seemed to be the only one wanting to take some legal action.

Wasn’t sure where to put this.

Was given Mick Warner’s book, on a scale of 1 to 10 how outraged will I be?

Note: I have listened to the Connolly and Fine podcast; so I do have some inkling.

Hmm, outraged? I was a mixture of outrage, disappointment and acceptance. Predominantly outrage.

Am with @Hoffy re the book and will say I was so outraged at certain parts that I had to put the book down and wait until the rage had subsided before picking it up again.

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What would happen if they tried to break that agreement, thanks in advance

At a minimum, they would have to repay whatever they got as “compensation”. There may well be punitive clauses as well.

Worse, as we have seen, the AwFL does not hesitate to destroy people’s lives if it suits protecting their interests.

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Going to be an 8 part documentary detailing the events of the saga on kayo/ Foxtel in October. Someone told me there’s solid 4 minute part where Jobe just speaks his mind.

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About time. Thanks for the advance notice.

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Meanwhile WADA and SIA (ASADA) have lost their appeal to CAS that the 2 year period of suspension of swimmer Sharna Jack was too lenient.
She was initially suspended for 4 years for testing positive to something in a contaminated supplement She went to CAS and got it reduced to two years.
Sharpe said the appeal was taken to get legal clarity in the length of suspension for accidental congestion ( the old McDevitt line of strict liability).
ASADA pursuit of her (at the behest of WADA) has cost Jack a tidy sum in legal fees with its vendetta and she missed the Olympics. Hopefully she can regain her place in the swim team
Wonder how much it cost the ASADA budget and whether it funded WADA as it did for the E34.

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https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/news/essendon-documentary-jobe-watson-and-tim-watson-on-the-2012-brownlow-medal-as-bombers-lift-lid-on-supplements-saga/news-story/43170ad224b5e01023cee3d1472aa3dd

Jobe’s Brownlow pain: Stripped medal is still mine

Jay Clark and Michael Warner

A defiant Jobe Watson says he never should have been stripped of the 2012 Brownlow Medal in a new Essendon documentary that lifts the lid on the club’s darkest days.

Opening up on the toll of the devastating supplements saga, Watson declared: “If I felt I had cheated, then I wouldn’t have accepted the medal in the first place”.

Asked whether he still feels he is the deserved winner of the 2012 medal later awarded to runners-up Trent Cotchin of Richmond and Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell, Watson replied: “I feel like I am.”

“Whether or not someone else has it, or whether or not someone else views it that I wasn’t the deserved winner then that is fine.

“But it doesn’t change how I felt or how I feel about it.”

It is 10 years this month since the ill-fated supplements program began that would trigger the greatest scandal in Australian sports history.

Watson’s father, club great Tim Watson, said the “injustice” of the decision to strip his son of the Brownlow because of a doping ban was “like the final crushing thing about that whole episode”.

He said he “worried” about how his 36-year-old son would cope with the aftershocks of the saga “for the rest of his life” considering Jobe became “the face” of the scandal.

“I found that (handing back the Brownlow Medal) the most difficult thing, that you could have that taken away from you without there being any … I don’t believe real justification,” Tim Watson said.

“It has been a tough journey for him and, as a parent, it has been difficult at times to observe it close hand. Injustice is a very difficult thing for people to get over.”

Asked how he reflects on the experience, Jobe was adamant he had “forgiven” and “moved on” but said his overall emotion was “sadness”.

“It has been really challenging,” Jobe Watson said.

“I look back on it and wonder how I was able to get through it.

“It was such a drawn-out process and moved so much from one extreme to another and emotionally — it was just exhausting.”

Former Essendon chairman Paul Little, who likened the drugs saga to “a war”, said he hoped the 2012 Brownlow would eventually be returned to its rightful owner.

“I’m hopeful one day it will be reinstated,” Little said.

In an eight-part documentary series titled ‘The Bombers: Stories of a great club’, to be aired on Fox Footy and Kayo from October 19, former Bombers president David Evans speaks for the first time about the drugs scandal and admits mistakes were made in dealing with the saga.

“Some things in hindsight that you would have done differently, but there was no playbook for it,” Evans said.

“This was something that we were thrust into that there was no precedents.”

Evans led the fateful decision at the start of the saga that saw the Bombers “self-report” to the AFL and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, triggering a five-year storm.

Coach James Hird said “what happened to Jobe was horrific”.

“I don’t believe anything they took (was) illegal,” Hird said.

“I certainly don’t believe that Jobe got any unfair advantage during that year and should definitely still have his Brownlow.”

Watson in 2013 opened up on the supplements program, saying “having that many injections was something I had not experienced in AFL football before”.

The late legendary club doctor Bruce Reid, who wrote a letter of complaint to club chiefs about the injections program, said Watson should not have been stripped of the medal.

“Jobe Watson should still have his Brownlow,” Reid said.

Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said Watson had masked the pain.

“I’m sure that eats up at him, as much as he doesn’t show it,” Lloyd said.

Former coach John Worsfold said: “He was the one, even after the suspension happened, who was still trying to be (the) strongest and hold that group together, and be that leader.

“He was probably the one we felt was the most vulnerable to the big let-down.”

After a break from the game, Watson, a two-time All-Australian and three-time best and fairest winner, has returned to football in a special comments role with Channel 7.

Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said the whole drugs affair was “heartbreaking” and particularly unfair on Hird, who was a “really good person”, and Watson.

“He (Watson) was put in a really difficult position. That was unfair on him, it should never have happened. And that shouldn’t, and won’t, define Jobe Watson,” Campbell said.

Campbell said the club had sought closure on the saga.

“The Essendon network didn’t fracture,” he said.

“It could have (fractured) at so many different moments.”

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So it sounds like the saga is touched upon but will probably just be one episode, or part of an episode.

Oh goody. Club marks day of start of 150 year celebrations.
Heraldsun: Yeh but remember the saga and Jobe losing his Brownlow?

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And aren’t oppo supporters full of class as always


The documentary series which this is from, is from the club though.

If it’s on Foxtel, it will be supporting the AFL’s narrative, certainly not doing an expose of how they stitched up EFC, its players and coaches. They will of course “leave out the bits we don’t need”.

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Agreed.

Does anyone know if the club has something like a brownlow medal honour board at The Hangar, and if so, if they list Jobe on it?

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Yeh but is the 8 part doco on the saga completely or mostly on the clubs history with a segment being on the drug saga? If the latter, then why the need to point that part out in an article?

Ah yep, I’m with you now. And the twitter comments that you posted probably answers the question!