Essendon set to start season without ASADA action

[_wato]

You're all right I agree 100%.

But considering the AFL had its own investigation and their decisions were based on pretty much the same material, it was done months ago, so I don't see why a full investigation with an international sporting organisation would take so much longer.

I agree they'd be looking at every scenario but damn, it's a long haul.

[GCSkiwi]

Hi guys

Let me weigh in on this - can totally understand why you'd think that this should be done and dusted but there's good reason that it's not..

For a start, ASADA are, and have to be, impartial. They do not give a flying flower about the competition other than to ensure it is a clean and fair one. So they are not going to speed up their investigation and potential compromise it simply because the season is about to start or the AFL wants it finished.
Secondly, as you're all aware, the potential ramifications, in terms of penalties, are HUGE. and for most doping violations they push for the max, a 2 year ban. That is not something they can hand out lightly, because that could be career destroying for an athlete, and if it is later found to be wrong then ASADA would face the backlash/legal action.
Thirdly, it isn't just the players here - the coaches and staff are all bound equally to abide by the anti doping code, and as much as the AFL has taken action against the club, people like Hirdy could still faces issues from ASADA - now that is purely hypothetical and I would say Hirdy is fine, unless he is proved to be willfully complicit in providing banned substances then the AFL decision is all he will face.
Lastly, the sheer number of players in this is massive - ASADA are typically dealing with a few individuals at a time, not a team list. And they're not in it to get some or most of them, they want to get everyone who broke the rules. So they are going to thoroughly investigate every single one of them. That is going to take a long time if it is to be done properly.

It could certainly be done better BUT I think this is an unprecedented case, ASADA are simply operating under strict guidelines that didn't anticipate having to investigate an entire club. There may well be some policy changes because of this; but it's always tough to say what the best way is. They could do doping tests for every single player at every single game, but that is extremely high cost and really just means that dopers will try dodgier things to stay ahead of the tests. It's always a tricky situation... really it's much easier for teams to just not try to cut corners, but in professional sport there's always the blurry line between the legal and illegal side of pushing the boundaries...

[DazBurg]

http://m.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/i-put-my-trust-in-stephen-dank-retired-bomber-nathan-lovettmurray-says-20140210-32d0o.html

interesting to read thoughts from a ex player who was there through this storm last season (i.e mcveigh or reimers were not on the list in 2013 i mean during this whole circus)

[Mr.Craig]

It ain't over til it's over.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/asada-has-completed-its-probe-into-the-afl-and-nrl-says-chief-executive-20140226-33idd.html