Andrew Bolt is on the radio at present, commenting that nothing has yet emerged from our Day of Shame.
Not true Andrew! On the same radio station (2GB) this afternoon there was a report that the North Sydney Bears (my local team) and a feeder to the Mighty Rabbitohs of South Sydney have stood down a player (possibly named, but not a player that anyone has heard of) for sending emails boasting that he can obtain peptides and similar goodies. He has not failed a test and he has not been charged with anything. But there you are. He has been stood down pending further investigation.
More shame (Sarc), on the same station a report that Bret Stewart of Manly Sea Eagles was arrested after a fuss in the pub during a bucks night several weeks ago. The full story: drunken patron was twice thrown out (sneaked back through a side door) and confronted Stewart when he came out. Police took Stewart to the station and sent him home pending investigation. CCTV footage showed no wrongdoing by Stewart and he was told it was all over. Club did its own investigation and got the same result. Not a story at all really.
A reality check, when you look at the number of NRL and AFL teams there are near enough to a thousand players in their senior squads (say 30 each), not counting the feeder clubs and under 23s. What if they identify a handful of bad boys? How many do you need to find to be surprised and outraged?
But the real point is that Gillard’s latest distraction, Drugs in Aussie sports, has taken up the first 45 minutes of Andrew Bolt’s hour long session on air this evening. Not a mention of Mr Obeid or the AWU.
You gotta give to those Labor strategists, they play dirty, and they’re rat cunning.
John S
11 Feb 13 at 8:49 pm
This is clearly a travesty of a mockery of a sham of something or other.
JamesK
11 Feb 13 at 8:53 pm
Football players behaving badly? I’m amazed!
Gillard wanting a distraction? I’m amazed at that too!
Bruce
11 Feb 13 at 8:53 pm
Yes John S
Does anyone get the point that the “drugs in sport” is a furfy, a distraction, a red herring and a media diversion beat up, from the foul stink of Obeids networks and ICAC going on?
You bet it is. No-one cares Ms Gillard. Everyone can smell what is going on in Labor.
Aliice
11 Feb 13 at 8:56 pm
LOL James K
“a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a ‘dont look there kiddies’ look over here”
Aliice
11 Feb 13 at 8:57 pm
So far these rent-seeking dickheads from AWADA or ASADA or whatever the fuck they are called have come up with precisely zero in terms of evidence.
It is all vagaries like “at risk” or “possible connections”.
These lying turds are looking for their Lance Armstrong moment, which will guarantee a massive funding boost.
Sure, drugs in sport are not desirable, but really …… coercive questioning powers?
Fuck me!
Carl Williams sold roughly 4,000 cubic metres of pills and had several people knocked along the way but no-one had the power to haul his fat arse in for questioning.
Leigh Lowe
11 Feb 13 at 9:02 pm
I propose that all elected officials and their staff should be drug tested weekly and breathalysed prior to entering any government building.
Infidel Tiger
11 Feb 13 at 9:03 pm
You can tell they’ve got squat because they asked the guilty to hand themselves in before “they come knocking”.
Defund them, then execute them at the former olympic stadium.
Infidel Tiger
11 Feb 13 at 9:07 pm
Shit!
Sleepy Slippery would be in trouble.
Leigh Lowe
11 Feb 13 at 9:12 pm
You just knew it was a crock when they appeared with two Labor politicians at the press conference. No self respecting organisation with a shred of credibility would do that.
All sporting administrations should get on the front foot and just laugh at the pricks or tell them to fuck off.
jupes
11 Feb 13 at 9:22 pm
Apt description of Demetriou.
He is rusted on Labor and is looking for a safe seat, which he needs before the three strikes (ahem) party drugs scam blows up in his face.
He will sell AFL clubs down the drain to please Gillard.
Leigh Lowe
11 Feb 13 at 9:32 pm
And another pillar of Australian society is weakened for no other purpose than a diversion.
Pickles
11 Feb 13 at 9:36 pm
Many died to save Australian society from foreign invasion. The ALP is dead. The body smells. Bury it now.
stackja
11 Feb 13 at 9:43 pm
Let’s use an independent gauge, shall we?
Say, how many professional sportspeople get investigated by ICAC, compared to, say, the ALP?
I’ll even allow equal weighting between ALP politicians in positions of considerable power and influence and sportspeople whom are barely known by their own parents, with no power or influence. I’ll even allow equal weighting in terms of benefit gained i.e $100 million benefit versus a sportsperson trying to improve their performance while earning 50 bucks a game.
I bet the ALP win on numbers alone.
The Beer Whisperer
11 Feb 13 at 9:44 pm
Don’t worry mate, they’ll never come after our beloved writers festivals.
Infidel Tiger
11 Feb 13 at 9:49 pm
The funny thing is, they are witch-hunting the stars of sports very popular to people in marginal seats.
Labor,in their self-serving desperation, have signed their electoral death warrant.
The Beer Whisperer
11 Feb 13 at 9:50 pm
Are you joking, next to the car companies, they are the biggest pack of big government subsidy whores.
The question is what did it cost taxpayers to have them all obsequiously kowtowing to the Liars Party ministers?
Token
11 Feb 13 at 9:56 pm
Norths have always been my team and the president and me went to college together and I remember most Saturdays sitting on the magnificent fig tree with kids my age cheering for the Bears.. As you say there are many feeder teams with most players on FB and brag about anything.
Andrew Bolt needs something to say but it is best he gets his facts right first. He has a great blog.
Back to reality: This is smoke and mirrors so all accused should sue the instigators as all is caused by Labor using smoke and mirrors to hide their deceit and lies over the last few weeks.
Dave of Cossack
11 Feb 13 at 9:58 pm
They’ll have to pry my annual sustainable organic poetry slam from my cold dead hands.
Pickles
11 Feb 13 at 10:07 pm
rafe, There is no reason to presume that Australian winter sports are any less corrupt and drug-ridden than any other sport.
The incentives to cheat are strong and they have the most understanding employers this side of the Catholic Church.
The terrible spectre ahead is cricket. Match fixing is a known problem in a few other countries.
When an Australian cricketer is arrested on drug or marching fixing charges, the game will truly not be the same. Alan McGilvray will turn in his grave.
p.s. One of the reasons I fell in love with cricket as a teenager was the 1975 tour of England. Fred Truman, John Arlott and the rest of the BBC radio commentators were such brilliant raconteurs that the broadcasts were more interesting when it was raining than when there was play.
Jim Rose
11 Feb 13 at 10:13 pm
I’m not giving up my growth hormone until I’ve got a chin like that celebrity TV vet. Currently on an elephant dose and half way there.
Harold
11 Feb 13 at 11:18 pm
I like the way that the press have found a religion other than the Catholics to have a go at. It’s refreshing.
For the bland stereotype to sneer at those who are physically superior courtesy of a fallen handful is, for me, a welcome diversion from sneering at those who are morally superior courtesy of a fallen handful.
Nato
12 Feb 13 at 12:52 am
Most of the substances in question are new enough that no tests exist yet.
Jacques Chester
12 Feb 13 at 1:09 am
My tip is that fewer footballers will be convicted of a drug related crime as a percentage of the 1000 or so professional roster of the codes than the percentage of ALP MP convicted of a crime as a percentage of all ALP MP sitting in a parliament. These people are hypocrites.
John Comnenus
12 Feb 13 at 6:56 am
Indeed.
When people find their favourite star player has been wrongly accused, they will be mightily pissed off.
And they will largely be Labor voters or politically apathetic at best.
That is why the Lying Slapper and her henchmen are sooooo desperate for the AFL and NRL to do the dirty work.
Leigh Lowe
12 Feb 13 at 7:11 am
MostAll of the substances in question arenew enough that no tests exist yet.legal.Leigh Lowe
12 Feb 13 at 7:13 am
Lundy refused to answer questions from Kennedy in October 2012 about cutting back funding on iillicit drug investigations. Now she is to preside over Gillard’s additional funding for illicit drug investigations. Hard to conclude that they care about the issue and have any idea what they are doing, other than funding a very large red herring the purpose of which is to distract from the stink of corruption enveloping them. And the collateral damage, Australian sportsmen. And Fran Kelly was seemingly channelling their thought processes when she said on the Drum, I don’t care about the harm to the sportsmen.
While they are gross political opportunists the ACC is another matter. First there is their conflation of PIEDS with matchfixing, another claim for which they provide no evidence. Thenthere is their admissions that this is about what might evolve, not what is, Lawlor, slippery slopes and proactive steps. That the ACC should combat serious and organised crime by disrupting, disabling and dismantling serious and organised criminal syndicates (and the evidence of their presence in Australian sport is?) and that they are tasked withhardening the Australian environment against the threat of nationally significant crime by. ..influencing policy and legislation, may be acceptable to us all, they should not have unfetterd power to do so, and most certainly not by severely damaging innocent Australians to do so. This description of the role of the ACC was provided by Roxon in her discussion paper for the National Corruption Plan. The only sporting body that responded with a submission was Netball and they commence acknowledging the government’s then view thatit wasn’t a significant problem in sport.
Another gem from then was the establishment by this incompetent government of a Match Fixing Policy Implementation Working Group whose task was to develop policy to maximise public confidence in the integrity of sport. This mob has a very odd way of doing that.
And the winners, well the british press for one revelling in the colonials stupid respect for the liars and cheats in Australian sport.
A day of shame indeed.
Ros
12 Feb 13 at 7:32 am
Is this being played up as a distraction by Labor politicians? Sure!
Could I give a rat’s arse what the players are on? No way!
But make no mistake, footballers and most other professional athletes are taking drugs by the truckload. Once effective substances are found, you just cannot remain competitive without them.
David Brewer
12 Feb 13 at 7:33 am
“That is why the Lying Slapper and her henchmen are sooooo desperate for the AFL and NRL to do the dirty work.”
Once they realise that the ACC is bluffing it will resort to empty platitudes. The ACC will have to get their hands dirty, but if they don’t lay charges, and soon, the whole charade will run out of puff and all Labor will have is Obeid splashed across the coalition electoral ads.
What are they gunna do? Do ads smearing Greg Bird?
The Beer Whisperer
12 Feb 13 at 9:33 am
It’s going to be a witch hunt, that’s the way Labor does things, like the Royal Commission into Catholics, but no witch hunt into their own criminals, including j.gillard.
candy
12 Feb 13 at 9:37 am
Here is my guess.
There will be no criminal charges resulting and the AFL and NRL, to save face after lining up with Gillard’s Goons, will ban a couple of people for “bringing the game into disrepute”.
They will have to be careful however, because someone like Dank may just decide to take them through the civil courts where they are bound to lose.
Leigh Lowe
12 Feb 13 at 10:04 am
Leigh;
That the drugs are unregulated by the TGA doesn’t affect their regulation by WADA. If a substance is prohibited by WADA (and all of these are), then you can face bans for using them.
When you sign up to any organised sport you agree to being governed by WADA rules.
A contract is a contract.
When you breach a contract you should expect to face the agreed penalties.
The whole “but the drugs are legal u guise” thing is a legal smokescreen that deliberately conflates public and private law.
Jacques Chester
12 Feb 13 at 12:00 pm