AFL Dont have a drug issue....

[magnifisaint]

Oh Clayton Oliver!
I wonder why you bent all those windscreen wipers.

[Yorkeys]

This whole thing is a storm in a tea cup. Nothing is perfect. No-one knows how many times players or clubs are misusing the policy apart from the AFL, but if there was over 100 players involved it wouldn't have remained a secret for this long.

Although drugs are a serious problem in society this over-reaction by many people because of ignorance or media spin, and often because a mixture of both.

Nothing will improve by over-reacting on this issue - the current discussion may help improve the situation and may not, but don't forget it's all about player welfare and sport fairness.

Integrity, transparency are important in some facets of life, or once were considered so in business, and by the way it is no longer secret. Even the policy's defenders acknowledge a number of players are taking the micky.
And if the AFL truely cared about players welfare rather than brand it would have done more earlier about concussion and collision rules and require players testing positive to who knows what drugs to undergo a rehab education program.
Hiding behind patient confidentiality. More appropriate to hide behind legal privilege, self incrimination rules and maintaining tax payer dollars.

[Scollop]

The AFL brand has been tarnished

Headquarters wants it's servants to be all singing the same tune

In all the interviews with coaches that I've heard so far, they are basically saying the same thing. One of the common theme's is that they weren't aware of any of their players being told to fake injuries

[older saint]

Young people, middle aged people, and even older people take recreational drugs. They're everywhere and it's a reality we have to accept.

The drugs that really count are the performance enhancing drugs like EPO and this is where the testing should focus the most.

Most recreational drugs are not performance enhancing. In fact they'd be detrimental to performance. There are a couple, notably cocaine and speed that would be performance enhancing if taken immediately pre-game. There are protocols in place to deal with these that already exist.

To me, this whole saga is a case of an open secret suddenly being put out there in the public domain and then everybody gets to express the rage they previously didn't feel when they knew about it before it went public. A bit of grandstanding, some chest thumping and plenty of phoney moral hand wringing going on, methinks

Storm in a teacup.

Beg to differ we have to accept it.
Many professions have drug testing - pilots, miners, doctors to name a few off the top of my head.

Ultimately there is a choice each individual makes to take or not to take, however the AFL is all about BRAND and its a bad look to have players who take ILLEGAL drugs, bad for sponsors, bad for grass roots and bad for Government who fund big stadiums. PA is always going to bend as they are funded by the AFL, which is bizarre in itself like having a building company fund a union, and some players are taking the piss out of the system.

Bottom line is there is always a choice but it is a hard one, and for once i agree with what Eddie proposed.
Like anything in life you have a choice but the thing you walk past is the thing you condone.

I just hope that one of these players, who has had one of these "general soreness" weeks off don't snort some rat poison or something and end OD and gone for good.

[older saint]

The AFL brand has been tarnished

Headquarters wants it's servants to be all singing the same tune

In all the interviews with coaches that I've heard so far, they are basically saying the same thing. One of the common theme's is that they weren't aware of any of their players being told to fake injuries

Buckley's interview was the most damming , 4 guys suddenly out with Hammy injuries after completing the full session.

[amusingname]

Young people, middle aged people, and even older people take recreational drugs. They're everywhere and it's a reality we have to accept.

The drugs that really count are the performance enhancing drugs like EPO and this is where the testing should focus the most.

Most recreational drugs are not performance enhancing. In fact they'd be detrimental to performance. There are a couple, notably cocaine and speed that would be performance enhancing if taken immediately pre-game. There are protocols in place to deal with these that already exist.

To me, this whole saga is a case of an open secret suddenly being put out there in the public domain and then everybody gets to express the rage they previously didn't feel when they knew about it before it went public. A bit of grandstanding, some chest thumping and plenty of phoney moral hand wringing going on, methinks

Storm in a teacup.

Beg to differ we have to accept it.
Many professions have drug testing - pilots, miners, doctors to name a few off the top of my head.

Ultimately there is a choice each individual makes to take or not to take, however the AFL is all about BRAND and its a bad look to have players who take ILLEGAL drugs, bad for sponsors, bad for grass roots and bad for Government who fund big stadiums. PA is always going to bend as they are funded by the AFL, which is bizarre in itself like having a building company fund a union, and some players are taking the piss out of the system.

Bottom line is there is always a choice but it is a hard one, and for once i agree with what Eddie proposed.
Like anything in life you have a choice but the thing you walk past is the thing you condone.

I just hope that one of these players, who has had one of these "general soreness" weeks off don't snort some rat poison or something and end OD and gone for good.

Yes many professions do have drug testing, I am also pretty sure if a pilot or a doctor were to call in sick or say they have another condition to get out of working on a day because they have drugs in their system, they are not required to be tested. That is what it really comes down to, people want to apply standards to AFL players that are not present elsewhere. In a way it comes down to the ingrained notion that the players are lucky to be in the position they are in, through natural talent, some hard work and circumstances (media interest, sponsorships, etc) that mean the money they earn is above and beyond the norm in society. The sooner that it is accepted that this is a job for players and they may view it as such, the easier it is to deal with their shortcomings as humans.

[older saint]

Young people, middle aged people, and even older people take recreational drugs. They're everywhere and it's a reality we have to accept.

The drugs that really count are the performance enhancing drugs like EPO and this is where the testing should focus the most.

Most recreational drugs are not performance enhancing. In fact they'd be detrimental to performance. There are a couple, notably cocaine and speed that would be performance enhancing if taken immediately pre-game. There are protocols in place to deal with these that already exist.

To me, this whole saga is a case of an open secret suddenly being put out there in the public domain and then everybody gets to express the rage they previously didn't feel when they knew about it before it went public. A bit of grandstanding, some chest thumping and plenty of phoney moral hand wringing going on, methinks

Storm in a teacup.

Beg to differ we have to accept it.
Many professions have drug testing - pilots, miners, doctors to name a few off the top of my head.

Ultimately there is a choice each individual makes to take or not to take, however the AFL is all about BRAND and its a bad look to have players who take ILLEGAL drugs, bad for sponsors, bad for grass roots and bad for Government who fund big stadiums. PA is always going to bend as they are funded by the AFL, which is bizarre in itself like having a building company fund a union, and some players are taking the piss out of the system.

Bottom line is there is always a choice but it is a hard one, and for once i agree with what Eddie proposed.
Like anything in life you have a choice but the thing you walk past is the thing you condone.

I just hope that one of these players, who has had one of these "general soreness" weeks off don't snort some rat poison or something and end OD and gone for good.

Yes many professions do have drug testing, I am also pretty sure if a pilot or a doctor were to call in sick or say they have another condition to get out of working on a day because they have drugs in their system, they are not required to be tested. That is what it really comes down to, people want to apply standards to AFL players that are not present elsewhere. In a way it comes down to the ingrained notion that the players are lucky to be in the position they are in, through natural talent, some hard work and circumstances (media interest, sponsorships, etc) that mean the money they earn is above and beyond the norm in society. The sooner that it is accepted that this is a job for players and they may view it as such, the easier it is to deal with their shortcomings as humans.

Absolutely it is a job , however like any job it is a choice to take it or not based on the pay and conditions the employer has put on the employee, which is where the AFL( employer if you like) has dropped the ball significantly in my opinion, allowing the loop holes to exist for players to take illegal drugs.
If an employee continually misses work their may well be consequences.
The other point is unlike shareholders, members and even supporters contribute to the wages of the players and don't think it unreasonable to be disappointed in the governing body and straight out dishonesty.

[Vortex]

Young people, middle aged people, and even older people take recreational drugs. They're everywhere and it's a reality we have to accept.

The drugs that really count are the performance enhancing drugs like EPO and this is where the testing should focus the most.

Most recreational drugs are not performance enhancing. In fact they'd be detrimental to performance. There are a couple, notably cocaine and speed that would be performance enhancing if taken immediately pre-game. There are protocols in place to deal with these that already exist.

To me, this whole saga is a case of an open secret suddenly being put out there in the public domain and then everybody gets to express the rage they previously didn't feel when they knew about it before it went public. A bit of grandstanding, some chest thumping and plenty of phoney moral hand wringing going on, methinks

Storm in a teacup.

Agree on all points. I guess what I’m saying here is that in this case… it would be nice to put an end to the fallacy th at the AFL is trying to stamp this out.

My impression is that the current system allows players to use without fear of consequence as long as they report it. But then there’s this weird hypocrisy with the strikes system that hangs over a few select players (allegedly).

The lack of transparency annoys me. If they wanted zero tolerance, IMO it could be achieved pretty easily. They don’t but give off the impression that they do.

It’s always all about brand protection of the sponsors…hurt the brand and the AFL have to be seen to be doing something. More or less the AFL, like most employers, couldn’t give a stuff what players do in their spare time or if they turn up with traces of recreational drugs in their system, as long as you are fit for duty it’s all good. More or less they live by the creed, “it’s only illegal if you get caught”.

Don’t hurt the brand and everything be cool.

[Scollop]

More or less the AFL, like most employers, couldn’t give a stuff what players do in their spare time or if they turn up with traces of recreational drugs in their system

I disagree. It's not just the AFL that needs to protect their brand. It's also the club protecting their sponsors. They need to protect their investment in a player. And don't forget most of these guys are 18-25 so they need to monitor them for their own good.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/03/28/ ... many-clubs

[Scollop]

Here's what Joey said on AFL360

[Vortex]

More or less the AFL, like most employers, couldn’t give a stuff what players do in their spare time or if they turn up with traces of recreational drugs in their system

I disagree. It's not just the AFL that needs to protect their brand. It's also the club protecting their sponsors. They need to protect their investment in a player. And don't forget most of these guys are 18-25 so they need to monitor them for their own good.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/03/28/ ... many-clubs

Yeah absolutely, it's only about sponsors and?/or revenue streams...as long as the pigs in muck don't run out of beer and pretzels then nobody gets hurt. In a sense the AFL couldn't give a stuff about its own brand, as long as the rivers of gold keep flowing then snort as much charlie up your nose as you can afford.

Capitalism Baby!

[Vortex]

Hey but us brainwashed with 3 second memories should help the AFL and their "partners" out by continuing to argue and squabble amongst ourselves on social media about the integrity of the game all the mean while not impacting the rivers of gold continuing to flow rampantly and freely.

[Yorkeys]

Can players that do drugs win games for a club? Assume it doesn't help performance? Shouldn't selectors be given a heads up, developing players given the chance to debut.
It's not "victimless" there are big ripples. Who decides it's all about the drug taker and "confidentiality ". Weigh the various consequences and perhaps adopt a user pays principle rather than the user gets a free pass others will pick up the tab?

[Scollop]

You don't honestly believe that senior coaches are in the dark about what goes on ...do you?

They can say what they like in public. I don't buy it. They're only saying what they are because of privacy laws and the fact that information between doctor and patient is supposed to remain confidential.

A club doctor has a role to play. They are a cog in the football department. They are part of a team. They're not some sort of seperate entity like your local suburban GP.

[SaintWiki]

This whole thing is a storm in a tea cup. Nothing is perfect. No-one knows how many times players or clubs are misusing the policy apart from the AFL, but if there was over 100 players involved it wouldn't have remained a secret for this long.

Although drugs are a serious problem in society this over-reaction by many people because of ignorance or media spin, and often because a mixture of both.

Nothing will improve by over-reacting on this issue - the current discussion may help improve the situation and may not, but don't forget it's all about player welfare and sport fairness.

Integrity, transparency are important in some facets of life, or once were considered so in business, and by the way it is no longer secret. Even the policy's defenders acknowledge a number of players are taking the micky.
And if the AFL truely cared about players welfare rather than brand it would have done more earlier about concussion and collision rules and require players testing positive to who knows what drugs to undergo a rehab education program.
Hiding behind patient confidentiality. More appropriate to hide behind legal privilege, self incrimination rules and maintaining tax payer dollars.

The issue is wide - i.e. there are illicit and unethical drugs that improve the body long-term for better performance, also others that improve performance on the day and lots of illegal drugs that don't improve performance at all etc etc and we live in a society where dangerous legal and illegal drugs and the issues they cause are becoming more and more prevalent everywhere ever day.

I think that it's imperative to give the wider community a better understanding of the AFL drugs protocols, to monitor associated player issues and the AFL to tweak their system when required for fairness and player health and well being, but those in the media are so over the top about the issue and just gives the peanuts a platform to pedal their biases.

[The Fireman]

I’d like to know what Collingwood were on when they beat us in the drawn gf

[Vortex]

You don't honestly believe that senior coaches are in the dark about what goes on ...do you?

They can say what they like in public. I don't buy it. They're only saying what they are because of privacy laws and the fact that information between doctor and patient is supposed to remain confidential.

A club doctor has a role to play. They are a cog in the football department. They are part of a team. They're not some sort of seperate entity like your local suburban GP.

It would be interesting to get Bomber Thompson's view from a Coaches perspective, I think Bomber was very responsible and progressive with his views on recreational drug use. I believe he even took care of ensuring his players received only the highest quality drugs that he personally tested.