The AFL community has reacted with fury to “damning” accusations of secret drug tests in bombshell cover-up claims made by Federal MP Andrew Wilkie in federal parliament.
On Tuesday, Wilkie revealed he had a signed statement from former Melbourne doctor Zeeshan Arain that claimed the AFL staged “off the book” illicit drug tests to help players prevent being detected.
The doctor claimed that players were directed to fake injuries to avoid failing drug tests on match days, stressing that drug abuse and illicit behaviour is prevalent across the AFL.
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AFL responds to secret testing claims | 12:49
“If throughout the years you have harboured suspicions that drug bans were masqueraded as hamstring injuries – you were right,” Gerard Whateley said on SEN.
“It’s the AFL’s place in the hours ahead to explain the principle and the motivation behind the practice and how that fits into the long contentious illicit drugs policy.
“They’ll need to explain that to Parliament one imagines as well as the public.
“As a beat reporter back in the day this was the story you could never prove. High profile player, untimely hamstring injury, lingered longer than might have been anticipated. Suspicions were on every street corner.
“The system of privately testing AFL players to determine whether they had illicit drugs in their system ahead of a match was laid bare in Federal Parliament by independent MP Andrew Wilkie last night.
“They are sensational allegations introduced under parliamentary privilege.”
“News to me”: Goodwin on allegations | 07:03
Dr Peter Larkins claimed every club doctor had an arrangement with the AFL that players could have positive drug tests covered up.
“This was a system deliberately put in place to assist players to get off the system if they were caught up in societal drug use,” Larkins told Nova 100 Melbourne on Wednesday.
“And so the club doctor and the AFL’s medical director were the only two people aware of this system when a player tested positive and a player could self report, so this is how this story is unfolding.
“A player who was worried they were gonna test positive could go to me as the club doctor and say, ‘Oh gee, look, I’ve been at a big party Pete on Thursday night and you know what, I might have taken things. You know, what am I going to do?’
“As your doctor, I’m trying to help you get off the drugs, so then I could also see if you’re tested. But where it really got messy was then the club doctor was allowed to prevent the player from playing. They’d be managed or they’d pull a hamstring at training.
“Every club doctor had that arrangement with the AFL — all 18 clubs.”
Meanwhile, Swans chief executive Tom Harley denied he had ever witnessed doctors lying about players’ injuries.
“The illicit drugs policy in the AFL, we are absolutely all aware that it’s a medical model. We put enormous trust and faith into our medical practitioners and our doctors,” Harley said.
“I can only comment on what I’ve seen and the clubs that I’ve been involved in, and I’ve never seen that.
“There’s no doubt that what’s been reported is having some cut through this morning. As a representative of the club, I’m sure there’ll be more information passed through in the next 24-48 hours into what it really means.
“All I can say is that it’s not a practice or a behaviour that I’ve been privy to.”
Swans CEO: “I’ve never seen that” | 01:18
Legendary coach Mick Malthouse says the “damning” allegations of clandestine drug testing on AFL players could have greater consequences than the ill-fated Essendon supplements saga.
“This is almost on the same level as the Essendon saga, in fact it might even go beyond that, because this is suggesting AFL officials are involved in this,” Malthouse said on Today.
“It is just so damning. It is going to place every player, every club official and, in particular, club doctors under scrutiny. The ramifications are very broad.
“To hear these allegations … I can’t describe how angry I am.”
Shaun Smith, father of Melbourne swingman Joel Smith who is currently serving a provisional suspension after failing a drug test last year, declared the alleged practice was “100 per cent” a form of cheating.
“If you create a workplace environment that’s toxic and doing nothing about it, it certainly doesn’t help … that’s very negligent on behalf of the AFL,” Smith told 3AW Melbourne.
“There’s obviously a lot of broken players
“If my son was 17 right at the moment, I’d be saying you’re not going into AFL footy because there’s a bad culture,” he told 3AW.
“The AFL need to fix that problem ASAP.”
Port Adelaide president David Koch confessed he was shocked upon hearing the allegations.
“I am absolutely stunned by it,” David Koch said on FiveAA.
“I’m reticent to comment because I only know what we’ve all read in the paper and the allegations.
“Obviously the AFL will be investigating it closely. To have a deliberate route to avoid testing seems beyond belief to me.
“If you’re a serious participant signing up to the WADA procedures you would think every ‘I’ would be dotted and every ‘T’ crossed to do the right thing. So I’m as shocked as anyone.”
AFL accused of secret drug tests | 02:00
Speaking to SEN on Wednesday morning, Fox Footy commentator Gerrard Whateley also criticised the AFL’s illicit drugs policy.
“The idea that there is no consequence for drug use in a football sense isn’t true … players do miss games … but there’s no transparency around it,” Whateley said.
“The illicit drugs policy has always been shrouded in secrecy. And the tension piece between player welfare, privileged medical information and brand protection has been a constant debate since it was first introduced.
“It has never won public approval or confidence. But the AFL and players have always been unrepentant about that – sighting a voluntary code with welfare as the principal consideration.
“We went through the phase of learning about self-reporting – which seemed like a loophole before a player would get caught.
“Now a second testing regime has been revealed. The AFL will need to explain to Federal Parliament why this isn’t as clandestine as Andrew Wilkie made it appear.
“Sports Integrity Australia only tests for illicit substances on game day … where cocaine and the like are considered performance enhancing.
“This AFL system appears built to ensure no player with an illicit substance in their system takes the field, thus the integrity of the game isn’t compromised by a performance enhancing substance.
“And a player isn’t left exposed to the four-year ban under the WADA code. The cup test sees to that.
“Until today it looked like only the likes of Bailey Smith and Jack Ginnivan felt the consequences of the illicit drug code.
“If you’re caught cold and you embarrass the brand you get a two-game ban.
“But if you had an illicit substance in your system in the lead up to a game you were banned from playing. And it was called a hamstring.
“The AFL will need to fully explain why this is appropriate and necessary and why it isn’t as clandestine as it was made to sound in Parliament last night.”
Signage at AFL House in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne.Source: AAP
AFL STATEMENT
As well as being a signatory to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code via the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code, the AFL has an Illicit Drug Policy which has been in place since 2005, and at the core of the policy is a commitment to player wellbeing and welfare.
The AFL Illicit Drug Policy (IDP) is a policy that specifically deals with the use of illicit substances out of competition and is focused on player health and well-being. The policy seeks to reduce substance use and drug-related harms for AFL players and aims to inform and rehabilitate players through education and intervention.
It exists alongside and in addition to the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code which covers prohibited substances including some illicit substances in competition as prescribed by the WADA prohibited list.
Urine tests conducted by doctors to determine if a player has used illicit substances are part of the AFL’s Illicit Drug Policy medical model and have been for some time.
Doctors may use those urine tests to obtain an immediate result to determine whether any illicit substance remains in a player’s system. This is normally conducted at the club or in the doctors consulting rooms.
If the test shows a substance is still in the players system, a doctor will take steps to prevent a player from taking part in either training and/or an AFL match both for their own health and welfare and because having illicit substances in your system on match day may be deemed performance enhancing and a breach of the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code (depending on the substance involved).
It is absolutely imperative that no doctor or club official should ever allow or encourage a player to take the field knowing they have recently taken an illicit substance that may be harmful to their health and/or may be deemed performance-enhancing (as many illicit substances are on match day).
We support the WADA code (as it applies to our sport through the Australian Football Anti-Doping Code) and support the fundamental premise on which it is founded that any player who takes the field with a performance-enhancing prohibited substance in their system should be treated in accordance with the Anti-Doping Code and face heavy sanctions.
The AFL observes that AFL players are not immune to the societal issues faced by young people with respect to illicit substances and also acknowledges that illicit drug use problems commonly co-occur with other mental health conditions.
While the AFL’s medical model involves a multidisciplinary healthcare management plan, the monitoring of players is highly confidential. A doctor or healthcare professional generally cannot disclose the nature of the clinical intervention or condition to others unless the player willingly consents.
We understand that the Illicit Drugs Policy can be improved and we are working with the AFLPA and players to improve the policy and the system to ensure we are better able to change the behaviours of players. But we are unapologetic about club and AFL doctors taking the correct steps to ensure that any player who they believe has an illicit substance in their system does not take part in any AFL match and that doctor patient confidentially is upheld and respected.
The AFL will always be required to make decisions which seek to balance competing rights and interests. The medical interests and welfare of players is a priority for the AFL given everything we know about the risks facing young people generally and those who play our game in particular.
2024-03-27 06:22:25
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