Advertisement

Judge rules against Bombers

AAP

AAP

In a verdict that took little more than 20 minutes, the Federal Court of Australia delivered a resounding victory to the Australian Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) over AFL team Essendon.

Justice John Middleton dismissed the entire case brought by Essendon and coach James Hird, vindicating all aspects of ASADA’s investigation into the club’s supplements program.

“In my view, ASADA complied with the rule of law in establishing and conducting, in the manner and for the purposes it did, the investigation,” Justice Middleton concluded.

The Essendon camp did not emerge from the court for close to an hour and a half after the verdict.

Dressed almost identically in black suits, white cotton shirts and black-and-red ties, chairman Paul Little and Hird were grim-faced when they finally fronted the approximately 50 members of the media waiting outside.

• Francis Leach: Hird, Bombers shirtfronted by court
• D-Day for Essendon in court
• James Hird the ‘fall guy’ for Bombers

Mr Little read from a statement, saying his club was “understandably very disappointed” with the decision.

The club will “go away, deliberate, work through the findings and the determine whether or not we want to go to appeal”, Mr Little said, the deadline for which is October 1.

Mr Little reiterated the club’s innocence, saying “on all the evidence available, neither harmful nor banned substances were given to our players during the 2012 season”.

“Taking these proceedings, our purpose has always been to protect and vindicate the rights of our players, and the interests of our players,” he said, adding that no further comment would be made until a decision is reached.

James HirdMr Hird did not read from notes. “I’m very disappointed for our players, and I think this is about the players,” he said.

The coach did not respond when asked if the verdict jeopardises his position.

From the beginning of the verdict, Essendon’s defeat was foreshadowed. Almost every point raised by the judge was critical of the application.

Justice Middleton refused to set aside any of the 34 show-cause notices for alleged use of banned peptide Thymoson beta-4 issued to current and former Essendon players, which means the deadline – paused for the duration of the court proceedings – starts again.

The Bombers had sought to have all the evidence handed over by Hird and its players torn up as the fruit of an illegal joint investigation with the AFL, which imposed a $2 million fine and a 12-month suspension for Hird.

ASADA misused the AFL’s coercive muscle, the Bombers argued fruitlessly, in order to squeeze out the information.

In contrast, Justice Middleton said this evidence – such as the thousands of text messages downloaded from Hird’s mobile phone – was volunteered, not compelled.

Former ASADA boss vindicated

Essendon’s attempt to bring into question the evidence of former ASADA chief Aurora Andruska also failed, with the judge completely vindicating her as a “truthful”, “credible” and “reliable” witness who withstood pressures from the AFL and the federal government to conduct an appropriate investigation.

Justice Middleton said the former Labor government had pressured Ms Andruska to bring the investigation to a conclusion, but found this pressure had not resulted in any dereliction of duties by her or ASADA.

He said he did not need to consider or comment on the government’s intervention in the investigation for the purpose of his ruling.

Justice Middleton even appeared to agree with ASADA’s findings of poor governance and management practices at Essendon.

“This seems to have been the very situation that existed,” he said.

Case to answer

The final, crushing blow came when Justice Middleton said even if he found the investigation to be unlawful, he would not have set aside the show-cause notices.

Current ASADA CEO Ben McDevitt said the Essendon players still have a case to answer.

“Today’s judgment vindicates Mr McDevitt’s strong belief that the Act always contemplated ASADA working with sports to uphold clean competition,” an ASADA statement said.

“The only way to stay ahead of sophisticated doping regimes is to partner with sports; not exclude them from the process.”

Dank appears

Former ASADA boss Richard Ings said the court decision today “cleared the way for ASADA to progress its show cause notices which is the first step in ASADA bringing a case”.

“I think the evidence against the Essendon players is no stronger than the evidence against the NRL players,” Mr Ings said.

“In the NRL the players accepted an offer of three-match bans.”

Stephen Dank, the shadowy figure who assisted with Essendon’s supplements program, was a surprise attendee at the proceedings. He sat in the second row immediately behind the Essendon camp, dressed in a grey suit, blue shirt and darker blue tie.

Mr Dank was mobbed as he emerged an hour after the verdict, herded to the very edge of the court’s fountain. Despite a flurry of questions, Dank ignored them all, talking instead into his mobile phone.

Read Justice Middleton’s full statement to the court here.

 

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.