A week ago every sports man and woman within Australia was put under the suspicion of using performance enhancing drugs.
It was described as the blackest day in Australian sport. The Australian Government forced CEO’s of all major sports in Australia to report to a joint press conference, the likes of which sport in this country has never seen before, and every single one of them had to stand there and listen to the allegations that were thrown at every sport in this country.
Since then, what we have seen has been a disgrace.
With no information to go on, everyone is guilty. If I had a dollar for every accusation against a player or club that I’ve read since the big announcement I’d be a very rich man.
Right now we don’t know much.
We know that a few NRL clubs got visits last week. We know a few clubs are the subject of investigations. We don’t know what those investigations are about. We don’t know if those investigations center on entire clubs or just individuals at those clubs.
We have very little to go on at all.
Anyone that reads my site, that is a member of the Facebook page or that is a follower of mine of Twitter knows that, when something happens, I’m pretty quick to come out with my opinion on it.
This time around I haven’t said much for a very good reason. There is very little information out there!
I’m not going to smear any player or club just so there is a talking point to focus on. I’m not going to get hysterical about rumours. I want facts. I want to know what has been going on before I talk about it. Otherwise its just story telling!
One thing I will say is this.
After last weeks press conference held in Canberra, anything short of hundreds of athletes across a number of sports being charge and convicted with drug offenses or corruption will not be enough to justify the smearing of every athlete plying their trade within Australia.
My questions right now are….
Why did the Government decide to make an announcement now when it is clear that investigations are still ongoing?
If there is enough information to smear every sport in this country, past and present, with allegations of drug use and corruption, why have no arrests already been made?
Which sports are being investigated? All of them? Some of them? Is it just one or two?
If drug use is as rampant as the Government has said, and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority hasn’t caught anyone yet, why does anyone think they will catch them now?
How much of tax payers money does the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority receive every year to seemingly be so unable to catch drug cheats?
All of these are questions I have. You’ll notice, they are not focused on any one sport. These are very general questions because we have no other details to go on.
One thing we do know is that my club, the Penrith Panthers, are being investigated. At this stage it is unclear what for.
The Panthers look to have been the only sporting organisation so far that looks like the really do what to be completely open about what is going on at the club. They should be applauded for that.
Phil Gould was very quick to get on the front foot with this issue. His line is basically that if anything is going on at the club, he wants to know about it and put a stop to it.
When information comes out about who is being investigated and what for, I’ll have more to say. Until then, I’m not going to add to the white noise that is being generated. I want to know what happened. Until the Australian Crime Commission, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the Australian Government tell us….we are all in the dark.
For the massive commotion ASADA & the fed govt have made, you think they would have had arrests, names, etc out by now. I said on the first day they have not named anyone, anything, no clubs.. its all hereday.
Starting to get the feeling they are just shaking the tree.
After all of this, if they get say 3 people banned, 1 arrest and a few clubs in any sports go under watch – this has been a fucking disgrace to say the least.
Im pretty sure i heard in that presser last week the findings were damming and disgusting (something along those lines).. cant wait to hear what they are.
So far.. its been a beat up so make someone high up in the tree look like they are doing something to justify their massive pay cheques (bit like half of Australian politics).
I am still waiting to see a sliver of leadership from the NRL Commission. Penrith, North Queensland and Newcastle are showing responsible leadership. Shame the NRL cannot.
Where are the Commissioners? Where is the Chairman?
Shame, Shame, Shame
Its seems like, for the most part, the NRL has its hands tied. There’s very little information at all that even the clubs named have been given.
How long will that be allowed to go on? Can ASADA and the ACC allow players to compete in a sport knowing they have been involved in alleged from use or corruption? Can that legally allow that to happen?
There are just so many unknowns to the whole thing right now. The only thing you can focus on is the Government response at this stage. Hundreds of athletes, coaches and doctors need to be involved in this for it to warrant the press conference last week and the sweeping allegations that were made against all sports in Australia.
You aren’t going to smear any club or player? Yet a few days ago you cynically and poorly attempted to smear the British game and create a focus point to talk upon, based upon a totally fabricated interview conducted between yourself and an “anonymous” former UK player. As I have said in previous posts, you are a joke.
You are not really the King Of League, a more fitting title would be the Perez Hilton of Penrith.
Personally, I hope that all NRL clubs and players are cleared of any wrong doing. The NRL is a fantastic competition, and one which every league fan around the world should be proud of. But then I don’t feel the need to constantly belittle and sully any section of our glorious game at every opportunity, unlike you.
You might not be saying much but this Australian story with implications for many sports has managed to be a leader on the RL page of English broadsheets. Apparently it is of consequence to no other game.