Richmond in 2009 |
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| Fact1: Ben
Cousins has had 14 drug tests in his AFL career and all have been
negative Fact2: When picked up by police in Perth he had a prescription for the medication he was taking Fact3: West Coast Eagles sacked him with no reason, except they swayed to public opinion created by idiotic, one eyed media James Rowe, October 22, 2007 Page 1 of 2 Single page IF I read another federal politician describing the AFL drug policy as being soft on drugs, I'm going to reach for some serious self-medication. The AFL policy is excellent as far as testing for illicit drug use, even though I'd have thought testing for "performance enhancing" drugs - rather than illicit drugs as marijuana, amphetamines and ecstasy - was more relevant for a sport. Then again, that doesn't offer the same opportunities for political posturing and arguing for a zero tolerance approach. OK, Ben Cousins uses illicit drugs. As far as I understand it, the admittedly sorry situation is that Cousins never tested positive under the AFL policy and that it was the Eagles uncovering of his indiscretions that have thrown him into the media (and political) spotlight. If, indeed, he had tested positive - a first strike, if you will - he may well have received the counselling and care that was obviously needed at an earlier to prevent his drug use spiralling out of control. The truth is, AFL policy mirrors what happens in the broader society. Say I'm apprehended in Victoria with a quarter ounce of marijuana. What happens? I get a caution and diversion to appropriate counselling. Say it happens again - same response. On the third arrest, I will be sent to court to have my case heard and for the magistrate to decide the best course of action. The difference for me is that I'm am not going to have my private life become fodder for media commentators - informed and tabloid posturers alike. My reputation is not going to be dragged through the mud to my future detriment and that of my family and colleagues. AFL players face a far heavier sanction that other members of the public - not only does a "three-strike" policy allow the opportunity to address drug use in perhaps its earliest stages, but it ensures that such an incredible sanction isn't suffered by an individual who may have used marijuana or ecstasy in a recreational setting without at least being given a chance to address their drug use, which isn't really out of the ordinary in contemporary society. Guess what? Drug use happens at all levels of society and, despite the description of these substances as "evil" (that is, profoundly morally wrong) the overwhelming majority of those who use them will suffer no long-lasting serious effects. Further, they will not come to the attention of authorities and will not suffer any sanction. It is only when drug use has progressed to such a problematic level that it becomes visible that an individual is likely to face legal consequences. So the punitive sanctions prescribed for illicit drug use fall on those who comprise a tiny minority of drug users - those in most need of assistance of a completely different nature. Did you really think that those that fit the public perception of the "junkie" - the homeless user, the street sex worker and so on - are really capable of sustaining a multi-million dollar industry? Perhaps the government should concentrate on why drug use becomes problematic for this minority? In many, if not most cases, drug use of such a nature is a form of self-medication. While the greater majority of drug users go about their lives undetected and without showing any negative symptoms, those bearing the brunt of the government's "tough on drugs" approach are those who the government should be concentrating on for wholly different reasons. These individuals, and the areas in which they are concentrated, lack many of the services and opportunities for advancement that all Australians are entitled to expect. Perhaps if these people had the same access to medical and psychiatric care, instead of self-medicating with illicit drugs, they may well be among the recipients of the 10.9 million anti-depressant scripts, 7.5 million scripts for opiate-based pain killers, 2.7 million scripts for major tranquillisers and 8.7 million scripts that written for sedatives in 2004 - and here you were thinking illicit drug use was out of control. Forget zero tolerance. Zero tolerance means no needle and syringe programs. Good, many of you say - but consider the rates of HIV among drug users in countries without access to sterile needles. It's not pretty. Injecting drug users have sexual relationships with wives, husbands and partners. HIV would not be confined to drug users but would spread through the general community. The Federal Government knows this. Even the most conservative estimate of its own study into the return on investment into needle and syringe programs as a consequence of avoided HIV and hepatitis infections at $2.1 billion. Under a zero tolerance approach, anyone apprehended for possession of a single joint of marijuana, would very likely be prosecuted and acquire a criminal record. Criminalisation of otherwise law-abiding individuals greatly affects future opportunities for employment and travel. Future opportunities for a legitimate and productive lifestyle are greatly reduced. Rather than acting as an incentive to cease illicit drug use the (further) loss of hope, might cause the offender to regard drug use (and perhaps further involvement in their illicit trade) as one of few of the available opportunities. I should know. In 1997 I was arrested and charged with use and possession of heroin. I received a good behaviour bond and have had no further involvement with the criminal justice system. Had I received a criminal conviction, I would certainly not be sitting here, writing this article as a productive and contributing member of society, educating youth work, social work, psychology and other students about politics and the realities - as opposed to the false perceptions - of illicit drug use. No, I'd probably have sought further refuge in the heroin that was a salve in the days following an emotional breakdown. Australian politicians have many duties to their constituents when it comes to the misuse of illicit drugs. Posturing for political advantage in not one of these duties. Addressing the reasons certain sections of society self-medicate to the degree they do is a duty. Dr James Rowe is a lecturer in the school of global studies, social science and planning at RMIT University. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ben Cousins from the West Coast Eagles is arrested in Northbridge and later charged with possession of an illegal substance and refusing a blood test.[114] He is later sacked by the club. The possession charge made against Cousins is subsequently dropped, due to the drug being possessed actually being legal to possess. The charge of refusing a blood test is deferred for 90 days while Cousins attends a Malibu drug rehabilitation clinic. Instead, Cousins ends up in an LA hospital after reportedly going on a cocaine binge. The charge of refusing a blood test is later dropped on a technicality.[115] By Ben Coles, Friday, October 19, 2007 at 02:13pm ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As hinted at in a previous incarnation of this blog, the drugs charges against Ben Cousins are set to be dropped. His lawyer’s claim that WA police are making a sharp U-turn shouldn’t surprise anyone. Put simply, the case against him with regards to possession of banned substances would have got to court and held as much water as a sponge. Does that mean the AFL and West Coast Eagles will also reverse their decisions? West Coast says “no”. You can bet the AFL is feeling the heat right now. In short, the handling of the whole affair, from police to powers that be, via several hysterical corners of the media has been one massive cock-up. Is that why Cousins has looked so relaxed throughout? Because he knew he was innocent of the charges being laid against him? That he is still set to return to America for treatment means he hasn’t seen off his demons, but what does that make him guilty of? Association with his past? Being a fallen star? Or being the scapegoat for a nation which has not only chopped down a tall poppy, but has spent the last few days stamping it in to the dirt. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by rugbyone of Malaysia on Sun 21 Oct 07 at 01:47pm: Rugby and League have both suspended players AFTER they were convicted or failed drug tests. I walk around with prescription Medicines( you press call them drugs). I have just returned from Australia where I had 3-4000 bucks in my pockets at times. I was pulled over for supposedly driving erratically due mainly as I had a pony tail. When the police patrolman after searching my car found I was a 56 year old company director he backed peddled and made excuses. Should I now be suspended, cast aside and have the half wit press go berserk? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AFL compromised in case of Cousins v Pratt, Tim Lane, June 22, 2008 THAT football has one set of standards for players and the issue of recreational drug use, and another for rich, powerful officials and corporate theft, has been indelibly underlined by the events of Friday. After the news had broken that the now sidelined Carlton president, Richard Pratt, is facing criminal charges of lying to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the AFL's CEO, Andrew Demetriou, reminded the community of the importance of the presumption of innocence. A worthy sentiment, of course, but former West Coast champion Ben Cousins must wonder what happened to that ideal when he faced charges after being apprehended by police in Perth last October. While those charges were pending, and before any of them failed to produce a conviction, Cousins was sacked by his club. So much for the presumption of his innocence. Subsequently, he was deregistered for 12 months by the AFL. International sports labour law lecturer and consultant to various Australian sports organisations, Braham Dabscheck, was moved to observe at the time that West Coast "abdicated their common law obligation to an employee — an employee who was in rehabilitation seeking to overcome problems with drugs. This demonising of Ben Cousins constitutes one of the blackest days in Australian sport". When Pratt's company, Visy, was found guilty in the Federal Court last November of having operated a cartel with its rival, Amcor, one source said to me with a knowing sense of certainty that football wouldn't touch him because he was too powerful. Regardless of the magnitude of the fine imposed ($36 million), the scathing assessment of Pratt delivered by Justice Peter Heerey, nor the likelihood that future breaches such as those committed by Visy would soon be rendered criminal by new legislation, it was confidently predicted that Pratt would go untouched by either the AFL or his club, Carlton. So it was. Cousins, who has been found guilty of nothing, but who has a drug problem, has been disqualified from the game for a year and may never return. Pratt, despite being responsible for a company that was fined $36 million in the Federal Court, was allowed to continue as a significant office-bearer within the game. Now he has been charged with what the weekend's Financial Review described as "an open-and-shut case" based on the record of two separate, but contradictory, items of evidence and football has stressed the "presumption of innocence". The Cousins problem was easily eliminated. Despite being a modern-era champion, a Brownlow medallist and premiership player, he was merely one among almost 700 AFL-listed players. It's not so easy to eliminate the problem of Australia's fourth-richest man. The AFL is a powerful organisation, but there are limits. It sought to justify its inaction by arguing that Pratt hadn't been barred from holding company directorships, and also with a fatuous comparison between the case of cartel behaviour faced by Qantas and the circumstances of Pratt and Visy. On the latter matter, there clearly was no valid comparison because there was no equivalent figure to Pratt-the-football-administrator within Qantas. The matter of Pratt retaining his eligibility to act as a company director is, of course, legitimate. The problem for the AFL is that it has made its own rules on what is and isn't appropriate behaviour for those who operate under its umbrella, and it somehow managed to condemn Cousins while giving the green light to Pratt. Carlton inevitably found itself facing criticism for allowing Pratt to continue as its president, but it's hardly likely that a club, driven by self-interest, as all football clubs inevitably are, would take a tough decision on itself while the AFL was unprepared to bite the bullet on the same matter. Now that Pratt has stood himself down as president, Carlton and its wealthy backers should do some serious soul-searching. This is a club that, based on its past 30 years of history, seems unable to survive without molly coddling itself in the bosom of a wealthy and autocratic president. It has won premierships in the process but ultimately lost respect. It is time the Carlton Football Club grew up. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by MEL of Spearwood on Sun 21 Oct 07 at 03:43pm: What's new, the police should get their facts right before they charge anyone. Ben was sacked by WCE because of them they were out to get him any way they could. WCE should Re-Instate Ben he has done more good to the club than bad. All the best Ben all this is because your a great footballer, had it been just an average footy player we wouldn't have heard anything. know that your fans and supporters will always be behind you. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by Man Overboard on Sun 21 Oct 07 at 02:34pm: I’m not a West Coast Eagles supporter or a Ben Cousins fan. I realize he is an adult, and is therefore responsible for his own actions. To be honest I think he’s an idiot for ever putting himself in that predicament, but that doesn’t give the police the right to drag him out of the car as though he’s a hardened criminal, and treat him the way they did, or to reveal to the world what was in his car. Particularly if they weren’t banned substances. As much as I think he’s done the wrong thing, I can fully understand why he’s pissed off. Two wrongs don’t make a right. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by Mad of Maylands on Sun 21 Oct 07 at 04:00pm: I am very disappointed with the way the Eagles and the AFL handled this, I know Ben has his problems. It also seems that the other clubs that have problems but everything is always centered around the Eagles because they are one of the top clubs at the moment, perhaps the rest of Australia should demand to know what problems there clubs are hiding. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by Adelaide eagle of Adelaide on Sun 21 Oct 07 at 04:39pm: i have barracked for the eagles since they began, the way media has handle this is a joke, channel nine interviewing people at a draft camp asking if there kid would like to be drafted to the eagles, my god, how many players since 1987, 40 per yr on the list, and one man stuffs up, get a life media, he did it to himself, not like some players who have hit girls at clubs, hit other people at airports, screwed team mates wives, yes I am upset with him, he now weakens the team but we will rebuild, how a club is meant to watch someone 24hrs a day, they have other players to look after, he knew his contract, as for former players and coaches talking, look at yourself back in your days, or maybe Geelong should be punished for G Ablett snr having children after his trouble, god sake he knew what he was doing and that's that. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by Gerogirl of Geraldton on Sun 21 Oct 07 at 04:48pm: West Coast are not the only club with problem players. What about Alan Didak? I seem to remember that he was associating with and in the car when his bikie mate was shooting up the place. He failed to inform police and the next week his associate was involved in a fatal shooting. Maybe if he had had some moral fortitude a family might not be grieving the loss of a father, husband and son. What sanctions did Collingwood, the AFL or the police take against Didak?????? But of course Collingwood only sanction players for the important stuff like breaking curfew during NAB cup games. Ben Cousins has hurt himself, his family and club. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by rob on Sun 21 Oct 07 at 05:57pm: leave Ben Cousins alone, I'm over it, he doesn’t deserve to be kicked out of the eagles he is a great afl player and as if he should get his brownlow medal removed from him. Del Santos your dreaming champ… ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Peta Hellard and Sam Edmund, November 20, 2007 09:53am US POLICE will not charge Ben Cousins over his collapse following an alleged drug bender in Los Angeles almost three weeks ago. Hermosa Beach Police Department spokesman Paul Wolcott said investigators had decided not to pursue the former Eagle confirmed that Cousins had not been questioned about his drug use despite police being told he had been snorting cocaine for five days. "As far as we are concerned, the investigation is closed," Sgt Wolcott told the Herald Sun this morning. "This originally came through as a rescue call for someone in distress and it will be considered a rescue call as it was at the beginning. "We are done with him and have no further interest in him unless there is any significant information that comes to light." Cousins, 29, was rushed to hospital after American woman Susie Ela made a frantic phone call to 911 saying he needed urgent medical assistance at her four-storey home in Hermosa Beach after being "on cocaine for the past five days". Sgt Wolcott would not comment on whether Ela, 39, would face charges. It appears unlikely that Cousins' mystery companion will face legal action over the incident with police confirming that two officers who attended the scene had not seen any evidence of drug use at the address. "We don't know where he (Cousins) ingested it (the drugs)," he said. "There was not any evidence of drug use at the apartment - but that doesn't mean that things were not concealed." Sgt Wolcott confirmed that Cousins was never questioned - either during his two-day stay in hospital or following his release - about his use of drugs in the days leading up to his collapse, despite Ela having told the emergency operator that he had been using cocaine for five days. He would not comment on whether officers had interviewed any other people regarding Cousins' drug use. The incident has thrown an international spotlight on the quiet beach town's small police station, with the department's refusal to question Cousins leading to concerns about the handling of the case. Sgt Wolcott said investigators had handled the case in a professional and timely fashion. "You do not always get an immediate answer on these things," Sgt Wolcott said "The investigation was routine and exemplary as usual." The department has refused to release the police report about the incident. The official emergency call sheet states Ela told the operator "a 29-year-old male on cocaine was not acting right, but (was) breathing and unconscious". ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cousins yesterday apologised to fans and finally admitted he is a drug addict after the AFL banned him from playing football for a year. The fallen star, sacked by West Coast after his controversial arrest by police last month, was found guilty last night of bringing the game into disrepute after a closed eight-hour hearing by the AFL Commission. The ban stops him from playing, training with a club, or being drafted for the next 12 months – but leaves the door open for him to return in 2009 if he beats his drug problems. However the ban does not stop him from playing in the West Australian Football League or other lesser football competitions. A shamed Cousins, dressed in a sombre grey suit, said he was "bitterly disappointed" but accepted the decision and apologised for his behaviour. The 29-year-old also publicly admitted he was an addict. "I'd like to address the fact I am overcoming drug addiction, which is an ongoing process," he read from a statement. "I'd like to apologise to the AFL, its players and supporters for the embarrassment my conduct has caused. "I am a lot further down the road to recovery than has been portrayed. "I am bitterly disappointed I cannot continue to play football but that's not to say I have given up hope of doing so in the future." The AFL charge was brought after Cousins was arrested by police in Perth last month and charged with possessing a prohibited drug and refusing a driver assessment test. The charges have since been dropped but the incident cost Cousins his West Coast career. The 2005 Brownlow medallist, who was flanked by parents Bryan and Stephanie, QC David Grace and manager Ricky Nixon, thanked the AFL for a fair hearing. AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick refused to detail the offences Cousins committed that led to him being found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute. "It was a sad day today," Mr Fitzpatrick said. "We know players are under different pressures than they were 20 years ago when I played. However, it's a privilege to play at the highest level and players must take responsibility for their actions." Mr Fitzpatrick said: "We thought he (Cousins) was frank, very believable and very honest. "I think the commission took into account his frankness and his honesty, and certainly he apologised for certain actions." However, when asked later the extent of the damage Cousins had done to the game, Mr Fitzpatrick seemed less certain. "I've thought deeply about that," he said. "I'm not sure it has been." ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said Cousins would be subject to a comprehensive rehabilitation program by AFL-approved medical experts. He will also have further target drug-testing. "I think the message that we're sending here is that we've said to Ben: 'Go away and get yourself right.' "We want you to get healthy, we want you to be rehabilitated and if you can do that you can come back in 12 months." In the meantime, Cousins could be offered a football lifeline by the West Australian Football League, with the AFL's ruling applying only to its own competition. The WA Football Commission said in a statement last night it was seeking further information before deciding whether to allow Cousins, who is tied to WAFL club East Fremantle, to play in that competition next year. Mr Demetriou said other players should heed the message sent by yesterday's decision. "If you're a player out there that isn't appreciating the privilege that you've been given, isn't understanding that these opportunities don't come around that often; if you're willing to transgress or behave in a manner that is going to bring disrepute to our game, the commission will have no hesitation in dealing with it whatsoever," he said. "I am bitterly disappointed that I cannot continue to play football, but that's not to say I have given up hope of doing so in the future," Cousins told the media. "Contrary to media reports, I am a lot further down the track in my rehabilitation than has been reported." ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All staff, please insert the following changes into your AFL operations manual. Amendment to AFL Drug Policy. - COCAINE or ICE, self confession - 12 months ban first offence and named and shamed publicly. - COCAINE or ICE, positive AFL drug test, no confession - 3 chances, name withheld. - ALCOHOL - no penalty, all rules for media and PR purposes only. Amendment to AFL Corporate Governance Policy. - CONVICTION of a Corporate crime by the ACCC while being a serving President and or Board member of an AFL club - no penalty, ref to Glossary at "mates". Amendment to Glossary term - DISREPUTE - loose term applied at the discretion of Commissioners to achieve a favourable outcome Regards, M.F. Posted by: QA Dept of AFL House 3:11pm November 20, 2007 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Reckon there might be a few red faces amongst sports reporters and commentators after they piled onto Ben Cousins for possessing nothing worse than a sleeping tablet and Viagra-like substance last week. Frankly, I wouldn't have given a flying blue and gold crap if Cousins had been sprung with a bag of ice as big as Andrew Demetriou's head because, unlike half the journalists who opine on these matters, I don't see Cousins as a hero or role model - he's a friggin' footy player. What interests me is why Cousins has been pummelled so roundly, yet rugby league's Andrew Johns, who admitted to using drugs for most of his playing career, has been given a get-out-of-jail-free card because he was suffering depression during his binges on the pingers? I don't judge Johns either because I know ten other blokes like him who self-medicate with booze and recreational drugs and understand why they do it - drugs provide an escape from the realities of life, you can stop thinking and just "be"; they're also fun. Unfortunately I think Cousins' national flagellation comes down to one thing - the sulphurous envy of journalists; you see, Johns knelt before the media beast and begged for forgiveness, while Cousins was too cocky or stupid to do the same ... To understand this phenomenon, you have to understand journos. We get to see how the other half lives - rockstars, athletes, celebs and the power elite - but most of us have neither the money, discipline nor talent to join their ranks. We content ourselves somewhat with this situation by wielding power by proxy - using the massive reach of newspapers and magazines, TV, radio and now the internet to smite or hype who our editors tell us to and, as we gain gravitas in the industry - we make that decision ourselves. Nothing galls a journo more than an individual who does not pay homage to this 'power' and there's a long list of people who've learned the lesson the hard way from former Federal Labor Mark Latham to actress Judy Davis and Justice Marcus "speed camera" Einfeld. With someone like Cousins, it can get a bit much for journos; the guy is young, rich, can do remarkable things with his body, he's movie star handsome, he pulls more roots than a market gardener and he looks great with his shirt off. It's actually a very dangerous situation to be in for a sportsman because unless you project suitable humility to the media, watch out. Take this exchange between a television AFL commentator and newsreader: COMMENTATOR: "Having just seen the pictures of his [Cousins] being detained and handcuffed I don't like what I'm seeing ... It's not sort the images you want to see. My thing here is we've got to find out what exactly was in that car, obviously with the police reaction, the fact they have handcuffed Ben Cousins, he obviously had no shirt on, his body language wasn't convincing as he was taken away by police ...You just shake your head. It's very, very disappointing - they're supposed to be role models ..." NEWSREADER: It's not the sort of demeanour I imagine his mother would like to see ... COMMENTATOR: Again I didn't like his body language when he returned from his US rehabilitation clinic and nothing much has changed ... So Cousin's body language was not contrite enough? If the cops arrested me for possession of sleeping pills and some dick drugs, I reckon my body language might be somewhat aggressive. Given the commentator and newsreader were not to know this, but why pile on when he was yet to be charged with anything? Because he looked hot without a shirt on? Because he had a big, bad tattoo? Because he didn't immediately drop to his knees in front of the Channel Nine cameras and bare his soul to Phil Gould? Then there was this from one of my SMH colleagues. "It's hard to look at a scattered Cousins getting out of the back of his 4WD and not think: you selfish bastard. Maybe the answer lies in the smirk on his face. "The one he sported while coming back through customs at Sydney Airport after attending rehab in Malibu. The one in his pre-recorded television message. The one as he walked into Perth Magistrates Court yesterday to face drugs charges. "The one that makes you think he may as well just flip us the bird, and the one that makes it hard to feel any of the empathy you might feel for Johns." How's this for a theory? Maybe Cousins is smirking because he's trying to stop himself laughing at all the attention that's been slathered over him by the media. Maybe he's thinking to himself, "I'm a bloke who can kick a ball and they're acting like I'm the PM"? Maybe part of the reason for Cousin's drug habit is he can't quite process what's so special about him - why everyone cares so much and he cares so little? The other factor in the roiling criticism of Cousins is that many sports journos and columnists are of an age and social set that does not "get" recreational drugs but thinks drinking 40 schooners and appearing at a grand final parade holding a Crown Lager and slurring is just boys being boys. A lot of the "old school" of journalism perceive the use of ecstasy, cocaine or speed as approaching demonic yet all too many kids today think exactly the opposite - why destroy yourself and get fat drinking ten beers when you can neck a pinger, dance for four hours and wake up without a hangover? If Cousins, or his minders have any brains, they'll tee-up a nice cosy TV interview where he talks of his insecurities, his battles with poor self-esteem, ADHD or bi-polar disorder and everyone in the media will be able to content themselves his life is just as flawed as ours. And remember not to smirk, mate. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I am almost looking forward to the cops having to drop these other charges as they did not have cause to ask him to take the test and then see what the reaction of the AFL is as they have no grounds to deregister the bloke as he has done nothing wrong aside from being a wanker ! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I think you're spot on with the Journo-power-trip thing, Sam. If he'd broken down in tears and promised to be a good boy - done an Oprah appearance - he'd get the benefit of the doubt. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Audiences seem to love that stuff, and the public rarely notices it's being manipulated. So yeah, blame his media people, or possibly blame him for not following their advice and begging forgiveness. Of course, he would have known that the cops had nothing on him. In his position, I'd have been looking angry rather than apologetic, too. Anyway, we live in Australia, where professional sportsmen are treated like gods, so I find it hard to feel any sympathy for one when it all goes wrong. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Posted by: devoid on October 22, 2007 8:44 PM by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago As suspended Eagle Ben Cousins prepared to depart for a rehab facility in the USA, the league met last week to decide what to do - if anything - about Eagle Daniel Kerr being overheard on police tapes speaking with a drug dealer. Kerr could yet face sanctions under the player code of conduct. A police spokesperson said that, at the time of the recordings four years ago, Kerr was not subjected to investigation as the police were targeting dealers, not users. And the Eagles have decided not to take any action against Kerr as he - along with several other Eagles - admitted to drug use but have promised to clean up their acts after watching Cousins crash and burn. The AFL does have the power to deregister a player for bringing the game into disrepute. However, that authority has been exercised only once - in 1985 when Leigh Matthews, playing for Hawthorn, was banned after an off-the-ball hit on Geelong's Neville Bruns. Matthews was banned for four weeks and also charged with assault and fined $1000. It is the only time in league history a player was charged by police for an on field incident. That hit was only one of a number of spiteful incidents during the game with five players being reported on 17 charges. Ironically, Matthews was not one of them. His court conviction was overturned a year later. Andrew Demetriou also released a lengthy open letter defending the league's drug policy against criticisms which have come from the federal government. Prime Minister John Howard, Treasurer Peter Costello, and federal Sports Minister George Brandis have all been critical of the policy's "three-strikes" clause, saying it is not tough enough. Brandis said giving players two chances before being named publicly on a third positive test did not represent a zero-tolerance policy. But Demetriou, in his letter, stressed that the AFL was the only sporting body which tested players out of competition as well as in competition. He also quoted several experts who have praised the AFL's approach, which emphasizes counseling, education, and rehabilitation rather than shame and condemnation. The league will also begin random tests of players the day after games in a bid to curtail the use of illegal substances on Friday and Saturday nights. Players believed to have a history of drug use will be heavily targeted and it is believed the AFL will conduct more tests over the course of the season. Since the drug policy was introduced in 2005, players were not tested the day after games, but the new testing will make it harder for players to escape detection with some drugs being detectable for just a few days. One of those drugs is an methamphetamine - referred to on the street as crystal meth or "ice", which is believed to have been Cousins drug of choice. In 2003 and 2004, 31 positive tests were recorded. That figure was the catalyst for the current policy which was introduced in 2005. Within the next 18 months, 24 positive tests were returned, with three players testing positive on two occasions. From February 2006 through February of 2007, only nine positive tests were recorded, down from 19 in the previous 12 months. No player tested positive on game days under WADA's code, which oversees in-competition testing only. Such a positive test would result in a Tribunal appearance and an automatic two year suspension. Of the 28 positive tests in the last two years, three players had tested positive on two occasions, but no player had two positive results in 2006. Approximately 490 tests were conducted in each 12 month period. A prominent Melbourne social worker, Les Twentyman of Melbourne Open Family, has called for national summit to address the use of the amphetamine ice, which he called "the filthiest drug he had seen...in 40 years of social work." According to Twentyman, ice can make users erratic, paranoid, delusional, and violent. He said it was causing street violence to rise and, because of its effects on users, posed a danger to doctors, ambulance officers, police, and social workers. Not to mention the general public being at risk. Twentyman said ice was made cheaply and sold cheaply, making it readily available and the problem was everywhere. Source: Melbourne Age, The Australian, & ninemsn.com.au |
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Cousins playing for Richmond in 2009 It was last Thursday, at the Blackburn South home of a 1960s Richmond player, that Ben Cousins was truly embraced by the Tiger family, setting in train an irresistible momentum for his rebirth as a footballer. Cousins, who had arrived at 6am from Perth on the midnight "redeye", was secretly spirited from the airport by his manager Ricky Nixon to the home of Barry Cameron, a 96-game Richmond ruckman who also happened to be the father of the club's general manager of football operations, Craig Cameron. Cousins spent six hours at Cameron snr's home, meeting key officials, senior players, coach Terry Wallace and the club's new general manager of learning and development, Jeff Bond, who served as the Australian Institute of Sport's psychologist for 22 years. Cousins was interviewed and probed in four separate meetings: first, he spoke with Wallace, Cameron and Bond, then he had a one-on-one discussion with Bond. Next, a group of four senior Richmond players — new captain Chris Newman, his predecessor Kane Johnson, Troy Simmonds and Nathan Brown — spent 40 minutes with the player they had chased in vain in his past life as a celebrated West Coast champion. The players, unsurprisingly, wanted him. Finally, Cousins met president Gary March and chief executive Steve Wright. March found Cousins to be slightly nervous, but completely honest and forthright in his responses to all the curly questions that were thrown at him. Significantly, this chastened Cousins did not exude arrogance or attitude. He just wanted to play the game again at the highest level. Later that day, Wallace, Cameron and the football department made the in-principle decision to recruit Cousins. They were counting on the help of the AFL in opening up an extra draft pick — assistance that was ultimately not forthcoming — but the club had crossed its own Rubicon in the sense that it did not object to recruiting a recovering drug addict. It just had to find a way to accommodate him, without losing face or compromising its youth policy. Last Friday, the Richmond board approved the football department's recommendation. Three days later, the Tigers' late-breaking bid for Cousins would nearly unravel when the AFL commission rejected the club's application to have Graham Polak, recovering from head injuries sustained in a tram collision, placed on the rookie list. By then, however, the pro-Cousins momentum had become unstoppable — as March had warned officials it might when the Tigers first began to explore the prospect of making Cousins the highest profile pre-season draft pick in history. Cousins' AFL career had seemed buried after he was finally spurned by sponsor-conscious St Kilda at a late-November board meeting before the national draft; following on the heels of Collingwood's rejection (and soon followed by Brisbane's predictable withdrawal), the St Kilda knock-back seemed to represent the end. In the days immediately following St Kilda's rejection, Cousins was holed up in his Perth home and unreachable on his mobile. Nixon and others close to him were concerned for his welfare, knowing the potential for such rejection — seemingly by the whole competition — to cause a downturn in his recovery. Yet, sources insist that it did not, and the Cousins who subsequently presented to Richmond was in a better frame of mind than the player Collingwood, the Saints and Lions judged to be too risky. Richmond first began to explore the notion of Cousins in yellow and black after the national draft, when the Tigers had passed on their final selection, pick 70, after Brisbane picked the player they wanted, Bart McCulloch. Richmond acknowledges that, if not for Brisbane drafting McCulloch at pick 69, the whole Cousins project probably would never have eventuated. That said, the Tigers did not want to use their first pick in the pre-season draft on Cousins, and sought to conjure an extra choice via the Polak application — a bid that rival clubs strongly opposed. The club was clearly surprised that the AFL commission rejected the application and it remains mute about what it believed happened to cause the league to knock back the Polak transfer, which was based on the premise that Polak would have difficulty playing in the first half of next year, and might not play senior football at all in 2009. The AFL had indicated privately to various parties that it was keen to see Cousins drafted and playing in 2009, league boss Andrew Demetriou having been lobbied heavily by the AFL Players' Association, among others, on Cousins' behalf. Nixon had planted the idea Cousins could end up at Richmond when, shortly after the national draft, he proposed to the Tigers that Cousins could be made a mature-age rookie, and train with Coburg, its VFL affiliate, earning his stripes, so to speak, at the lower level. Mature-age rookies, according to the rules, must not have played a single game, so the AFL would need to make a compassionate exception for Cousins for him to be recruited via this creative backdoor. It is understood that the AFL made sympathetic noises about Cousins then and was receptive to the Nixon proposal. More significantly, however, Richmond began to see that a) the talent pool was running dry and b) that it could pick Cousins. March says Kevin Sheedy's role in bringing Cousins to Tigerland has been exaggerated at the Richmond end, but that the influence of another Cousins supporter, Brownlow medallist and media commentator Gerard Healy, has been understated; Healy is a mentor to Cousins and was one of the five people Nixon had engaged to protect and advise the player in the event that he was drafted by the Saints. Healy's major role was not simply to lobby Richmond and the league, but to turn the tide of public opinion through his media outlets, especially 3AW's Sports Tonight, which became command centre of a shameless "Give Ben a Fair Go" campaign. Sheedy's major contribution was to challenge Cousins at a meeting between the pair (and his father Bryan), in effect telling him to get off his backside and phone the clubs that had "live" picks in the December draft. On Monday night, after the AFL flattened the club's plans to pick Cousins via the Polak manoeuvre, Richmond finally came to terms with this truth: that the consequences of not picking Cousins were potentially far worse than the risks of selecting him. The Tigers had earmarked their pre-season pick on an untried kid. What if this kid — effectively the 80th player in the draft — didn't make it? He would forever be the player whom Richmond picked "instead of Ben Cousins". The Tigers had seen this story before: Aaron Fiora and Richard Tambling had been maligned as players they'd picked before Matthew Pavlich, and Lance "Buddy" Franklin respectively. Perhaps the most influential body, finally, was that most volatile and unforgiving force: the Tiger army, which has sacked coaches and overturned administrations in the past. The fans, by a margin of at least five-to-one, were for Cousins, who will pack the MCG for the club's round one home game against Carlton. "Supporters were a major consideration," March said. "There's a compelling argument that this was in the best interests of the unity of the entire football club." Jake Niall | December 17, 2008 |
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Fans flock to Tigers as Ben Cousins signed for Richmond BEN Cousins will be given a hero's welcome at Tigerland today as fans celebrate the former Brownlow medal winner's move to Richmond. Fans rallied at the Tigers' Punt Rd headquarters yesterday morning in eager anticipation of the draft result. A cheer erupted when the news came through, with cars and trucks tooting their horns as they drove along Punt Rd. Inside, phones began to ring off the hook with membership inquiries. Club sources said the membership lines had been running hot since news broke of Cousins' selection. "There's been a mass of interest in membership for next year," the source said. Tigers fan Joan Chapple had been waiting outside the Richmond clubrooms since 7am for news of the draft. "I'm absolutely rapt, I couldn't sleep last night worrying about it," she said. "I've just been wandering around waiting to see what's happening." Gino Rocco and John Addamo took time off work to venture down to Punt Rd for the news. "It's so good to see Ben here," Mr Rocco said. "The best thing about it is he's going to teach the young kids. They're going to follow him on the ground." Cousins' troubled past was a distant memory outside the club's walls. "Everyone deserves a second chance," Mr Rocco said."He's the best thing here since Ian Stewart." Mr Addamo said: "I think he's going to encourage the young group. He can share his experience with the young players and hopefully we can play him in a premiership side." Cheer squad chief Dave Norman said fans were thrilled to have Cousins in the yellow and black. "I'm just ecstatic. It's only the pre-season draft and we've picked up Ben Cousins," he said. "Every draft pick is a risk, but we know he can cut it in AFL football at top level." Jenny McCarthy, a Tiger for 37 years, said Cousins would be good news. "He's going to do such a wonderful job for us, on the ground and membership wise. I'm just over the moon," she said. A Herald Sun online poll showed more than 80 per cent of readers backed the Tigers' decision. Wayne Flower December 17, 2008 12:00am |
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