Bombers refute allegations against Hird

Essendon have released a statement after a report that coach James HIrd received a warning from the AFL about looking into the use of peptides.

Bombers refute allegations against Hird

Essendon have denied that the AFL warned coach James Hird against looking into the use of peptides.

Essendon are refuting an allegation that the AFL warned coach James Hird against looking into the use of peptides.

The Bombers have also denied that Hird was the main architect of the club's controversial 2012 supplements program.

That program is under investigations by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and the AFL.

The league hopes that ASADA will hand down its findings next month.

The Age reported on Wednesday that the AFL warned Hird in late 2011 against involving Essendon players in a peptides program.

"This is factually incorrect. Until the ASADA investigation is completed the full context of this particular meeting should not be the subject of innuendo," the club said in a statement.

Essendon also insisted that Hird had not been the main figure behind the supplements program.

"This is just factually wrong," the Bombers said.

They added that the club's suspended high performance coach Dean Robinson, not Hird, was responsible for sports scientist Stephen Dank coming to the club.

Dank supervised the supplements program last year and is no longer at Essendon.

He is a central figure in the ASADA and AFL investigations.

The Bombers are also angry that investigation details had been leaked to the media.

"Representatives from the club have requested all parties to the investigation to guarantee confidentiality and to afford natural justice," they said.

"Breaching this confidentiality directly undermines the trust in the process and selective disclosure of information relating to the investigation appears to be deliberately threatening the integrity of this process.

"For the reputation and integrity of senior coach James Hird to be questioned without the right to due process, is extremely disturbing and inappropriate in the circumstances."

But the news has not been all bad for Essendon.

According to Fox Footy's AFL360 program, there is growing uncertainty about the classification of a drug at the heart of the investigation.

ASADA allegedly provided advice last year that AOD-9604, which Essendon captain Jobe Watson has admitted to taking, was not prohibited.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world