Drugs in the AFL

[hoptis]

AFL hints goalposts on drugs policy might shift
Jake Niall
March 23, 2007

THE AFL has signalled a willingness to rethink its contentious illicit drugs code, with the Ben Cousins suspension prompting unprecedented soul-searching at club and league level.

While the AFL has not announced any review of its "three strikes" policy, the game's top officials, chief executive Andrew Demetriou and new chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, said yesterday that the league could "improve" its handling of the issue.

Illicit drugs were a big talking point at the annual meeting of presidents and the AFL Commission yesterday, when West Coast chairman Dalton Gooding called upon clubs to become better informed about the issue that has engulfed his club. Gooding also thanked other clubs for their support.

Fitzpatrick, who officially took over from the late chairman Ron Evans yesterday, said the AFL had "a lot of work to do" on the drugs issue, although it believed the present policy had served the game well.

"I'm not sure we'll quite get to where some of the clubs want to get and there's a difference of opinion among the clubs," Fitzpatrick said. "We had a meeting with the captains as well today and it's fair to say there's a difference of view among the captains. Some had the view that things were working well."

Most, if not all, clubs are reviewing their own policies and methods of dealing with the issue in light of Cousins and the apparent drug problem at West Coast.

Many clubs complain about the fact that under the present policy — which includes out-of-competition testing — only the club doctor and the AFL's top medical officer are told the identities of those who have one or two positive tests. Some clubs believe there should be stronger sanctions for the second strike.

"There seems to be a unanimous view that the policy we have in place is on the right track," Demetriou said. "There are elements of the policy that people have differing views of … when a club gets informed and doesn't get informed.

"What was pleasing was that all of us want to understand it better … It's a very complex issue."

Eagles coach John Worsfold said on Channel Nine's The Footy Show last night: "I can't convict someone when there's no evidence. It's speculation, we can't act on it. We don't know who the players are. There are rumours of who they are. It would certainly make it a lot easier for the coaches (if they were told).

"We can't do our own testing, otherwise we probably would. If a club knows, 'You've got three positives out of these 24', it sends alarm bells racing …"

Demetriou called the events surrounding Cousins "terribly sad".

"We care about Ben Cousins as a person. It's terribly sad for him and his family, and we'll continue to provide the best advice we can with his football club and his family to try (to) get Ben Cousins back to full health and, hopefully, playing football … what he loves doing."

Speaking at the season launch last night, Demetriou denied the need for the AFL to overhaul player support services. "I know the strengths and weaknesses of players better than most and I trust the system we have in place is the best way to provide for players who may have personal issues," he said.

Meanwhile, West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett said the Cousins saga would help the AFL reconsider drug-testing procedures. "… Certainly, I think it needs to be addressed so that we are more informed. Rather than probably guesswork or insinuation or innuendo, we would actually know if we have any problems in our club," he said.

With AAP and SARAH-JANE COLLINS

The Age

 

[hoptis]

This one in particular caught my eye on the train this morning, typically regardless of what drugs he was on, or how often he used, it seems readers of the Herald Sun can only understand drug use within the context of addiction. 8)

Cousins' dad: My son's an addict
Mark Robinson
March 23, 2007 12:00am

FALLEN West Coast Eagles champion Ben Cousins is battling a drug problem, his parents confirmed last night.

Bryan and Stephanie Cousins revealed their son's problem related to "substance abuse" but would not go into details.

But sources close to the family fear the 28-year-old Brownlow medallist may have a severe addiction, possibly to the deadly methamphetamine "ice".

"I believe it is fairly acute," a source said last night.

Other sources said Cousins' problem could also involve cocaine.

The $800,000-a-year superstar is considering rehabilitation in the US.

The five-week course costs about $50,000.

A drained Bryan Cousins last night said his son, who has been suspended indefinitely, was not in a position to make a public statement.

"Ben's problem relates to substance abuse and he faces a great challenge," Mr Cousins said.

"Our family understands this is a problem that is faced by so many other Australian families.

"There is no simple answer to the problem and in the process of overcoming it there will be obstacles and hurdles, some of which we may stumble at."

Mr Cousins said his family was overwhelmed by the support from the public.

Cousins' mother, Stephanie, said: "We love Ben and he is the same person.

"Some of the things are untrue and he's made not the right judgments in some things but we are with him all the way and hope he can overcome them."
Bryan Cousins said his son's wellbeing was the main issue.

"It (football) is probably not the foremost issue in my mind," he said. "When someone has a health issue of any significance I think your first objective is to get them healthy again.

"When that comes all the opportunities that Ben has had in the past will be there again for him.

"I think every parent, when your children are growing up – and we have four – you are aware of issues I refer to as community problems.

"I think you all think `It won't happen to one of my children', and when they become involved in any sort of activity that is of concern to you.

"It does jolt you and I think you have just got to remain aware that the opportunities are there and this is not an issue that is going to go away."

He finished: "Ben, you are not alone with this challenge.

"Your family and friends, your fans and your footy club want you to overcome this issue and win in the same manner in which you have done throughout your career."

Cousins' whereabouts continue to be a mystery – he was not sighted yesterday – but the Herald Sun believes he could be staying in an apartment in South Perth.

The Herald Sun tracked Bryan Cousins from his home in Leeming, near Fremantle, to the six-storey apartments at midday yesterday. He stayed there all afternoon.

He attempted to lose the Herald Sun in traffic before alighting from his four-wheel-drive behind a three-metre security gate.

Bryan Cousins, who said in his statement last night he had been with his son yesterday, was joined at 5pm by his wife.

West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett and another Eagles official joined them at 5.15pm. Cousins' brother and one of his two sisters arrived soon after.

Bryan Cousins left the apartment at 8.30pm.

Nisbett said last night Cousins was not in the apartment and also that Cousins was not in a drugs rehabilitation clinic.

A family friend, who was with Bryan yesterday, also said: "Ben is long gone."

Herald Sun

 

[hoptis]

Fitzpatrick could amend drugs code
Chip Le Grand
March 23, 2007

MIKE FITZPATRICK has spent a lifetime in football. When he started playing juniors, coke was something in a can. When he starred for Carlton, ice was something to keep the cans cold. How the football landscape has changed.

Now that Fitzpatrick is the new chairman of the AFL commission, elected on a day when footballers, coke and ice are said to be a combustible mix in Perth, a city where he played football and went to university, he concedes the league must be prepared to change a few things as well.

Like his late predecessor, Ron Evans, and chief executive Andrew Demetriou, Fitzpatrick believes the AFL's drug policy is fundamentally sound. Yesterday he described the parallel testing regime for performance-enhancing and illicit drugs as the country's most sophisticated.

He also said it needed to get better.

When the club presidents left headquarters following the league's annual general meeting, they were confident the AFL under its new chairman would give serious consideration to tightening its illicit drugs code.

The result may well be that in the "three strikes" lingo of baseball, the AFL's party boys are given one less swing before their clubs are informed.

As it stands, players must return three positive tests to drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or the deadly amphetamine ice before the club coach and chief executive are told. As Collingwood boss Eddie McGuire has said for two years, it means not even he can tell you which Magpies are flying high.

Fitzpatrick did not promise a formal review of the code. But in contrast to Demetriou - whose support of the code was born of a bitter stoush with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the federal Government - Fitzpatrick sees room for amendment.

"As a commission, we brought in the illicit drugs policy a couple of years ago," Fitzpatrick said. "We think the policy does well and it has served us well. We think we have a lot more work to do.

"I am not sure whether we will quite get to where some of the clubs want to get to and there is a difference of opinion amongst the clubs. We had a meeting with captains as well today and it is fair to say there is a difference of view amongst the captains.

"But there is no doubt there is room for improvement."

Any change to the code will require negotiation with the AFL Players Association, which has consented to their members being tested outside match days for drugs that have no performance-enhancing benefit.

While the AFLPA has been steadfast in its support of the code - particularly its emphasis on player counselling and rehabilitation instead of WADA-style, zero-tolerance sanctions - Geelong captain Tom Harley is one player prepared for clubs to be informed earlier in the process.

"The clubs are saying we want to know," Harley said. "I am not altogether against that."

Harley is typical of AFL players in his view on whether drugs are a problem in the sport. He said he had never seen footballers taking drugs and doubted it was a problem within his own club. He also said the testing regime was not sufficient to deter players who wanted to take drugs.

"If you want to run the gauntlet you will probably get away with it," Harley said. "If they want to catch someone and give them three strikes, they are just going to have to ramp up the tests. If that is what they want to do, they have got to test more people.

"I would say, on average, I am probably tested once a year. And I can't remember being tested out of competition for a long time."

Harvey added that clubs did not need to rely on positive tests to address drug use by players.

"The positive test is irrelevant," he said. "If I come to training on a Monday and I have heard a story that a bloke has been on X, I don't need a positive test to be told that. Boys talk. You don't wait for a positive test to nip it in the bud."

Demetriou says more tests are not necessarily the answer. Anecdotal evidence suggests the AFL is already testing smarter, with more players being screened on Sunday and Monday morning recovery sessions instead of later in the week.

The AFL also has an option to target test clubs, but could not confirm whether this had been done at West Coast.

"The answer isn't five million tests and we will catch everybody," Demetriou said.

"We need to combine our testing regime with educational programs.

"Early indications are, with the number of positives, that the trend is going down. But this is a difficult issue. There is no policy in the world, in any organisation and any business, which reduces the use of drugs to zero. If there is, we want to know about it."

The Australian

 

[lil angel15]

Get tough on drugs, PM tells AFL
March 23, 2007 10:42am

THE AFL must take a tougher stance over players who test positive to illicit substances, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Mr Howard said sporting organisations had a responsibility to discourage drug use among players and a review of the AFL's drug policy was overdue.

“I would certainly say that,” Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting today.

“But I am not taking the opportunity to have a go at (AFL chief executive Andrew) Demetriou or the AFL commission, it's not an easy job.

“You asked me my opinion and you can't be tough enough when it comes to drugs.

“I don't want to be unrealistic, but it is an issue and I think the people who run elite sports and who run activities for Australians that are very much in the public eye ... they have a responsibility.

“I think they (the AFL) have by and large discharged that responsibility.

“I am not being critical of them, but whenever something like this happens to a very prominent player it brings home the challenge that exists.

“I think every sport, every community group who has responsibility in a direct or indirect way to the lives and activities and the future of young Australians, (need) to have a very tough, uncompromising policy on drugs.”

Mr Howard's comments come in the wake of the Ben Cousins saga.

The father of the 28-year-old West Coast star has confirmed his son needs to undergo treatment.

Bryan Cousins said Ben, 28, who was suspended by the AFL club on Monday, had a substance abuse problem.

Under the AFL's illicit drugs code, only club doctors are informed of the first two occasions when players test positive to drugs.

The clubs are informed the third time players test positive, when they are sent before the tribunal.

Mr Howard said it was time the AFL took a tougher stance on drug taking by players.

Mr Howard wished Ben Cousins and his family well.

“Obviously Ben has a problem. He recognises it, his Mum and Dad recognise it and we wish the family well,” Mr Howard said.

“I know that the followers of the Eagles and the AFL only want for one thing, and that is for him to get rid of the problem and get back on the field.”

Swans captain Leo Barry said he believed it was naive to think some AFL players were not using the deadly illegal drug ice.

There is growing concern in AFL circles that ice -methamphetamine - has overtaken cocaine as the drug of choice for professional footballers because it's hard to detect and, unlike alcohol, it doesn't impact on players' weight.

There is no suggestion Cousins is linked to ice but the fallen footballer is understood to be considering treatment at a drug and alcohol clinic in Arizona.

"You'd be naive to think that some players wouldn't be using ice," Barry said.

"Ice is more of an epidemic right now in society than heroin and a lot of people have come unstuck under its influence.

"Hopefully everything that happened recently highlights the fact it is a responsibility of the clubs to keep educating the players and keep on reinforcing the dangers of illicit drugs.

"It not only affects the player personally but also the club and the fans, so there's a huge amount of people it can impact on."

News.com.au

 

[lil angel15]

Athletes who use 'ice' risk heart attacks
By Simon Kirby
March 23, 2007 01:55pm

SPORTSPEOPLE who take the illicit drug known as 'ice' risk heart failure, the principal national drugs advisory body has warned.

Recreational drugs are back in the media spotlight, with the West Coast Eagles admitting that a small group of their players, including former captain and Brownlow medallist Ben Cousins, have had problems with drugs and alcohol.

Sydney Swans co-captain Leo Barry said today he thought it naive to believe AFL stars were exempt from the increasing popularity of methamphetamines.

Drug expert Gino Vumbaca, executive officer at the Australian National Council for Drugs (ANCD), said there were examples overseas of the use of stimulant drugs leading to death of sports stars on the field of play.

Basketball star Reggie Lewis, former captain of the NBA's Boston Celtics, died aged 27 in 1995 when his heart, strongly suspected to have been damaged by cocaine use, gave out on court.

"There can be some adverse consequences – not everyone who uses it is as serious as that – but there's a risk," said Mr Vumbaca.

Mr Vumbaca said ice, a particularly potent stimulant, put strain on the body's cardiovascular system, which in top-flight sportsmen was already under extreme pressure.

But he said there was still no data comparing the effect of different drugs on people involved in high-impact sport and exercise.

"What we do know is that drug use has an impact on your heart and cardiovascular system, especially amphetamines, cocaine and stimulants," Mr Vumbaca said.

"People have got to be careful combining that with high exertion sports."

The revelation that football players might be taking ice should end the stereotype of the typical user of the drug, he said.

Mr Vumbaca said the work of the ANCD, set up in 1998 by Prime Minister John Howard to provide independent advice and education about drugs, was hampered by outmoded stereotypes of ice users as the dregs of society.

The drug was gaining popularity among the trendy nightclub set because it was more readily available than perennial club favourite cocaine.

"People mixing in those nightclub circles where they may have expected cocaine to be pulled out are finding methamphetamine and being told it's just the same, or better," Mr Vumbaca said.

According to recent ANCD research, around half a million Australians have used methamphetamines in the past year.

Almost 1.5 million, or one in 10, have tried the drug.

The research showed that while use of all other drugs have been in steady decline over the past six years, ecstasy and ice use remained fairly constant.

News.com.au

 

[koggi]

maybe we may see a change of attitude or general vibe in the media that drug abuse really is a health issue and not a criminal issue,as this Ben Cousins situation is being reported in this way. Maybe more decision makers may change their thinking also, or will this attitude only apply to high profile,celebs/sports persons etc? Did u hear John Howard's "zero tolerance" bullshit? I can't believe what a fuckwit He is

 

[hoptis]

Kerr caught on police drug tapes
Lyall Johnson
March 24, 2007

SECRET police recordings of West Coast midfielder Daniel Kerr speaking to a convicted drug dealer last night threw the premier, already reeling over revelations of former captain Ben Cousins' drug problem, into further turmoil.

The tapes allegedly reveal Kerr had bought the drug ketamine (known as Special K), a veterinary tranquilliser that is also sometimes used as a recreational drug by humans, from drug dealer Shane Carl Waters in Melbourne in August 2003 after a game against Geelong.

Hundreds of hours of secretly recorded police tapes, which were obtained by ABC Television, also feature Waters talking to West Sydney Razorbacks basketballer and former Perth Wildcat James Harvey.

According to the ABC report, former West Coast player Aaron Edwards, who now plays for the Kangaroos, was also recorded by the police.

On the tapes, Harvey says that Kerr had carried the drugs back to Perth on a plane and was met by West Coast board members at the airport.

"He's done well, he's done well. Daniel Kerr has f---ing done well. Friend for life … Apparently, there was board members at the airport when he got there," Waters told Harvey.

Kerr can be heard on the tapes explaining to Waters how the drugs had affected him.

"Yeah, it was f---ed. It turned all pear-shaped. I swear to God. I couldn't even sleep it was that bad," he said. "It turned all f---ing weird like everyone was … I basically didn't know where I was and shit like that."

The controversial midfielder, who was runner-up in the Brownlow to Cousins in 2005, was caught on phone recordings made during Operation Remuda in 2003, which brought about the 2004 conviction of Waters for drug trafficking. It also implicated Waters' girlfriend, former Collingwood Football Club merchandising manager Sherryn Osborne, who was also convicted of drug trafficking and possession.

At one point, Harvey can be heard boasting about how many ecstasy tablets he had done in one session. "One 'flipper', every hour on the hour for 10 hours," he told Waters.

Harvey, a close friend of Cousins, says on the tapes "Cuzzy and all that" were coming to his house. Waters replies that Cousins had had a "f---ing big bag of f---ing horse chaffe".

Kerr and Harvey can also be heard promising favours for Waters, in Kerr's case obtaining a pair of football gloves for Waters.

Harvey, who left the Wildcats in 2004, refused to comment on the scandal. Kerr also refused to comment last night. Kerr's father Roger was stunned when told about the tapes last night. "I don't know anything about them and I'll have to call Daniel and ask," he said.

Last night's revelations come at the end of a terrible week for West Coast, which suspended Cousins indefinitely after he failed to turn up to training sessions. Cousins' father Bryan later confirmed his son had a substance abuse problem.

West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett could not be contacted for comment last night, and nor could chairman Dalton Gooding, but a West Coast spokesman said the club had "nothing to say".

"The police didn't think it was worth pursuing in 2003, so I don't know what we can do," the spokesman said. "We have nothing to say. I don't know how serious it is. We are not going to react every time someone has a pot shot at one of our players."

In a statement, the AFL said it had never been aware of the police tapes. "The AFL will cooperate with any investigation, inquiry or request by the police in any matter pertaining to alleged illegal activity. The AFL will seek to speak to Victoria Police further about this matter."

In 2001, West Coast players were caught in two separate drug squad operations. In one, a player was heard ordering drugs, which he referred to as "ironing", in a telephone call with convicted dealer Robert William Morris. In another, the players were seen at the home of a dealer.

In 2002, it was revealed that a former Victorian policeman had received a call from then-AFL investigations officer Rick Lewis about rumours that Eagles players had been caught talking to a drug dealer in a recorded telephone call.

He later passed information about the Eagles to Lewis.

Last night's revelations are the latest problem to confront Kerr.

In 2002 he broke Cousins' arm in a bar fight after the club's best-and-fairest count.

In August 2004, Kerr pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and two months later was fined $400 in the Perth Magistrates Court when he pleaded guilty to forging and presenting a forged prescription for Valium at a chemist.

His lawyer described Kerr, who had checked out of hospital just hours after knee surgery without pain relief and was given the blank script at a party, as "hospital-phobic".

Kerr managed to stay out of trouble until last month when he was fined $1800 for disorderly conduct and assault for jumping on the boot of a taxi, ripping off the aerial and throwing it in the driver's face. Kerr had just been thrown out of a hospital he was visiting because he was drunk.

Kerr and his father Roger are also awaiting trial, having pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm stemming from a fight at a party in the Perth suburb of Attadale in January.

The Age

 

[hoptis]

This is not the first time Tim Lane has had something intelligent and useful to say about drugs in football.

AFL astray in drugs dabbling
Tim Lane
March 24, 2007

IT IS not the AFL's fault that Ben Cousins has a problem with substance abuse. Just as many employees in countless other industries fall victim to the scourge of drugs, so it will happen in football and other sports. We don't generally blame employers when such things happen. Tragic as it is, it is life.

Be that as it may, the AFL and the players' association are now caught in the searchlights. By establishing their controversial illicit drug policy, they have invited the type of scrutiny and criticism they are now receiving.

Their problem is that there is inevitable pressure to toughen the policy and reveal the names of all players who test positive to illicit drugs. The air-waves and the newspaper columns are full of calls for a crackdown. Most are demanding a punitive response. With every new revelation, the pressure grows.

There is no obvious way to stop it. The current policy could not have been implemented without the acceptance of the players, and they don't want it extended. The AFL can merely hope the media will eventually lose interest.

They won't, though, so long as the stories keep coming, and the AFL's testing program ensures they will keep coming. It's a catch 22. Andrew Demetriou can repeat as many times as he likes that the illicit drug testing was introduced on good advice, but with each new breach, there will be another wave of condemnation.

The view frequently expressed in this column is that neither the AFL nor its hard-line critics are right. The AFL should never have entered into the illicit drugs policing business. The police would need a warrant to search your premises or mine.

On a matter that has nothing to do with sport, that actually may involve criminal activity, the AFL is searching the bodies of players and exposing them to the potential consequences.

The AFL's standard — a three-strikes policy — is arbitrarily imposed, and as such is inevitably open to question and criticism. The bottom line is, however well-intentioned it may be, it didn't save Ben Cousins from himself.

Critics, on the basis of recent events, now argue that it is more important than ever that players forfeit their anonymity at the first strike. Look, they say, at how the system has failed Cousins.

Eddie McGuire insists he should know if any of his players are using drugs. Jeff Kennett says the same in relation to Hawthorn players. Yet West Coast knew Cousins had drug issues and that didn't help him. John Worsfold has admitted the club knew there was a problem in July last year.

Clubs are not the appropriate organisations to deal with these matters, and the AFL and its players' association know it. For a start, they are operating in a highly charged, emotional environment, which is not always conducive to good decision-making.

Also, they are dealing with employees of varying value to them, and it's hard to believe all clubs would rigidly adhere to a uniform policy regardless of the player concerned. As we know, clubs are inclined to make decisions with the good of the team as their priority. That is the business they're in.

If McGuire is so concerned about young role models using illicit drugs, why doesn't he, as the chief executive of the Nine Network, seek to impose drug testing on the employees of that organisation?

Why didn't Kennett, as Victorian premier, seek to impose drug tests on the state public service? The answer in each case, of course, is that it would have been industrially impossible. Employees would not have accepted such a breach of their rights.

Yet footballers are seen to be different. Because they subject themselves to testing for performance-enhancing drugs, which these days they must, it is assumed AFL footballers can be tested for anything.

Their agreement to the present level of testing has placed them on a slippery slope. They cannot be expected to surrender any more of their privacy, and it is the AFL's responsibility to ensure that this doesn't happen.

Besides, it still doesn't test them for what is by far the most abused drug in the land: alcohol. The head of one of the drug rehabilitation organisations Demetriou frequently quotes as a supporter of AFL drug testing policy was heard to say this week he has three priorities — alcohol, alcohol and alcohol.

The Age

 

[uk_pman]

Some fairly strong rumours abound that a team not as far west will be named as having a "problem" with 6-9 of it's players in Sundays newspapers. It's been suggested those 6-9 players will be identifiable at bare minimum - if not named. I've also heard that a newspaper is considering naming the 24 players who have tested positive to recreational drugs - despite a court order prohibiting the release.

I hope Joe Public starts to realise that drug use, and drug abuse exists in portions of society. I hope Joe Public starts asking the government if "just say no" education and prohibition is working - particularly when they realise that drugs aren't just taken by some skanky dirty person living on a mattress in a squat.

 

[lil angel15]

Cousins 'in denial' over his $3000-a-week habit
By Kim Hagdorn, Peta Helliard, Kelvin Healey and Paul Lampathakis
March 25, 2007 01:17am

FORMER partners of high profile West Coast Eagles footballers have spoken out about the club's drug crisis - now embroiling up to eight players.

The growing toll of drug abusers came amid revelations that Ben Cousins was still in denial over his alleged $3000-a-week habit.

The club also revealed Cousins missed about five training sessions before being suspended indefinitely this week and was not turning up for training in a "professional" state.

Cousins' former girlfriend, Samantha Druce, has vowed to stand by the fallen star.

West Coast coach John Worsfold yesterday revealed Daniel Kerr - who was implicated in a police drugs operation involving convicted drug dealer Shane Waters this week - also admitted using drugs.

Worsfold said up to eight players made similar admissions.

"Daniel has admitted to me that he has made mistakes," Worsfold told a Perth radio station yesterday.

He said Kerr wanted to "move on". He refused to name the other players.

"I would suggest that it would be half a dozen, maybe eight players, that have admitted they have used an illicit drug," he said.

He also revealed that Norm Smith medallist Andrew Embley decided to take the Cousins issue into his own hands when he confronted teammate Daniel Chick at Chick's home.

Worsfold said the pair again came to blows the next day at the club, but that he (Worsfold) broke them up and counselled them.

The players had since patched up their differences.

The latest bombshell comes as a former partner of a current player, who did not want to be identified, accused the Eagles of turning a blind eye for years to players using drugs.

"It's ridiculous what the club has allowed them to get away with," she said. "Some of the boys have big problems - not all, several."

She blamed the hard-partying mentality for her relationship breakdown.

"It was definitely a party club," she said.

She said she was worried about the effect Cousins could have on impressionable young players.

It is said that Cousins was spending about $3000 a week on drugs from his annual salary of $800,000.

Sources close to Cousins believed the 2005 Brownlow medallist was still in denial over his problem and that Cousins thought he could kick his habit without a rehabilitation program.

In a statement issued to the Sunday Herald Sun, Cousins's former partner, Ms Druce, who split from Cousins weeks ago after eight years, said his return to the football field was secondary to him regaining his health.

"When I have been asked the question, 'Do I think he will make a comeback to footy'? my answer is that that needs to be second to Ben's health," she said.

"The most important thing is that Ben sorts himself out as a person first, rather than as a football player."

She said the past year of their relationship, including the incident when Cousins fled a booze bus leaving her stranded in their Mercedes hire car, had been difficult and that both needed time out from their relationship.

Ms Druce, who was by her partner's side for the Eagles' triumphant premiership win last year and wore a singlet featuring "I (love) Ben" during the Grand Final parade, said she understood that people were looking to her for answers and insight.

"I can only hope that everyone understands that the wellbeing of our lives is our first and foremost priority," she said.

West Coast chairman Dalton Gooding revealed Cousins had been turning up to training in an unprofessional state.

"Under a player's contract, he must present himself in a professional manner to train and that wasn't happening with Ben," he said.

"And he was missing training sessions."

But Mr Gooding said the Eagles had substantially reduced drug use within the club.

"I would hope that it has been eradicated," he said.

"But, you know, I can't put my hand on my heart and say it has been completely eradicated."

Eagles' chief executive Trevor Nisbett ruled out an independent investigation into substance use among his players.

"I don't know what more we can do," he said.

"We've had all the necessary seminars, lectures, workshops and counselling that we can have. It's at saturation point."

News.com.au

 

[lil angel15]

Police target footy 'rat-pack'
Andrew Rule
March 25, 2007

ONE of Australian football's biggest stars is being investigated by drug squad police as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into a so-called "rat-pack" of sport, media and entertainment cocaine users.

And he is not an Eagle.

The former star of a Melbourne-based club has maintained a high profile in the media since his retirement from the game he played with distinction.

Persistent rumours of his links with a drug dealer have prompted detectives to monitor his activities in recent months.

The result, according to a well-placed source, is that the colourful football identity has unwittingly led investigators to the dealer, allowing them to gather evidence that will soon be used to lay charges.

It is understood police plan to recruit a third person known to the football identity to help an undercover detective to infiltrate a "rat-pack" of sporting and media people who use cocaine regularly.

"People in his (the football identity's) position should be careful what they tell the hairdresser," the source said. "Hairdressers do not tend to keep secrets under questioning."

The group reputedly buys thousands of dollars worth of the illicit drug from a favoured dealer each week. Police did not set out to target the members of the group but have used them to set a trap for the "dealer to the stars", the source said.

"The coppers haven't spoken to him just yet but he is high on the list," the source said. "It's called arrest by appointment: he will soon be invited in to the major drug investigation unit for a cup of tea and a teddy bear biscuit."

"He will then either be charged or will help the police with their inquiries into the dealer. The way to put pressure on the dealer is to put pressure on his customers and get them to lag him in. The drug squad will get statements from the customers to nail the big guy."

The high-profile cocaine user will be faced with either giving evidence against the dealer or risking charges himself.

The investigation uncovered the existence of the luxury "love boat" revealed by this newspaper's Spy column last week.

The multimillion-dollar pleasure craft is used for weekend cruises on the bay to which selected "guests" pay up to $5000 for unlimited cocaine and sex with escorts. Current and former AFL players and media "players" are believed to be among those who have used the boat.

The police investigation is the latest episode in a turbulent fortnight for football following revelations about the extent of drug abuse among AFL players, a scandal kept under wraps until this newspaper broke the story over the past two weeks.

The uproar over the admission that Eagles star and Brownlow medallist Ben Cousins is dangerously addicted to "ice" (crystal meth amphetamine) has affected football followers from the cheer squad to AFL headquarters and the Prime Minister's office.

Prime Minister John Howard said on Melbourne radio last week he favoured "zero tolerance" towards all illicit drugs inside or outside sport. And AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou used the AFL's season launch on Thursday to promise support for Cousins and his family for the player's rehabilitation.

The media frenzy over the story prompted speculation that several other West Coast players were in a similar situation to Cousins. The manager of one West Coast player was so concerned at rumours that he took the unusual step of contacting the The Sunday Age to say that if any story were published about his client without "stat decs, video evidence and an affidavit from his mother" then he would sue for damages.

West Coast coach John Worsfold revealed yesterday that Daniel Kerr was one of up to eight Eagles players who had admitted taking recreational drugs.

"I would suggest that it would be half a dozen, maybe eight players, that have admitted they have used an illicit drug — but we are certainly not talking about drug problems," Worsfold said yesterday.

The AGE

 

[lil angel15]

Cousin's dad: My son's an addict
By Mark Robinson
March 23, 2007 12:00

FALLEN West Coast Eagles champion Ben Cousins is battling a drug problem, his parents confirmed last night.

Bryan and Stephanie Cousins revealed their son's problem related to "substance abuse" but would not go into details.

But sources close to the family fear the 28-year-old Brownlow medallist may have a severe addiction, possibly to the deadly methamphetamine "ice".

"I believe it is fairly acute," a source said last night.

Other sources said Cousins' problem could also involve cocaine.

The $800,000-a-year superstar is considering rehabilitation in the US.

The five-week course costs about $50,000.

A drained Bryan Cousins last night said his son, who has been suspended indefinitely, was not in a position to make a public statement.

"Ben's problem relates to substance abuse and he faces a great challenge," Mr Cousins said.

"Our family understands this is a problem that is faced by so many other Australian families.

"There is no simple answer to the problem and in the process of overcoming it there will be obstacles and hurdles, some of which we may stumble at."

Mr Cousins said his family was overwhelmed by the support from the public.

Cousins' mother, Stephanie, said: "We love Ben and he is the same person.

"Some of the things are untrue and he's made not the right judgments in some things but we are with him all the way and hope he can overcome them."

Bryan Cousins said his son's wellbeing was the main issue.
"It (football) is probably not the foremost issue in my mind," he said. "When someone has a health issue of any significance I think your first objective is to get them healthy again.

"When that comes all the opportunities that Ben has had in the past will be there again for him.

"I think every parent, when your children are growing up – and we have four – you are aware of issues I refer to as community problems.

"I think you all think `It won't happen to one of my children', and when they become involved in any sort of activity that is of concern to you.

"It does jolt you and I think you have just got to remain aware that the opportunities are there and this is not an issue that is going to go away."

He finished: "Ben, you are not alone with this challenge.

"Your family and friends, your fans and your footy club want you to overcome this issue and win in the same manner in which you have done throughout your career."

Cousins' whereabouts continue to be a mystery – he was not sighted yesterday – but the Herald Sun believes he could be staying in an apartment in South Perth.

The Herald Sun tracked Bryan Cousins from his home in Leeming, near Fremantle, to the six-storey apartments at midday yesterday. He stayed there all afternoon.

He attempted to lose the Herald Sun in traffic before alighting from his four-wheel-drive behind a three-metre security gate.

Bryan Cousins, who said in his statement last night he had been with his son yesterday, was joined at 5pm by his wife.

West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett and another Eagles official joined them at 5.15pm. Cousins' brother and one of his two sisters arrived soon after.

Bryan Cousins left the apartment at 8.30pm.

Nisbett said last night Cousins was not in the apartment and also that Cousins was not in a drugs rehabilitation clinic.

A family friend, who was with Bryan yesterday, also said: "Ben is long gone."

Sunday Telegraph

 

[lil angel15]

Eight more confess
Tim Clarke in Perth
March 24, 2007 11:00pm

WEST Coast coach John Worsfold has revealed Daniel Kerr admitted taking drugs – one of up to eight Eagles players who have made similar admissions.

After the indefinite suspension of Ben Cousins this week, followed by an admission from Cousins' family that he has a substance abuse problem, Kerr was implicated in a police drugs operation.

The ABC broadcast a 2003 Victorian police recording of the midfielder talking to convicted drug dealer Shane Waters, suggesting Kerr ordered quantities of ketamine.

That substance is used for veterinary purposes but can also be a recreational drug.

Worsfold yesterday said a number of players had admitted to him they had experimented with illicit drugs and added Kerr was trying to overcome past errors of judgment.

"Daniel has admitted to me that he has made mistakes in the past," Worsfold told Perth radio station 6PR. "He is one player who has been very upfront and honest with me about a very personal and embarrassing issue to talk about.

"But he has also been courageous enough to admit to some of those issues, and also make a pledge that he believes he has made wrong decisions in the past.

"He has made a very strong pledge – he knows he has made mistakes in the past . . . and he wants to be part of a club going forward . . . that has a very strong culture and is free from drugs."

Worsfold said in quizzing players in the past six months, various admissions had been made.

"I believe they have been very honest with me," Worsfold said.

"Some of them – and I don't want to name them – have admitted they have experimented or used, intermittently, drugs in the past, but they believed in the way we needed to go.

"And a big part of that was they had seen the effect it was currently having on Ben, and that is a pretty scary thing to be part of.

"I would suggest that it would be half a dozen, maybe eight players, that have admitted they have used an illicit drug – but we are certainly not talking about drug problems.

"We are talking about the issue of is it right that any AFL player ever takes one ecstasy tablet at any time – whether it be off-season, pre-season or during the season."

The ABC alleged Kerr met Waters while in Melbourne for a game against Geelong in August 2003 and is heard on the tapes describing the effects of ketamine.

Worsfold said Kerr was embarrassed about the revelations.

"I did speak to him this morning and it is, I would assume, pretty embarrassing for him and could be hard to deal with," Worsfold said.

"He said it was four years ago when he was going through a real silly patch, so he has admitted that.

"He is very strong in his own mind the path he wants to go down in his football career and his life as well."

Kerr has regularly been on the wrong side of the law. As recently as last month he was fined $1800 in Perth Magistrate's Court for drunkenly jumping on the boot of a taxi, ripping off the aerial and throwing it in the driver's face, injuring the man.

Sunday Mail

 

[hoptis]

The night I snorted coke with a Brownlow medallist
Andrew Fraser
March 25, 2007

One night before my spectacular fall from grace I was at a Melbourne hotel favoured by AFL footballers and during the evening I was invited upstairs for a line of cocaine. I stepped into the room to find three star footballers with something in common: they were all premiership players ... and they were all snorting the white powder.

I was not shocked at footballers consuming coke but I was surprised that these high-profile players were having such a red hot go. Especially a Brownlow medallist.

I am writing this - and risking more public criticism - because I have been down the track that Ben Cousins is travelling and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

Several issues arise from the uproar surrounding the Cousins revelations. The first is that drugs have been around since cocky was an egg and are here to stay. History has shown that prohibition does not work and until everybody accepts that, nothing will change.

Secondly, the AFL must have known for a long time that drugs are rampant in sport generally and football in particular. The present AFL policy is a dog's breakfast. A former Swans player, Dale Lewis, came out some years ago and alleged drugs were rife in the game - but instead of taking him seriously and investigating his claims, the football world hung him out to dry and let the issue die.

The present furore raises some tough questions. Why are players not named when they first return a positive sample? Why are AFL players a protected species?

Other codes have a zero-tolerance policy, which has cut down players such as rugby star Wendell Sailor for relatively minor infringements. Sailor was named, fined and suspended for two years. Compare that hard line with the AFL's half-hearted stance, and its tendency to hush things up, which allowed the Ben Cousins situation to deteriorate to the degree where the poor bloke urgently needs rehabilitation.

Additionally, the AFL makes no distinction between the so-called "recreational drugs" and performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids. Surely, the consumption of a recreational drug that gets out of hand constitutes a health issue for the player concerned and he needs all the help he can get. The only way to stop doing drugs is exactly that - stop doing them. A simple proposition in theory but a difficult one in reality. I took years to be able to safely say I was over cocaine. Ben Cousins has taken the first step, but the road is long and full of traps.

It is not illegal to use drugs such as tobacco and alcohol but if a player gets on the grog and plays badly he is dropped. The same should apply to recreational drug taking - in other words, full and transparent disclosure of the problem followed by a rehabilitation regime. And this means total abstinence.

There is massive hypocrisy about drug use. I know only too well that a lot people in journalism, the law and the police use the same substances Cousins is accused of taking. Some of those people will read this article this morning with a thick head after a big night out on their drug of choice. But that will not stop them pontificating about Cousins and others. Footballers are not the only ones to mouth platitudes while hiding behind the code of silence that operates in so many professions.

Another question rarely asked is this: what is the position of the police in all this? Consider the situation of the footballer compared with that of a street kid who is stopped by the police and searched. If even a small amount of drugs is found on him or her, the poor unfortunate is charged and faces court because use and possession of drugs is against the law. Has the AFL, knowing about the breaking of the law by somebody under its auspices, referred such information to police for investigation? After all, footballers buy their drugs from somewhere.

But instead of court, the footballer is protected and for reasons that are not clear to me no charges are laid. So much for "justice for all".

Ben Cousins and his family are not the only ones with a long battle ahead. The AFL has to make a stand, too, to show whether it is fair dinkum or content to stick its head in the sand.

Andrew Fraser was a criminal lawyer before a cocaine habit led him to conspire with a former client to smuggle the drug from Africa in 1999. He was sentenced to a minimum five years' jail in 2001 after pleading guilty to trafficking, possession and importation. He was released last September after providing new evidence that led to Peter Norris Dupas being charged with the murder of Mersina Halvagis nine years ago. His book Court in the Middle will be published by Hardie Grant in October.

The Age

 

[hoptis]

Drug policy works despite Cousins' cape adrift
Michael Voss
March 25, 2007

My favourite character as a kid growing up was Superman.

I thought he was so cool. He could fly, had X-ray vision and a laser beam. You know the spiel. He could leap tall buildings in a single bound. He didn't even bleed. He was invincible. Only kryptonite could stop him.

We all know in day-to-day life Superman was mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent. His days were spent bumbling along, making mistakes, trying to live a normal life.

I reckon we want all our footballers to be superheroes. Invincible.

That's been Ben Cousins. Lightning fast; runs hard and keeps running long after others have stopped. And he could almost leap the football field in a single bound.

But he, too, seems to have been stopped by his own kryptonite.

It's been an amazing 10 days which has told us plenty about the world of AFL footy.

What has it proved? That Ben Cousins is human. He, too, makes mistakes.

And what have we learned? That maybe the AFL's behavioural education policies and strategies can be improved. That, just like in the rest of society, there are AFL footballers tempted by drugs. A few more than we realised.

Yet as much as some people are trumpeting doom and gloom for the AFL over the drugs issue, I still say we should be up on the chair applauding the AFL because we're still the only sport that has a special illicit drugs policy and tests players out of competition. Condemn it? Get stricter?

No, let's challenge other sports to meet our standards.

The collective sporting community has a chance to stand up and say that we don't want this for our younger generation.

If we really thought the AFL was immune to a problem that is rampant throughout the world then we were kidding ourselves.

But I'm the first to admit that I was surprised by confirmation that more than 20 players had tested positive in the past 12 to 18 months. That's important. And it's got to be our starting point.

Call me naive if you like, but I thought only three players had tested positive. That's the three players involved in the "can we name them - no we can't" issue with the media.

To learn that we had seven times that number of positive tests, without knowing how many players were involved, says to me that the AFL campaign is working.

But it can't be a secret figure trotted out once a year. It needs to be an ongoing message that in itself would help tackle the problem, reinforcing the risks to those who are thinking of going there.

The AFL has been a leader in the fight against behavioural issues among players. The education campaign around issues, including drugs in sport, alcohol, racial and religious vilification, gambling and how to treat women, has been fantastic.

But it can get better. The one common theme in all of this is behaviour. So instead of once-a-year sessions where experts address players at each club during the off-season, we need more follow-up.

Rather than five one-off sessions that leave an impression for 48 hours, let's have five contact days spread out over the year, all based on behavioural change, and all reinforcing the message.

It's our responsibility as a code because we put our athletes in a situation where, for all sorts of different reasons, they are expected to live by standards above those of normal society. And if they step out of line they are crucified.

There is much debate about the right way to treat players who test positive but I've not heard anything yet to convince me that the three strikes policy isn'tstill the best way. Does it really help if their names become common knowledge the first time?

Ben Cousins hadn't tested positive to anything that we know of before his father admitted on Thursday that the 2005 Brownlow medallist had a drug problem, yet his name was splashed all over the media like nothing I've seen.

Would the Cousins situation have been different without all the publicity? It's impossible to say.

But I'm tipping that he'd got to the point where he had to do something about it long before it became such a public issue, and that he would have done it regardless.

I've never had a lot to do with "Cuz". I've enjoyed the odd chat with him at football functions and found him to be a great fella. And I've admired him enormously as a champion player. From all reports, he's a good person - not just a good footballer. He's a good person who has made a wrong choice.

As I've said all along on the drug issue, let's help him, not humiliate him. And let's get him back on the footy field so he can entertain the fans as he's done for the last 11 years.

He'll be back. You don't get to the truly elite level to which Cousins has reached without very special qualities. And now that he's hit rock bottom and set out on a rehabilitation program, he'll apply the same qualities to that - and he'll win. It'll be tough, but I'm expecting him to back playing AFL footy this year.

When he's ready, Cousins will slip into his telephone box, pull out his red cape, dust off the mothballs and step out as the footballing superman we know and love.

The Age

 

[hoptis]

Cousins a fallen hero in human frailty alone
Mirko Bagaric
March 25, 2007

Afl footballers have no less right to drink to excess and overreact to relationship break-ups than doctors, judges, plumbers and journalists, none of whom lose their livelihoods as a result of their excesses.

Moreover, detecting illegal (non-performance-enhancing) drugs is a role for the police, not overbearing employers. That's why Ben Cousins' suspension is misguided.

His suspension also highlights the dispiriting levels to which the community has plummeted in relation to preferring the fanatical pursuit of fictitious feel-good messages, such as sport and alcohol can't mix, to honest and accurate portrayals of events.

While there is no doubt that Cousins is a role model for many kids, he didn't voluntarily assume this role and shouldn't be burdened with extra responsibility because parents and the community are incapable of properly directing young minds to look for moral and personal education.

Parents need to inform their children that they should look to the likes of Cousins for inspiration regarding what he does well. That starts and ends with kicking a footy. Cousins shouldn't have his interests set back because of parental dereliction.

Moreover, children grow to be adults and it does them a disservice to forge a community partly built on deceit. People are flawed. This even applies to beautiful people, such as sports stars. Yet it is possible to have a meaningful life while dealing with difficult issues.

Of this, Ben Cousins is a stellar example. Despite reports of heavy drinking he is a Brownlow medallist, premiership player and the hardest-running midfielder in the AFL.

All this while reportedly having "substance abuse" problems. It shows the heights that a person can reach despite considerable personal challenges.

This is the message that we should be sending our children.

The Age

 

[hoptis]

AFL to meet on drug tapes
Sean Cowan and Chris Evans
March 26, 2007

THE AFL will meet today to consider its response to revelations that star Eagles midfielder Daniel Kerr was caught on secret police recordings talking about his drug use with a convicted dealer.

The series of sensational telephone calls involving Kerr, former Perth Wildcats basketballer James Harvey and Victorian drug dealer Shane Carl Waters emerged on Friday.

In one call, Kerr could clearly be heard describing how he had been affected by taking ketamine, a recreational drug often used as a horse tranquilliser.

Yesterday, the AFL confirmed it still had the rarely exercised power to deregister a player if he is found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute.

The last time a player was deregistered was in 1985 when Hawthorn's Leigh Matthews was rubbed out for an off-the-ball king-hit on Geelong's Neville Bruns.

The Eagles are understood to have decided against taking any action against Kerr.

NBL chief executive Chuck Harmison will speak to NBL commissioner Rick Burton today before discussing Harvey's role in the scandal with Scott Derwin, the chief of basketball's governing body, Basketball Australia.

The Sunday Age yesterday reported that one of Australian football's biggest stars was being investigated by drug squad police as part of an inquiry into a "rat-pack" of sport, media and entertainment cocaine users.

Channel Nine identity John "Sam" Newman denied he had any knowledge of a media identity with links to a drug dealer.

"I wish … if you can get me a slice of that, please give us another call and tell me where I can get into it … where I can be part of it all," he told The Age.Meanwhile, West Coast former captain Ben Cousins was last night believed to be no closer to finalising a statement about his future, including his options for rehabilitation.

WA police have again decided not to investigate Eagles players over drug-taking allegations, claiming they had no credible information that any players are currently in possession of drugs.

Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson said the Kerr tapes, recorded by Victorian police who were investigating Waters, were four years old and police usually investigated dealers rather than drug users.

With THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

The Age

 

[hoptis]

Eagles claim team now 'drug-free'
Greg Denham
March 26, 2007

AN intense drug counselling program, with each player involved for up to five hours a week over the past four months, has convinced West Coast that its players, apart from the suspended Ben Cousins, are now drug free.
Eagles chief executive Trevor Nisbett yesterday said group sessions involving internal and external experts had cleaned out any illicit substance use by his players.

"Bar Ben (Cousins), we're well and truly drug-free," Nisbett said yesterday.

"We couldn't have done any more -- we are more proactive than anyone in the history of the game and we are on top of the situation.

"Over the past three and four months, we brought in three outside groups -- one specifically on drugs, one on mindset and mental strength and the other on counselling. We've reached saturation point and it's been worth it because we're clean.

"We're very confident about our group -- and that includes Daniel Kerr."

Last Friday police released telephone tape recordings to the media in which Kerr was heard talking with a convicted drug dealer almost four years ago.

Worsfold identified Kerr on Saturday as one of at least six players who had confessed their use of illicit drugs to him.

"The majority of those players John Worsfold spoke about are no longer at the club -- and the reason for that is they just kept lying," Nisbett said.

Nisbett said that Cousins, who has an addiction to ice and was suspended indefinitely last week by the Eagles, was still in Perth.

"We're working closely with his father Bryan and nothing's changed since last week," he said. "He's sick and we're working through the process to get him healthy."

Nisbett said the AFL had offered West Coast support and resources to help Cousins.

"It's a bit of the case of they're there and we're here in a traumatic time," Nisbett said.

Cousins' family and the West Coast club want the fallen star to seek help at an overseas clinic.

"Nothing's been organised yet, but I know the family want it kept as secretive as possible, so that he won't be able to be contacted and that should assist him to get well quicker," Nisbett said.

"Once the footy starts and he's not involved, that should be a driving force to speed up his recovery. My gut feel is that will happen because the footy has been taken away from him."

Worsfold said he was not surprised that leaked police tapes had shown Kerr's involvement.

"It was not a total shock because Daniel has admitted to me that he made mistakes in the past," Worsfold told a Perth radio interviewer.

"I didn't know it was back then and I don't know how recent it has been, but I certainly know that with the really intense work we've been doing on this issue since last season finished -- and certainly in the first three months of this year -- that Daniel has learned a massive lesson.

"He's made a very strong pledge that he knows he's made mistakes in the past and he's on top of that, and he wants to be a part of our club going forward, a club that has a very strong culture and is free from drugs."

Both Nisbett and Worsfold agree that Cousins' downward spiral had played a major role in team-mates committing themselves to quit taking drugs.

Kerr, who has been restricted in recent weeks with a groin injury, is expected to be available for Saturday night's match against Sydney at Telstra Stadium.

So too, Andrew Embley, who was involved in an altercation with team-mate Daniel Chick last week. He has also overcome a groin problem.

Meanwhile, medical records from an American hospital, that could clear West Coast premiership midfielder Chad Fletcher's name, are expected to arrive in Perth as early as today.

His manager Colin Young, who denied more than a week ago that Fletcher took illicit drugs on an end-of-season football trip, said he was considering legal action over a report naming his client.

Pivotal to his effort to clear Fletcher's name is a doctor's report which says the player had a chest virus, Young claims.

The Australian

 

[hoptis]

OPINION: The lesson from Ben Cousins
Friday, March 23, 2007
Your Say

I DON’T feel sorry for Ben Cousins. That’s not meant to sound callous, but Ben needs help, not sympathy (writes Mick Malthouse).

He is one of my favourite footballers and a terrific person. I coached Ben as a youngster and we have both really enjoyed catching up since I shifted from West Coast to Collingwood.

I feel desperately sorry for Bryan and Stephanie Cousins. They are outstanding people and loving parents, who, I’m sure, are doing it very tough. As a father and a friend, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Bryan, going on television to confirm his son’s drug problem. It must be heart-breaking.

I also feel sorry for John Worsfold, Dalton Gooding, Trevor Nisbett and the terrific people at the Eagles. They will feel sad and tainted by all this, but you can bet the West Coast administration would have been doing everything in its power to help Ben and other players suffering from substance abuse.

And I feel for Andrew Demetriou and the AFL. On the eve of the season we would ideally be focusing on round one, not drugs. The image of our game has taken a hammering.

Ben is the most obvious and high-profile drug user, but we know he’s not Robinson Crusoe. What we don’t know is the extent of the problem. How many players use drugs? Which clubs are the worst affected?

It was obvious from very early on that Ben had been born with a great gift. He’s employed those talents well and at a relatively young age has won a Brownlow and a premiership medal.

I’m no psychologist, but I suspect part of what made Ben such a successful player also contributed to his drug problem. He goes hard at everything he does and loves the camaraderie of being part of a footy team.

Ben tends to be everyone’s friend, which sometimes means he can be easily led, too willing to please people.

But he’s also a wonderfully positive person who has had to live in a very intense goldfish bowl. There’s absolutely no let-up in Perth, especially when you’re the young, good-looking, friendly and successful Eagles pin-up boy.

Coaching Collingwood is not for shrinking violets, but in Victoria there are nine other clubs to share the attention. The pressure in Perth, especially off the field, is relentless.

You can imagine the predicament of the club trying to deal with Ben’s problem while keeping the team on track. Modern coaches need a range of skills, but none of us is a drug expert.

I won’t join the stampede of critics ripping into the AFL drug policy. I believe Demetriou has been doing everything he can to deal with substance-abuse issues.

But it’s clear we have to do better. As it stands, only the player and club doctor are informed when a player tests positive for the first time. I would recommend this be extended to include a sports psychologist.

We have a full-time expert at Collingwood in Simon Lloyd and most clubs would have access to sport psychs. They are qualified to help with all sorts of issues, including gambling, relationship problems, bereavement, eating disorders and substance abuse.

If a problem arose, in my view Simon is absolutely the best person at Collingwood to help a player who is running off the rails due to drugs or anything else.

While coaches are not drug experts, we’re worried about being kept in the dark. As the rules stand, it’s perfectly acceptable for a player with two drug offences to be traded without disclosure. I understand the argument about privacy, but it’s got to be balanced against fairness and the best interests of the wider football community.

Knowing what I know about Ben, I’d be fairly confident the qualities that make him an elite footballer will help him return to the fray. But I’m completely ignorant about drug rehabilitation. Clearly Ben’s previous problems haven’t affected his on-field performance, so we can’t judge his progress on football form.

Perhaps he needs to stay away from the game to clean up his act, but I hope not. You would like to think Ben can get back on the field some time this season.

AFL players already receive enormous attention and counselling on all sorts of social issues, yet one of our most successful clubs, full of upstanding and decent people, has been reduced to this.

It serves as a reminder that nobody is immune from the scourge of drug abuse, and whets the appetite for next weekend when the spotlight will hopefully return to where it belongs.

The Australian

 

[ilikeacid]

WoW! This is a media fucking storm!

the 28-year-old Brownlow medallist may have a severe addiction, possibly to the deadly methamphetamine "ice".

gotta love that Murdoch Twist. Always sensational, never informative