James Hird Case Analysis
By Sean Doughty
Oral Task
Contention: James Hird has done wrong by both the game and his team, by not only supporting a program which goes against a code of the AFL’s official rules, but by also exposing his team to unsafe and untested drugs without the assistance of medical professionals on all occasions. While James Hird has done wrong by the game he has also opened a new gateway to the future of sport.
Points
James Hird should accept responsibility for putting his players at risk.
James Hird is protected by his hero status with the football club, however if it were anyone else they would’ve been kicked out of the game for life.
He has been given a million dollar lump sum for his time away from coaching, and his job has been secured at the club for his return.
He kept the practises away from the medical expert, Bruce Reid, whom protested that the program was clinically unsafe.
The club had “a culture of frequent, uninformed and unregulated use of the injection of supplements,” according to the ASADA interim report. We know dubious sources were involved, and some injections were administered in unsterile conditions without a medical professional.
James Hird had a paid for trip to france in which he had a business course, he could use this to his advantage to change careers.
Counter Points:
Hird has been a scape goat …show more content…
somewhat throughout the ordeal
James Hirds wife brought to light the tip off which was possibly given by the CEO of the AFL, Andrew Demitriou, if true this would show corruption which even exists in the top job.
Separate Points:
Although what James hird did was wrong he has opened up a gateway to a possible change in the future of sports.
The use of performance enhancing drugs in a safe and governed manor by a regulatory entity could both improve the competitiveness of sports, which would increase the fan base, but also improve the medical science involved with performance enhancing drugs due to the high amount of profits sporting events bring in.
The black sheep in the Hird offers more than a bag of wool. As the true story on the Essendon drug scandal unfolds it is becoming apparent what James Hird should do. Often described as Essendon’s “Favourite Son” James Hird has the power to do almost anything by the club and still maintain his job, however the golden boy has gone too far in the eyes of the unbiased. James Hird should either be removed from the sport or step down from his position.
If he hadn’t been possibly the greatest Essendon player of all time James Hird would’ve been kicked out long ago, yet still he has kept his job for the future, even with the wrong doings to the club and the players. James Hird knowingly put his players at risk by exposing them to untested and possibly unsafe drugs. He also made sure to keep the practises away from the medical expert, Bruce Reid, after he protested to the clinically unsafe program which was being performed at Essendon Football Club. According to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority report the club had “a culture of frequent, uninformed and unregulated use of the injection of supplements,” and also some injections were administered in unsterile conditions without a medical professional. The responsibility for the risk that the players were put under falls on the head coach, James Hird. Not only was he knowingly defying a rule of the AFL by supporting the program, but he was endangering all of those who took any part in the program. For James Hird to deny these allegations and continue to coach the Essendon football club goes to show he isn’t the true hero that the fans have believed for all these years.
Also while James hird is on 12 month suspension he has been paid a lump sum of 1 million dollars, while his club is being fined 2 million dollars and has lost many of its benefits for the coming years. James hird has also had a completely paid for trip to France where he is taking a business course and could possibly find a new career, however he is too selfish and greedy to step down from his position.
Tania Hird, James Hird’s wife, has now also come into the spotlight, as she recently had an interview with the program ‘7:30’, in which she claimed James Hird was a scapegoat for the AFL, and he was pressured into accepting the punishment for the program which he claimed to not know about.
A few other cases of the AFL either bullying or buying out people and teams have been mentioned, these included a scandal at Melbourne football club and another scandal at the hawthorn football club. Tania Hird also claimed that the CEO of the AFL Andrew Demetriou tipped off the club that they were suspected of using performance enhancing
drugs.
While the information surrounding the corruption and bullying by the AFL seems to support the claim that James Hird may have been scapegoated by the AFL, there has also never been any factual evidence of this occurring. No names of the senior executives who have taken place in these dealings have been released, and with the circumstances James Hird is in it can be assumed that his wife was simply trying to either change the headlines surrounding the drug scandal to james’ favour or to take some of the pressure off him while these new allegations are investigated.
While the drug scandal has been nothing but damaging for both the Essendon Football club and the AFL game itself there may possibly be a silver lining to come with it. The use of performance enhancing drugs in a safe and governed manor by a regulatory entity could both improve the competitiveness of sports, which would increase the fan base, but also improve the medical science involved with performance enhancing drugs due to the high amount of profits sporting events bring in.
The information found in the drug scandal at the Essendon football club gives rise to the notion that james hird was fully aware of, and was completely supporting the performance enhancing drugs program. Not only was he aware of the program but he was aware of the risk that was being placed on the players in the program, both because of the untested drugs being used in some cases and because of the clinically unsafe manner that the program was completed in, even against the protest of the clubs head medical expert. James Hird has also been protected by his golden boy status at the club, where as if it were anyone else involved in the drug scandal they would’ve been kicked out straight away. While some of the allegations of corruption and bullying in the AFL been raised there was no factual evidence of James Hird ever being a scapegoat to the AFL. While mainly bad has come from the scandal there has been the possible chance for a new age of sports which incorporates performance enhancing drugs to both improve sport and the medical science surrounding it. Overall James hird has caused more trouble than good for both the Essendon football club and the game of Afl and it is either time for him to do the right thing and step down or for the AFL to kick him out.
Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI-3HiQXSXM http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-booted-from-finals-fined-2-million-james-hird-banned-for-12-months/story-fni5ezdm-1226704614233 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/james-hird-will-coach-essendon-next-season-after-receiving-support-of-board/story-fni5f6kv-1226865381877 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/no-excuses-why-disgraced-essendon-coach-james-hird-must-be-sacked/story-fni5ezdm-1226865410430 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/all-the-charges-against-essendon-james-hird-mark-thompson-and-danny-corcoran/story-fni5f6kv-1226705318633 http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/03/28/essendon-weak-but-james-hird-should-have-the-guts-to-walk/
http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/03/27/james-hird-is-lucky-to-keep-his-job/
Oral Task
Contention: James Hird has done wrong by both the game and his team, by not only supporting a program which goes against a code of the AFL’s official rules, but by also exposing his team to unsafe and untested drugs without the assistance of medical professionals on all occasions. While James Hird has done wrong by the game he has also opened a new gateway to the future of sport.
Points
James Hird should accept responsibility for putting his players at risk.
James Hird is protected by his hero status with the football club, however if it were anyone else they would’ve been kicked out of the game for life.
He has been given a million dollar lump sum for his time away from coaching, and his job has been secured at the club for his return.
He kept the practises away from the medical expert, Bruce Reid, whom protested that the program was clinically unsafe.
The club had “a culture of frequent, uninformed and unregulated use of the injection of supplements,” according to the ASADA interim report. We know dubious sources were involved, and some injections were administered in unsterile conditions without a medical professional.
James Hird had a paid for trip to france in which he had a business course, he could use this to his advantage to change careers.
Counter Points:
Hird has been a scape goat …show more content…
somewhat throughout the ordeal
James Hirds wife brought to light the tip off which was possibly given by the CEO of the AFL, Andrew Demitriou, if true this would show corruption which even exists in the top job.
Separate Points:
Although what James hird did was wrong he has opened up a gateway to a possible change in the future of sports.
The use of performance enhancing drugs in a safe and governed manor by a regulatory entity could both improve the competitiveness of sports, which would increase the fan base, but also improve the medical science involved with performance enhancing drugs due to the high amount of profits sporting events bring in.
The black sheep in the Hird offers more than a bag of wool. As the true story on the Essendon drug scandal unfolds it is becoming apparent what James Hird should do. Often described as Essendon’s “Favourite Son” James Hird has the power to do almost anything by the club and still maintain his job, however the golden boy has gone too far in the eyes of the unbiased. James Hird should either be removed from the sport or step down from his position.
If he hadn’t been possibly the greatest Essendon player of all time James Hird would’ve been kicked out long ago, yet still he has kept his job for the future, even with the wrong doings to the club and the players. James Hird knowingly put his players at risk by exposing them to untested and possibly unsafe drugs. He also made sure to keep the practises away from the medical expert, Bruce Reid, after he protested to the clinically unsafe program which was being performed at Essendon Football Club. According to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority report the club had “a culture of frequent, uninformed and unregulated use of the injection of supplements,” and also some injections were administered in unsterile conditions without a medical professional. The responsibility for the risk that the players were put under falls on the head coach, James Hird. Not only was he knowingly defying a rule of the AFL by supporting the program, but he was endangering all of those who took any part in the program. For James Hird to deny these allegations and continue to coach the Essendon football club goes to show he isn’t the true hero that the fans have believed for all these years.
Also while James hird is on 12 month suspension he has been paid a lump sum of 1 million dollars, while his club is being fined 2 million dollars and has lost many of its benefits for the coming years. James hird has also had a completely paid for trip to France where he is taking a business course and could possibly find a new career, however he is too selfish and greedy to step down from his position.
Tania Hird, James Hird’s wife, has now also come into the spotlight, as she recently had an interview with the program ‘7:30’, in which she claimed James Hird was a scapegoat for the AFL, and he was pressured into accepting the punishment for the program which he claimed to not know about.
A few other cases of the AFL either bullying or buying out people and teams have been mentioned, these included a scandal at Melbourne football club and another scandal at the hawthorn football club. Tania Hird also claimed that the CEO of the AFL Andrew Demetriou tipped off the club that they were suspected of using performance enhancing
drugs.
While the information surrounding the corruption and bullying by the AFL seems to support the claim that James Hird may have been scapegoated by the AFL, there has also never been any factual evidence of this occurring. No names of the senior executives who have taken place in these dealings have been released, and with the circumstances James Hird is in it can be assumed that his wife was simply trying to either change the headlines surrounding the drug scandal to james’ favour or to take some of the pressure off him while these new allegations are investigated.
While the drug scandal has been nothing but damaging for both the Essendon Football club and the AFL game itself there may possibly be a silver lining to come with it. The use of performance enhancing drugs in a safe and governed manor by a regulatory entity could both improve the competitiveness of sports, which would increase the fan base, but also improve the medical science involved with performance enhancing drugs due to the high amount of profits sporting events bring in.
The information found in the drug scandal at the Essendon football club gives rise to the notion that james hird was fully aware of, and was completely supporting the performance enhancing drugs program. Not only was he aware of the program but he was aware of the risk that was being placed on the players in the program, both because of the untested drugs being used in some cases and because of the clinically unsafe manner that the program was completed in, even against the protest of the clubs head medical expert. James Hird has also been protected by his golden boy status at the club, where as if it were anyone else involved in the drug scandal they would’ve been kicked out straight away. While some of the allegations of corruption and bullying in the AFL been raised there was no factual evidence of James Hird ever being a scapegoat to the AFL. While mainly bad has come from the scandal there has been the possible chance for a new age of sports which incorporates performance enhancing drugs to both improve sport and the medical science surrounding it. Overall James hird has caused more trouble than good for both the Essendon football club and the game of Afl and it is either time for him to do the right thing and step down or for the AFL to kick him out.
Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI-3HiQXSXM http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/essendon-booted-from-finals-fined-2-million-james-hird-banned-for-12-months/story-fni5ezdm-1226704614233 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/james-hird-will-coach-essendon-next-season-after-receiving-support-of-board/story-fni5f6kv-1226865381877 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/no-excuses-why-disgraced-essendon-coach-james-hird-must-be-sacked/story-fni5ezdm-1226865410430 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/all-the-charges-against-essendon-james-hird-mark-thompson-and-danny-corcoran/story-fni5f6kv-1226705318633 http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/03/28/essendon-weak-but-james-hird-should-have-the-guts-to-walk/
http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/03/27/james-hird-is-lucky-to-keep-his-job/