quentinDrugs in Football
February 9th 2010 11:32
Well Sport Talk is finally back from a few days of R & R but at the same time working really hard. As a result I'm a fair way behind on things that have occured and have to catch up and provide relevant views over the next few days. Hope you enjoy the speed of some of these blogs
Anyway, my first blog back is going to focus on a very touchy subject. That subject being Drugs in Football (Australian Rules Football). This has all come out on the back of a very bizarre incident over the past week but I'm jumping a bit ahead.
The year was 2002 and an innocent interview involving retired Swans star Dale Lewis suddenly opened a massive can of worms concerning Drugs in Football. Lewis made the accusation that up to 75% of players had dabbed in recreational drugs. Lewis was widely condemned for these remarks and it seemed that no-one was keen to explore an issue that could cause some waves.
Finally the AFL conceded that there could be an issue and in 2005 introduced a new 3-strikes illicit drugs policy. Under the policy, the following was to occur
Strike 1 - In-House
Strike 2 - In-House
Strike 3 - Player named publically and given a 12 match ban
Now, this policy is frankly a bizarre one and in my view, most recreational drugs should be condemned straight away, instead of this soft mollycoddling approach.
Anyway that's not the issue here.
The issue concerns the arrest and charging of Geelong's Matthew Stokes with drug possession and trafficking. He apparantly bought a gram of cocaine for his mate and was busted following a 3 month investigation.
Subsequently, there have been claims of bizarre text messages and claims that if the wording of the charge got changed from trafficking to possession, he could get off.
As a Football fan, this throughly disgusts me.
What the hell would a footballer need cocaine for?
Why would they be stupid enough to buy cocaine for a mate?
Footballers are role-models in society, whether they like it or not. Once you get drafted by an AFL Club, you're basically signing up to be scrutinised for everything with your every action discussed and debated.
Matthew Stokes is a role model because he plays at the top level. He should know a lot better than to put himself in a situation where he could get himself into trouble. Most of all, he should know better than to dabble in drugs.
Geelong fans have stood by him saying that he made a mistake etc. I'm sick of that excuse and won't buy it for a second. If say a Ben Cousins or a Matthew Pavlich or someone like that was busted for drugs, those same fans would sink the boot into the player without a second thought but once it's their guy, they close ranks and say "he made a mistake." Fair dinkum, the hyprocrasy here disgusts me. It's almost as if Geelong fans are endorsing him buying drugs for a mate, when drugs are such a blight on society.
Geelong have subsequently dealt Stokes a really tough hand and issued the following sanctions
- Not considered for AFL Selection till Round 8
- Can only train at club when no other player is around till Round 1
- Can only train with the VFL Players from Round 1-4
- Can play VFL from Round 5-7
- Fined $5000
- Find a full-time job (Monday to Friday 40 hours)
- Link with a drug-related community program
Being such a hater of Geelong for a variety of reasons, I sadly have to stand up and applaud this decision. The leadership group have taken a hard and tough line and to be quite frank and honest, have impressed me.
Be that as it may, this would never have had to occur if Matthew Stokes wasn't such a fool. My view is his career should be over but we now wait for the court case to determine his future and any subsequent punishments that may be handed out by the AFL
Anyway, my first blog back is going to focus on a very touchy subject. That subject being Drugs in Football (Australian Rules Football). This has all come out on the back of a very bizarre incident over the past week but I'm jumping a bit ahead.
The year was 2002 and an innocent interview involving retired Swans star Dale Lewis suddenly opened a massive can of worms concerning Drugs in Football. Lewis made the accusation that up to 75% of players had dabbed in recreational drugs. Lewis was widely condemned for these remarks and it seemed that no-one was keen to explore an issue that could cause some waves.
Finally the AFL conceded that there could be an issue and in 2005 introduced a new 3-strikes illicit drugs policy. Under the policy, the following was to occur
Strike 1 - In-House
Strike 2 - In-House
Strike 3 - Player named publically and given a 12 match ban
Now, this policy is frankly a bizarre one and in my view, most recreational drugs should be condemned straight away, instead of this soft mollycoddling approach.
Anyway that's not the issue here.
The issue concerns the arrest and charging of Geelong's Matthew Stokes with drug possession and trafficking. He apparantly bought a gram of cocaine for his mate and was busted following a 3 month investigation.
Subsequently, there have been claims of bizarre text messages and claims that if the wording of the charge got changed from trafficking to possession, he could get off.
As a Football fan, this throughly disgusts me.
What the hell would a footballer need cocaine for?
Why would they be stupid enough to buy cocaine for a mate?
Footballers are role-models in society, whether they like it or not. Once you get drafted by an AFL Club, you're basically signing up to be scrutinised for everything with your every action discussed and debated.
Matthew Stokes is a role model because he plays at the top level. He should know a lot better than to put himself in a situation where he could get himself into trouble. Most of all, he should know better than to dabble in drugs.
Geelong fans have stood by him saying that he made a mistake etc. I'm sick of that excuse and won't buy it for a second. If say a Ben Cousins or a Matthew Pavlich or someone like that was busted for drugs, those same fans would sink the boot into the player without a second thought but once it's their guy, they close ranks and say "he made a mistake." Fair dinkum, the hyprocrasy here disgusts me. It's almost as if Geelong fans are endorsing him buying drugs for a mate, when drugs are such a blight on society.
Geelong have subsequently dealt Stokes a really tough hand and issued the following sanctions
- Not considered for AFL Selection till Round 8
- Can only train at club when no other player is around till Round 1
- Can only train with the VFL Players from Round 1-4
- Can play VFL from Round 5-7
- Fined $5000
- Find a full-time job (Monday to Friday 40 hours)
- Link with a drug-related community program
Being such a hater of Geelong for a variety of reasons, I sadly have to stand up and applaud this decision. The leadership group have taken a hard and tough line and to be quite frank and honest, have impressed me.
Be that as it may, this would never have had to occur if Matthew Stokes wasn't such a fool. My view is his career should be over but we now wait for the court case to determine his future and any subsequent punishments that may be handed out by the AFL
| 25 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
