Essendon coach James Hird and the AFL players’ union have strenuously defended Jobe Watson amid calls he should lose his Brownlow Medal for taking a banned substance.
Watson has admitted he believes he took anti-obesity drug AOD-9604, which the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms has been banned since 2011.
But he insists he has done nothing wrong, saying he had been told the substance was legal at the time, and it had been ticked off by club medical staff.
Hird says he was surprised with Watson’s public admission, but was in no way disappointed with his skipper for breaking ranks with the straight-bat approach the Bombers have taken to the issue.
And he doesn’t believe Watson’s Brownlow Medal for the competition’s fairest and best player last year is at risk of being stripped, nor tainted in any way.
“With the facts I have, I don’t believe it’s in doubt,” Hird said on Wednesday.
“I think we come back to the issue of the complicated nature of this (investigation), and the sensitive nature of this.
“I keep saying, if we wait until the investigation finishes, all the facts are on the table and we can actually tell you what we believe happened. It’ll be a great day for all of us.”
AFL Players’ Association chief executive Matt Finnis said it was premature and unfair to talk about whether Watson should lose the Brownlow or be suspended.
He said Watson and other Bombers had done nothing more than put their faith in Essendon officials, who players had a right to believe would have had the expertise to determine which supplements complied with anti-doping rules.
“Quite clearly there’s been failings here at the club,” Finnis said.
“While players have a responsibility in relation to their part of this process, culpability must reside with those who had the ultimate authority.”
Under WADA rules, ultimate responsibility for using banned substances – knowingly or not – rests with the player.
Hird also defended long-time Bombers club doctor Bruce Reid, describing him as a man of high integrity and saying all at the club retained the utmost faith in him.
Reid was implicated in Watson’s admission as having cleared his use of AOD-9604.
Hird said the issue of Essendon players making public comments about the ongoing ASADA inquiry had been addressed in the wake of Watson’s admission.
The Bombers play West Coast in Perth on Thursday night, aiming to consolidate their top-four position.