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The Straight Dope: The inside story of sport's biggest drug scandal
The greatest drugs scandal in Australian sport goes well beyond who took what.
What happened at Essendon, what happened at Cronulla, is only part of the story. From the basement office of a suburban football club to the seedy corners of Peptide Alley to the polished corridors of Parliament House, The Straight Dope is an inside account of the politics, greed and personal feuds which fuelled an extraordinary saga.
A football club and coach determined to win, a sports scientist who doesn't play by the rules, an AFL administration hell bent on control, an anti-doping authority out of its depth, a generation of footballers held hostage by scandal and an unpopular government that just wants it to end; for two tumultuous seasons this was the biggest game of all.
What happened at Essendon, what happened at Cronulla, is only part of the story. From the basement office of a suburban football club to the seedy corners of Peptide Alley to the polished corridors of Parliament House, The Straight Dope is an inside account of the politics, greed and personal feuds which fuelled an extraordinary saga.
A football club and coach determined to win, a sports scientist who doesn't play by the rules, an AFL administration hell bent on control, an anti-doping authority out of its depth, a generation of footballers held hostage by scandal and an unpopular government that just wants it to end; for two tumultuous seasons this was the biggest game of all.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 22, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 16, 2018
The best unsatisfying book I've read. Facts (what little of them) are fairly detailed and no obvious bias held by the author (apart from sticking up for his journo brethren in a minor subplot).
Would recommend to any Australian sports follower.
Would recommend to any Australian sports follower.
November 4, 2015
I chose this book because my Grandpa recommended it for me. I know a bit about what this book is based on, so I am expecting the book to say that James Hird gave the players drugs. I am also expecting to learn a lot about the bits of the drug scandal that I didn't understand before. I am expecting it to be interesting. I expect it to be deep and extravagant and have twists and turns that take me down dark paths, underlining the plot at Windy Hill from 2011 until 2014. I demand reasons for the punishments given to my football club.
I feel like James Hird and the rest of Essendon were in the wrong, but I believe, as Stephen Dank's boss, it is Dean Robinson's job to control him, not James Hird. Stephen Dank was an ignorant, problematic person, who ruined people's careers and, if not, put them on hold. Hird probably should have been more aware of what was going on at his football club, but the supplements program should have just been a minor part in Hird's main focus: winning on the footy field. I honestly don't fully understand the whole tip-off scandal, but I know that if the allegations are true, Andrew Demetriou was very unlawful and dishonest. Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson wasn’t deeply involved in the saga, but he was a senior member of the coaching staff with a lot of experience, and should have stepped in. I feel for Jobe Watson because he was harshly booed during the game against West Coast following his admission of taking AOD-9604, which, at the time, he believed was legal. I like Jobe Watson, but none of the other people that I have mentioned above. I don’t like the story because it is an embarrassment that the club that I follow are drug cheats.
After reading the book, I feel satisfied that the bits of the complicated story that were previously unknown to me have been clarified. I feel embarrassed by the ugly truth of what Stephen Dank implemented into the Essendon Football Club. The book has met my expectations, and it said Stephen Dank gave the players drugs, and he was being supervised by Dean Robinson, who was being supervised by James Hird. I learnt a lot about the bits of the drugs scandal that I didn’t understand before. It was interesting, deep and extravagant and it had twists and turns that took me down dark paths, underlining the plot at Windy Hill from 2011 until 2014. Overall I liked the book because it fed my knowledge of my football club, which takes up quite up a lot of time on my weekend. I was a proud supporter of Essendon, and I’d like to say I still am, but the truth is that my pride has been dented by my knowledge of the true disgrace that my football club has come across to people all over the country.
I feel like James Hird and the rest of Essendon were in the wrong, but I believe, as Stephen Dank's boss, it is Dean Robinson's job to control him, not James Hird. Stephen Dank was an ignorant, problematic person, who ruined people's careers and, if not, put them on hold. Hird probably should have been more aware of what was going on at his football club, but the supplements program should have just been a minor part in Hird's main focus: winning on the footy field. I honestly don't fully understand the whole tip-off scandal, but I know that if the allegations are true, Andrew Demetriou was very unlawful and dishonest. Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson wasn’t deeply involved in the saga, but he was a senior member of the coaching staff with a lot of experience, and should have stepped in. I feel for Jobe Watson because he was harshly booed during the game against West Coast following his admission of taking AOD-9604, which, at the time, he believed was legal. I like Jobe Watson, but none of the other people that I have mentioned above. I don’t like the story because it is an embarrassment that the club that I follow are drug cheats.
After reading the book, I feel satisfied that the bits of the complicated story that were previously unknown to me have been clarified. I feel embarrassed by the ugly truth of what Stephen Dank implemented into the Essendon Football Club. The book has met my expectations, and it said Stephen Dank gave the players drugs, and he was being supervised by Dean Robinson, who was being supervised by James Hird. I learnt a lot about the bits of the drugs scandal that I didn’t understand before. It was interesting, deep and extravagant and it had twists and turns that took me down dark paths, underlining the plot at Windy Hill from 2011 until 2014. Overall I liked the book because it fed my knowledge of my football club, which takes up quite up a lot of time on my weekend. I was a proud supporter of Essendon, and I’d like to say I still am, but the truth is that my pride has been dented by my knowledge of the true disgrace that my football club has come across to people all over the country.
August 29, 2021
This certainly was the inside drug story of Essendon (AFL) and to a lesser extent Cronulla (NRL). A full, detailed and at times complex web of drug dealing in one of the darkest, if not the darkest, times in Australian sport. The Australian test cricket (sandpaper) cheating deceit which involved fewer players and a shorter time period pales into insignificance compared to the shameful and contemptible behaviour by so many. This disgraceful episode in Australian sporting history is full of men with huge egos, stubborn as mules, willing to cast blame on others, unable to accept responsibility and with deep pockets to fund legal costs. Friends became enemies, friends used others for their personal gain and friends were dispensed with to ensure ones own preservation. Lies and untruths are copious and seemingly inexhaustible. One is constantly amazed about the brazenness of it all. Stephen Danks, the self called sports scientist, is centremost and clearly the one most at fault as a man prepared to use others for his drug experiments. The fact that so many clubs in both AFL and NRL were prepared to use his consistently unsupervised services in the quest to produce stronger and more durable athletes is in itself a sad reflection on some segments of Australian sport. James Hird, the Essendon coach at the time, took years and numerous court cases before he accepted responsibility for his part in this saga. He was guilty in my view of bringing the game of Australian Rules into disrepute and for not ensuring the safety and well being of the players he was supposedly looking after. As the book states the Essendon players involved were not blameless. They took numerous drugs over a period of time and signed consent forms without doing their own due diligence. The Straight Dope is a full account of a disturbing and embarrassing time in Australian sport, a story which encompassed many more willing participants than the major protagonists. On completion of the read I am left with the feeling this inside drug story was one that has been exposed but such were the cover ups I wonder how many stories remain unexposed.
August 11, 2015
‘The greatest drug scandal in Australian sport breaks in the middle of dinner.’
On James Hird’s fortieth birthday, 4 February 2013, the drug scandal known to many as ‘the supplements scandal’ started to unfold. Three days later – 7 February 2013 – is now referred to as ‘the blackest day in Australian sport’. Two years later, the supplements scandal continues to reverberate. There has been a lot of media coverage: the AFL, the NFL, the Cronulla Sharks, the Essendon Bombers, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and the Commonwealth Government have all been involved. But what really happened, and what lessons can be learned as a consequence?
‘The worst thing you can do in sport is cheat.’
Chip Le Grand is a journalist who has been writing about sport, crime and politics for longer than twenty years. In this book, his first, he provides context for the supplements scandal as well as some of the detail missing from various media coverage of the case. While we are never likely to have complete detail about exactly what was administered to whom, Mr Le Grand’s book raises some important issues about sport governance and administration.
While I was interested to learn more about the supplements scandal and the likely motivation of various participants, my real interest is in what government and the various sport administration bodies intend to do to prevent such events occurring in future. I hope that this book helps sports administrators work out what needs to be done to improve management of player welfare, governance and accountability for the future.
And for Esssendon, at least, the case continues. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to hear WADA’s appeal against the exoneration of 34 Essendon players later in the year, most likely in Sydney.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
On James Hird’s fortieth birthday, 4 February 2013, the drug scandal known to many as ‘the supplements scandal’ started to unfold. Three days later – 7 February 2013 – is now referred to as ‘the blackest day in Australian sport’. Two years later, the supplements scandal continues to reverberate. There has been a lot of media coverage: the AFL, the NFL, the Cronulla Sharks, the Essendon Bombers, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) and the Commonwealth Government have all been involved. But what really happened, and what lessons can be learned as a consequence?
‘The worst thing you can do in sport is cheat.’
Chip Le Grand is a journalist who has been writing about sport, crime and politics for longer than twenty years. In this book, his first, he provides context for the supplements scandal as well as some of the detail missing from various media coverage of the case. While we are never likely to have complete detail about exactly what was administered to whom, Mr Le Grand’s book raises some important issues about sport governance and administration.
While I was interested to learn more about the supplements scandal and the likely motivation of various participants, my real interest is in what government and the various sport administration bodies intend to do to prevent such events occurring in future. I hope that this book helps sports administrators work out what needs to be done to improve management of player welfare, governance and accountability for the future.
And for Esssendon, at least, the case continues. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to hear WADA’s appeal against the exoneration of 34 Essendon players later in the year, most likely in Sydney.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
April 20, 2021
Highly recommended. An in-depth look at the messy Essendon drugs saga from all angles. Certainly sheds some new light (for me, at least) on those sad times. Morbidly fascinating, given it was such a bleak time for AFL and sport in Australia. Still feel sorry for those Essendon players.
February 24, 2023
The Straight Dope is a forensic and, from what I can see, balanced telling of the doping scandal that enveloped the Essendon Football Club after the 2012 season. Author Chip Le Grand, a journalist for "The Australian" newspaper, who covered the events extensively at the time, has done an excellent job in bringing the various strands of this complex story together in a well written book.
Le Grand, like everyone else who has an interest in this story, would no doubt have an opinion on what was the true story behind the scandal, but, to his credit, his book does not push the reader towards any particular conclusion. In fact, in the book's introduction, he states that no-one can say with 100% certainty, exactly what happened at Essendon at that time. This point is reiterated near the end of the book in a quote by the Essendon CEO shortly after a verdict on an appeal against an earlier decision by the AFL Tribunal is handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The book is particularly well researched and the willingness of many of the key figures involved, including coaches, players, the club doctor, club officials, ASADA officials, political figures and peptide dealers, to give interviews to the author has greatly helped, and provided authenticity to, the narrative. This is backed up with extensive use of official documents and media reports and quotes from various parties to the story.
I won't say what my opinion is on the Essendon FC doping scandal, other than to say that it is changed somewhat, and I think better informed now, than when I started the book. Highly recommended for those with an interest in this story or those with an interest in the sometimes murky links between sport, politics and other vested interests.
Le Grand, like everyone else who has an interest in this story, would no doubt have an opinion on what was the true story behind the scandal, but, to his credit, his book does not push the reader towards any particular conclusion. In fact, in the book's introduction, he states that no-one can say with 100% certainty, exactly what happened at Essendon at that time. This point is reiterated near the end of the book in a quote by the Essendon CEO shortly after a verdict on an appeal against an earlier decision by the AFL Tribunal is handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The book is particularly well researched and the willingness of many of the key figures involved, including coaches, players, the club doctor, club officials, ASADA officials, political figures and peptide dealers, to give interviews to the author has greatly helped, and provided authenticity to, the narrative. This is backed up with extensive use of official documents and media reports and quotes from various parties to the story.
I won't say what my opinion is on the Essendon FC doping scandal, other than to say that it is changed somewhat, and I think better informed now, than when I started the book. Highly recommended for those with an interest in this story or those with an interest in the sometimes murky links between sport, politics and other vested interests.
April 2, 2018
I have a couple of complaints:
- the author is determined to tell the story in the present tense, but he can't keep this up consistently. The result is sometimes annoying, and sometimes confusing. Sometimes it's just silly:
"After Xu's comments are published in The Australian newspaper, ASADA made contact with the Shanghai-based sales rep for the first time."
- the first edition was published in 2015, before WADA's successful appeal against the Essendon players' aquittal. In this updated edition, the section covering that development is kind of tacked on; the majority of the book builds to one conclusion, and then right at the end things go in a completely different direction. This might reflect reality somewhat, but it's a little disorienting.
- some of the author's judgments seem a bit strange. I'd have to read the relevant chapter again to be sure, but I got the sense that he basically praised the NRL and Cronulla for doing their best to keep the truth from coming out. That may have been a good defence strategy, but it's hardly admirable.
Aside from those complaints, I really like the book. It's deeply researched and does a pretty good job of making a complex, confusing saga digestible. It's very readable, despite the present-tense silliness. It doesn't seem to reflect any overwhelming biases, though of course I'm not really in a position to make that judgment. Few people come out of the story looking particularly good, but most are portrayed with nuance and at least a smidgen of sympathy.
- the author is determined to tell the story in the present tense, but he can't keep this up consistently. The result is sometimes annoying, and sometimes confusing. Sometimes it's just silly:
"After Xu's comments are published in The Australian newspaper, ASADA made contact with the Shanghai-based sales rep for the first time."
- the first edition was published in 2015, before WADA's successful appeal against the Essendon players' aquittal. In this updated edition, the section covering that development is kind of tacked on; the majority of the book builds to one conclusion, and then right at the end things go in a completely different direction. This might reflect reality somewhat, but it's a little disorienting.
- some of the author's judgments seem a bit strange. I'd have to read the relevant chapter again to be sure, but I got the sense that he basically praised the NRL and Cronulla for doing their best to keep the truth from coming out. That may have been a good defence strategy, but it's hardly admirable.
Aside from those complaints, I really like the book. It's deeply researched and does a pretty good job of making a complex, confusing saga digestible. It's very readable, despite the present-tense silliness. It doesn't seem to reflect any overwhelming biases, though of course I'm not really in a position to make that judgment. Few people come out of the story looking particularly good, but most are portrayed with nuance and at least a smidgen of sympathy.
September 11, 2023
I really enjoyed this book ' the Straight Dope' , I don't really follow AFL, I'm a rugby union guy. But anything to do with sport and scandal, and drug use catches my eye.
I learnt the truth behind really what happened way back.in 1992 and how easily it was for a unknown sports science trainer to scam.his way into a top competitive sports team and basicly trial his cocktail of medicines 💊 on athlete's. A team is after an edge over its rivals and along comes a guy with answers. Be it truth's or lies.
Allot of time and hungdreds of tax payers dollars must have gone into court cost and research taking Essendon and the Sharks to court as well as lawyers fees and Q.C etc..I hope ASADA learnt from the short commings should they been in the same situation again.
I really enjoyed this novel I like the extent at which the author documented this story with references at the back of the book. I spent alot of time highlighting passages for reference shoukd I read this book again.
If your into sport and drug doping/ crime I would recommend this book for you.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
I learnt the truth behind really what happened way back.in 1992 and how easily it was for a unknown sports science trainer to scam.his way into a top competitive sports team and basicly trial his cocktail of medicines 💊 on athlete's. A team is after an edge over its rivals and along comes a guy with answers. Be it truth's or lies.
Allot of time and hungdreds of tax payers dollars must have gone into court cost and research taking Essendon and the Sharks to court as well as lawyers fees and Q.C etc..I hope ASADA learnt from the short commings should they been in the same situation again.
I really enjoyed this novel I like the extent at which the author documented this story with references at the back of the book. I spent alot of time highlighting passages for reference shoukd I read this book again.
If your into sport and drug doping/ crime I would recommend this book for you.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
July 14, 2016
In late 2011, Australian Rules Football club the Essendon Bombers began a new ‘supplements’ programme in which their newly appointed sports scientist Stephen Dank injected players with unknown substances. The resulting scandal, whose effects are still being felt five years later, are examined in great detail by sports journalist Le Grand in this excellent book.
He places the Essendon story in a much broader context, examining a related ‘supplements’ scandal involving Dank, at the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team in detail, goes into the compounding of the banned and non-banned peptides at the heart of both scandals, looks at how drugs were bought from the Phillipines, imported into Australia and how they were detected. There’s also revealing passages on the people who smuggled them, their links to organised crime and the use of these peptides in Sydney’s mushrooming ‘anti-aging’ industry where (of course) Dank was a major player.
Few people emerge from this telling of the story with much credit although Essendon club legend Mark Thompson comes across as a sympathetic figure and club doctor Bruce Reid comes across as admirably, and rightly, stubborn in sticking by his guns since he was opposed to Dank’s shenanigans, told his bosses what was going on and eventually refuses to be bullied by ASADA, the AFL or anyone else. Tania Hird, the combative wife of the disgraced-not-disgraced-disgraced-not-disgraced Bombers’ head coach James, is in great form when she verbally savages AFL bosses in the media, and to their faces (“you are a disgrace and so is your organization.”)
The individual villain of the piece, Dank, whose sheer arrogance, misplaced faith in his drugs/supplements of choice, sloppy working practices, non-existent record-keeping and his “mad professor approach” almost allow him to slither free of the full blame for his actions isn’t even the one most at fault.
As Le Grand makes clear, an unpopular government looking to appear strong and resolute, sticks its unwanted nose in. An anti-doping outfit (ASADA) systematically fails to carry out a proper investigation and, worse, jumps into bed with an overbearing league (the AFL) to carry out a highly questionable joint quest to nail the entire Bombers organization to the crucifix of public opinion.
ASADA’s ill-preparedness, understaffing, penny-pinching and flat-out hopeless working practices shoulder much of the blame for dragging things out in such an interminable way. The AFL’s high-handed bullying and the bullheadedness of its then-head Andrew Demetriou certainly didn’t help matters. Although Demetriou’s involvement does provide one of the book’s highlights when Le Grand – presumably cackling like Skeletor as he did so – completely skewers the AFL boss over a radio interview where he questioned Le Grand’s character and competence, while demonstrably talking complete nonsense. As receipts go, it’s a stiff one.
Detailing the personal consequences of the never-ending scandal – the friendships destroyed and betrayed, the players, clubs and officials left fighting for their reputations – Le Grand does a fine job in making this less a story about illicit chemicals and procedures, and one real about human beings. The later chapters on the negotiations and machinations over exactly what punishment Essendon should face, the lawyers’ views on what would happen and the legal goings-on at the AFL Tribunal in late 2014 and early ’15 are particularly good.
Le Grand’s book does have a few minor weaknesses. For such a central figure in this whole fiasco, Stephen Dank is an ephemeral figure. The snake oil sports scientist with the over-inflated ego is at the very centre of things but the book doesn’t give much of a sense of his background. The ‘Danksy’ character here feels, like his credibility, insubstantial and absent without leave.
While the book is impressively and thoroughly referenced, the narrative does meander at times and it’s not always clear what happened at what time. A timeline, and a listing of the dramatis personae in such a hefty cast of characters, would have been useful. And finally, when Le Grand steps (however briefly) outside Australia, his knowledge starts to look a little shaky.
As an MMA journalist for over a decade, I howled at his claim that in the US, MMA is rivalling the NFL for popularity. Maybe in the fever-dreams of UFC frontman Dana White but not on any measurable metric of any significance. And that’s something Le Grand could have checked on in about ten minutes. He also at one point references English soccer and the people of Nottinghamshire’s love of their team Notts County. Fans of local (and historically more successful) rivals Nottingham Forest might feel a bit left out there.
Frustratingly, this book was written before the full, excruciating saga had been played out so doesn’t cover the (hopefully final, although there remains an appeal pending) chapter in which the 34 past-and-present Essendon players were handed two year suspensions, backdated to 2015, costing the 30 still-active ones their 2016 season and devastating the Bombers’ list for the season. It would be great to read and update and find out what Le Grand, who throughout the book sympathises with the players, makes of such a harsh development.
But these are minor niggles, really. Overall, Le Grand’s examination of one of the most farcical sporting scandals of the last century (at the very least) is a convincingly authoritative, essential account.
He places the Essendon story in a much broader context, examining a related ‘supplements’ scandal involving Dank, at the Cronulla Sharks rugby league team in detail, goes into the compounding of the banned and non-banned peptides at the heart of both scandals, looks at how drugs were bought from the Phillipines, imported into Australia and how they were detected. There’s also revealing passages on the people who smuggled them, their links to organised crime and the use of these peptides in Sydney’s mushrooming ‘anti-aging’ industry where (of course) Dank was a major player.
Few people emerge from this telling of the story with much credit although Essendon club legend Mark Thompson comes across as a sympathetic figure and club doctor Bruce Reid comes across as admirably, and rightly, stubborn in sticking by his guns since he was opposed to Dank’s shenanigans, told his bosses what was going on and eventually refuses to be bullied by ASADA, the AFL or anyone else. Tania Hird, the combative wife of the disgraced-not-disgraced-disgraced-not-disgraced Bombers’ head coach James, is in great form when she verbally savages AFL bosses in the media, and to their faces (“you are a disgrace and so is your organization.”)
The individual villain of the piece, Dank, whose sheer arrogance, misplaced faith in his drugs/supplements of choice, sloppy working practices, non-existent record-keeping and his “mad professor approach” almost allow him to slither free of the full blame for his actions isn’t even the one most at fault.
As Le Grand makes clear, an unpopular government looking to appear strong and resolute, sticks its unwanted nose in. An anti-doping outfit (ASADA) systematically fails to carry out a proper investigation and, worse, jumps into bed with an overbearing league (the AFL) to carry out a highly questionable joint quest to nail the entire Bombers organization to the crucifix of public opinion.
ASADA’s ill-preparedness, understaffing, penny-pinching and flat-out hopeless working practices shoulder much of the blame for dragging things out in such an interminable way. The AFL’s high-handed bullying and the bullheadedness of its then-head Andrew Demetriou certainly didn’t help matters. Although Demetriou’s involvement does provide one of the book’s highlights when Le Grand – presumably cackling like Skeletor as he did so – completely skewers the AFL boss over a radio interview where he questioned Le Grand’s character and competence, while demonstrably talking complete nonsense. As receipts go, it’s a stiff one.
Detailing the personal consequences of the never-ending scandal – the friendships destroyed and betrayed, the players, clubs and officials left fighting for their reputations – Le Grand does a fine job in making this less a story about illicit chemicals and procedures, and one real about human beings. The later chapters on the negotiations and machinations over exactly what punishment Essendon should face, the lawyers’ views on what would happen and the legal goings-on at the AFL Tribunal in late 2014 and early ’15 are particularly good.
Le Grand’s book does have a few minor weaknesses. For such a central figure in this whole fiasco, Stephen Dank is an ephemeral figure. The snake oil sports scientist with the over-inflated ego is at the very centre of things but the book doesn’t give much of a sense of his background. The ‘Danksy’ character here feels, like his credibility, insubstantial and absent without leave.
While the book is impressively and thoroughly referenced, the narrative does meander at times and it’s not always clear what happened at what time. A timeline, and a listing of the dramatis personae in such a hefty cast of characters, would have been useful. And finally, when Le Grand steps (however briefly) outside Australia, his knowledge starts to look a little shaky.
As an MMA journalist for over a decade, I howled at his claim that in the US, MMA is rivalling the NFL for popularity. Maybe in the fever-dreams of UFC frontman Dana White but not on any measurable metric of any significance. And that’s something Le Grand could have checked on in about ten minutes. He also at one point references English soccer and the people of Nottinghamshire’s love of their team Notts County. Fans of local (and historically more successful) rivals Nottingham Forest might feel a bit left out there.
Frustratingly, this book was written before the full, excruciating saga had been played out so doesn’t cover the (hopefully final, although there remains an appeal pending) chapter in which the 34 past-and-present Essendon players were handed two year suspensions, backdated to 2015, costing the 30 still-active ones their 2016 season and devastating the Bombers’ list for the season. It would be great to read and update and find out what Le Grand, who throughout the book sympathises with the players, makes of such a harsh development.
But these are minor niggles, really. Overall, Le Grand’s examination of one of the most farcical sporting scandals of the last century (at the very least) is a convincingly authoritative, essential account.
April 24, 2018
This book arrived on my lap, and not one I previously intended to read. But I can say the quality of the journalism changed this read from one of obligation to one of interest.
I learnt a lot, it was interesting and very informative.
I felt Chip was slightly defending of the Essendon players, but not strong enough to sway my opinion of their responsibility of regulating what is being injected into their bodies as professional athletes. And I am an Essendon supporter.
Recomend.
Go Dons!
I learnt a lot, it was interesting and very informative.
I felt Chip was slightly defending of the Essendon players, but not strong enough to sway my opinion of their responsibility of regulating what is being injected into their bodies as professional athletes. And I am an Essendon supporter.
Recomend.
Go Dons!
September 29, 2019
Detailed and balanced review of a staggering saga
As an Essendon supporter and member this was a tough read. The author has gone to great lengths to bring together many different sources and present a balanced perspective.
Well written, well researched and fair for such a polarising topic.
As an Essendon supporter and member this was a tough read. The author has gone to great lengths to bring together many different sources and present a balanced perspective.
Well written, well researched and fair for such a polarising topic.
September 6, 2017
This book gives a great TRUE insight to what actually happend in the Essendon drug scan
January 23, 2023
Chip Le Grand has done a great job in spelling out exactly what happened the Essendon Football Club. This is certainly worth a read.
February 21, 2017
In 2013, a scandal emerged that embroiled the Australian Football League in a doping saga. It was revealed that Essendon, one of the AFL's most successful clubs, was suspected of administering banned drugs to their players via a shadowy program of injections administered by a sports scientist, Steven Dank.
Dank's program of administering unlabelled drugs to players,with no records kept and no medical supervision led to a massive investigation by the Australian Sports And Drugs Administration (ASADA). Head coach, club legend James Hird, was engulfed in the scandal and ultimately charged by the AFL. Bitter court battles ensued, long-standing friendships were sundered and careers ended. In the end, 34 players were charged by ASADA with taking banned substances, but their prosecution failed and all of the players were cleared. Their relief was short-lived, as the World Ant-Doping Authority soon appealed that verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (In some respects this book is probably premature, as the CAS decision in December will mark the final outcome of the three-year investigation, and this book will be rendered incomplete as soon as it is handed down).
Most AFL fans - including me - will have already formed views about Essendon and Hird's activities, and Le Grand's book is unlikely to persuade such people. He does however add considerable detail to the account that fans will have gleaned from newspaper coverage. Le Grand takes us inside living rooms and offices were crisis meetings occurred, reveals the contents of confidential reports and notes, discusses strategies with the lawyers, and explains the involvement of important figures in the investigation that did not receive high-profile coverage. He does well to explain the politics in ASADA, the AFL and at Essendon that lay behind what we read in the news. Le Grand also talks about Danks' dubious activities at other sporting clubs, including the notable example of the Cronulla Sharks Rugby League Club, also caught up in the ASADA investigation, with a quite different outcome.
Le Grand tries to be fair to all, but he is excoriating of AFL boss Andrew Demetriou and of ASADA's failed investigation. In my view he treats the Essendon management pretty lightly, and seeks reasons to diminish James Hird's responsibility for what went on. Like most accounts of this saga, Le Grand focuses almost solely on the question of banned drugs and gives scant attention to the real scandal: how can any manager who allowed his employees to be injected with a litany of untried and unlabelled drugs, with no concern at all for their health and well-being, keep his job, not to mention getting paid millions to stay?
Dank's program of administering unlabelled drugs to players,with no records kept and no medical supervision led to a massive investigation by the Australian Sports And Drugs Administration (ASADA). Head coach, club legend James Hird, was engulfed in the scandal and ultimately charged by the AFL. Bitter court battles ensued, long-standing friendships were sundered and careers ended. In the end, 34 players were charged by ASADA with taking banned substances, but their prosecution failed and all of the players were cleared. Their relief was short-lived, as the World Ant-Doping Authority soon appealed that verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (In some respects this book is probably premature, as the CAS decision in December will mark the final outcome of the three-year investigation, and this book will be rendered incomplete as soon as it is handed down).
Most AFL fans - including me - will have already formed views about Essendon and Hird's activities, and Le Grand's book is unlikely to persuade such people. He does however add considerable detail to the account that fans will have gleaned from newspaper coverage. Le Grand takes us inside living rooms and offices were crisis meetings occurred, reveals the contents of confidential reports and notes, discusses strategies with the lawyers, and explains the involvement of important figures in the investigation that did not receive high-profile coverage. He does well to explain the politics in ASADA, the AFL and at Essendon that lay behind what we read in the news. Le Grand also talks about Danks' dubious activities at other sporting clubs, including the notable example of the Cronulla Sharks Rugby League Club, also caught up in the ASADA investigation, with a quite different outcome.
Le Grand tries to be fair to all, but he is excoriating of AFL boss Andrew Demetriou and of ASADA's failed investigation. In my view he treats the Essendon management pretty lightly, and seeks reasons to diminish James Hird's responsibility for what went on. Like most accounts of this saga, Le Grand focuses almost solely on the question of banned drugs and gives scant attention to the real scandal: how can any manager who allowed his employees to be injected with a litany of untried and unlabelled drugs, with no concern at all for their health and well-being, keep his job, not to mention getting paid millions to stay?
August 8, 2020
As an Essendon supporter, loved this book. As a fan of sports, loved it. Blew me away at just how high up the corruption and secret handshakes went, can’t help but feel sorry for most of the players but nothing but disgust at Demetriou and Gill and Brett Clothier for the way they acted. Yes, Essendon are to blame and they served their medicine painfully. But if you think the AFL are a model organisation, you have rocks in your head. Chip has done a great job at pulling back the curtain on just how the power plays out in Melbourne. Side note, loved the insight into The Age in AFL’s pocket and The Herald Sun (Mark Warner and Mark Robinson) on the AFL’s hit list during this and how they took sides. Loved it. But equally, all so sad that lives and friendships ruined. Great book to read.
February 14, 2017
The sheer number of fumbles in the whole Essendon/ASADA/WADA saga would see a player banned for life; It's crazy to think this stuff goes on, and even crazier to see it played out.
Chip explains all the major players and the wins and losses for both sides of the investigation.
A great read about the desire to win, and the lengths people will go to see their goals reached.
Chip explains all the major players and the wins and losses for both sides of the investigation.
A great read about the desire to win, and the lengths people will go to see their goals reached.
August 22, 2015
Brilliant narrative non fiction. The damage done at the start with the politically motivated "blackest day in Australian sport" press conference was immeasurable, dooming the investigation from its infancy. Extensively researched with much new information provided by the key players in the saga, it makes for a lesson in how not to run an investigation. It also comes with intersting insights into how football clubs operate. As an Essendon fan, I think the author was a little kind to James Hird but the point of the book is to expose the way the scandal was shaped by powerful organisations and politics, rather than prosecute any particular individual. Postscript: So pleased James has resigned now. He should have fallen on his sword when his suspension started or at least after the 2014 season if he loved the club that much.
October 5, 2015
This book did what I wanted, it explained the whole history of this drama. I had followed it partially from news reports, but felt I never really understood what was going on. This book laid out the full story, so it did what I wanted. But it could have done it better. It is a sinuous tale, with many characters, and many twists and turns. I think k the story could have been told more elegantly, and it definitely needs a "cast of characters" in the front of the book, as it quite confusing on who is who. It could also benefit from a timeline and a structure diagram of the Essendon club at the time this all happened.
However I am pleased it read it.
However I am pleased it read it.
September 13, 2016
This took me a long time to read. It's quite dense, packed with information, and painstakingly endnoted. The feeling I am left with is one of overwhelming disbelief. How could a football club be so poorly managed as to lose sight of the welfare of its greatest assets - the players? Though not entirely blameless, the players are left as the biggest losers in this whole sorry saga, and face a lifetime of not knowing what the hell was put into their bodies. A cautionary tale, well-researched and written.
August 7, 2015
Why attack the body protecting
This book could have been impartial and focused on factual representation but instead turned mid way into an attack on not those taking uncontrolled risk, but those trying to understand what happened. It is worth a quick read but when you do ensure you note and ignore the focus on blaming an investigative body.
This book could have been impartial and focused on factual representation but instead turned mid way into an attack on not those taking uncontrolled risk, but those trying to understand what happened. It is worth a quick read but when you do ensure you note and ignore the focus on blaming an investigative body.
October 12, 2015
This is a very useful book. While it doesn't tell the full story and is perhaps too sympathetic to James Hird, it is the best guide we have to how the saga unfolded and why it became almost impossible to solve. By dealing with and explaining the number of grey areas involved, it is also a refreshing antidote to the often extreme views that characterised reporting of the situation.
July 10, 2015
Chip calls each episode in the saga as it happens, backed by personal interviews with key players. There's no agenda, just trying to get to the bottom of it. And no one comes out squeaky clean, least of all the AFL.
July 28, 2015
I couldn't put it down. So well written and totally enthralling!
August 13, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. Well written and very impartially presented.
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