Something in the water

February 22, 2008, 6:22pm, 164 views,  1 Comment

Sacked Western Force player Matt Henjak is likely to play in Europe after the Australian Rugby Union rubber stamped the Perth club’s decision to sack their star halfback. Read more

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Ben Cousins’ drug problem

November 9, 2007, 5:01pm, 211 views,  Leave a Comment

Channel Nine has reported that fallen West Coast Eagles star Ben Cousins was rushed to hospital in Los Angeles last week after a five-day cocaine binge.

Cousins was reportedly admitted to the Little Company of Mary hospital, in the suburb of Torrens, and remained there for two days before being discharged on Friday, November 2.

It was during his son’s stay in hospital that Ben’s dad Bryan Cousins told reporters Ben wasn’t missing, as reports had claimed, but was “receiving treatment at an appropriate facility”.

What continues to amaze me about this ongoing saga is that nobody accepts any responsibility. Not Ben, his family, his club or the AFL.

Cousins is entitled to some privacy, but he is also a public figure who has fallen from grace. The club betrayed him and the sport by returning him to the fold before he was rehabilitated. The AFL should be accountable for this mess.

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Cousins drug charge

October 16, 2007, 8:24pm, 349 views,  1 Comment

The report in The West Australian says it all:

“Troubled West Coast star Ben Cousins has tonight been charged with drug offences after a highly public arrest in Northbridge this morning. Police allegedly found a prohibited drug in his car during a traffic stop, and also charged the football star with refusing to comply with a police drug test.”

If the charges are proved, it’s disturbing that he wouldn’t take a drug test considering he previously did a runner from a random breath test.

This issue is political given the AFL’s apparent soft handling of drugs in the sport. Cynics believe the league is more concerned about protecting its brand image than stamping out rampant drug abuse.

Earlier this year the Prime Minister’s key adviser on illicit drug use Christopher Pyne told ABC Radio: “These AFL players have a particular place in our society, and therefore they have a particular responsibility, and that means that the AFL’s policy on illicit substances has to reinforce a zero tolerance approach.”

The circumstances surrounding Chris Mainwaring’s death remain a mystery until an inquest is held, but there is enough superficial evidence to suggest the West Coast Eagles have harbored a pervasive drug culture which has been out of control for some time.

This raises all sorts of questions, including the integrity of their 2006 premiership. In the political arena, Labor has so far been reluctant to criticise the three-strikes policy, leaving the issue as one which could unexpectedly influence the election.

Earlier this month Labor’s spokesperson Kate Lundy said: “We might end up with a one-strike, two-strike or three-strike policy. Or no strikes. It will depend on what our working group of experts suggests,” she said.

The government’s policy, announced by Sports Minister George Brandis after the grand final, is more definite. The Coalition proposes public naming after the second strike.

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