The Politics of Storytelling
The Politics of Story Telling This week's Federal Court hearing in the presence of Justice Middleton is not going to get to the bottom of the Essendon /Hird/ASADA/AFL saga. Sport’s cone of silence has guaranteed that. The truth – in all its guises – may never be known, for those who make up a crucial part of this story have been sworn to secrecy and the questions asked in court are themselves determined to follow a narrow path with a particular destination in mind. This week the Essendon football club, it’s players and its coach challenged the validity of the joint investigation by the AFL and the Australian Sports Anti Doping Authority into the club’s supplements use in 2012. To be sure, there will be some more meat added to the bones of this sorry carcass, but all will be carefully constructed and much will remain hidden. Already there are those who will forever see the legal challenge as a last ditch effort to hide the facts of what really went on, while others interpret it as a last ditch effort to reveal a witch hunt the likes of which sport in this country has not previously seen. The fact is neither group will ever be satisfied. Those who are most tarnished are gagged. Reputations are damaged and rumours will forever circulate. “Bringing the game into disrepute” is perhaps the worst clause ever written into an athlete’s, or coach’s, contract. It creates an environment where those elements that are in most need of being addressed, or spoken about, rarely are. It is designed to protect the image of the sport above all else – and as we know, image and reality are two very different beasts. It is a catchall phrase requiring those who receive a salary to leave the narrative up to those who run the cartel. It creates an environment where simple problems can go un-addressed until they are much larger problems, out of the control of those who are most affected. As the documents reveal in this week’s Federal Court challenge ‘the Blackest Day in Australian sport’ – the government led press conference in 2013 that defamed every athlete in the country – and the ensuing investigation was shrouded in secrecy, halftruths and political influence. What chance did a bunch of footballers from Essendon ever have against such a tsunami of power? From the beginning there was no evidence provided of criminal activity having infiltrating the Essendon club and yet, the foundation of the entire episode stems from an Australian Crime Commission report that suggested maybes, possibilities, and potentialities. The head of the ACC at the time, John Lawler, is no longer there. The February 2013 press conference was spearheaded by the federal Justice Minister, Jason Clare and Sports Minister, Kate Lundy, who shouted from the pulpit ‘we know who you are and we will catch you’. Jason Clare and Kate Lundy are no longer in government. ASADA was also in the line-up of sports authorities backing the call for a widespread investigation into crime gangs infiltrating high profile sports with performance enhancing drugs. To this day, we are awaiting evidence to support that claim. ASADA’s CEO at the time, Aurora Andruska, is no longer there. Australia’s most influential sports administrator, Andrew Demetriou, took the bull by the horns making daily media appearances on the issue declaring the AFL would lead the charge in cleaning up the game and rooting out those responsible. The AFL CEO, Andrew Demetriou, is no longer there. Essendon’s president at the time, David Evans, confirmed the club would do everything it could to be open and supportive of any investigation. In fact, he was so supportive of the investigation and his friend, Andrew Demetriou, that the club had ‘self reported’ only days before the ‘Blackest Day’ press conference. Remarkable timing if we are to believe that Evans wasn’t tipped off by Demetriou – who, as it turns out, had been briefed by the ACC a couple of days before the press conference where it was confirmed Essendon was the club to be targeted. The Essendon president, David Evans, is no longer there. In the early days of the investigation, as many of those in the media reported allegations as fact, and went on to win Walkleys for their revelations, the AFL was peddling furiously to control the narrative. Leaks continued unabated, thrown about like birdseed to vultures who began turning on each other in their fight for the biggest scraps. Essendon was a club under siege as the coach and players were caught in a hundred media spotlights. The athletes genuinely believed they had not broken WADA’s precious code – a lengthy list of substances, often with no scientific research to confirm whether they are performance enhancing or not, and little scientific research to confirm whether they have harmful or restorative effects. The coach’s dismay that the club was accused of being a ‘pharmacologically experimental environment’ was spun to make him the ringmaster of the circus. The AFL had its scapegoat. All that had to be done was to gently fan the flames now spreading through the national and international media. With the AFL finals looming and no charges yet laid the saga was verging on being seen as a sham. A circuit breaker was needed. It came in the form an interim report, never fully disclosed, but selected parts released to show that while there were no drug cheats found (as yet), the coach and the club were deemed to have brought the game into disrepute through lack of governance. Essendon was kicked out of the finals, fined $2 million and coach James Hird suspended for 12 months. It was the sport’s biggest penalty in its 150 year history. Judging by the documents filed by Essendon and ASADA for today’s start of the Federal Court hearing, it would seem the AFL itself had a hand in bringing the sport into disrepute – by not thoroughly investigating supplement programs when first becoming suspicious; by not putting other clubs under similar scrutiny over governance issues; by the leaking of half truths from information protected by statutory authorities; and as evidence now supports – the claim that Essendon was tipped off ahead of the formal ASADA investigation. This is a story of government ministers, a statutory authority (ASADA), the Australian Crime Commission, and the most powerful sport in Australia looking to trump America’s Lance Armstrong moment. It would seem the only thing missing of course is a Lance Armstrong and his coterie of fellow drug cheats. Lets not forget, all those who provided evidence against Lance admitted to cheating themselves. There is not one player at Essendon who thought he was part of a cover up of systemic doping. This is no Lance Armstrong moment. But with such a collection of powerful, high rollers leading this charge, and their collective reputations at stake, it’s easy to be left with the impression that they will somehow create the Lance Armstrong they need. Through it all sport’s cone of silence will remain – not to protect those who most need protecting, but to protect the image of an industry that sells itself as an ideal. As Harvard Professor, Michael Jackson, writes in his book ‘The Politics of Storytelling’ – “For every story that sees the light of day, untold others remain in the shadows, censored, or suppressed”.