SWING, BATTA BATTA BATTA! SA-WING BATTA!!

Three strikes and you’re out!

That’s how it’s supposed to roll, isn’t it?

But how many of you knew about this little ‘escape clause’?  The loophole that allows our elite AFL footballers to get away with drug use?

I didn’t, and I’m really pissed about it.

Nothing infuriates me more than this stupid three strikes policy.

The AFL will explain that three ‘three strikes’ give players an opportunity to seek help, counselling or rehabilitation.  A change to clean up and start again.  It’s so the players know that their lives won’t be ruined, that their careers won’t be over; that they have a chance at redemption. 

After all, everyone fucks up once in a while, don’t they?

It also gives the players a chance to get away with it.  To abuse the system.  Isn’t that the Aussie way?  Test the boundaries and see what we can get away with?  Rort the system?  Take advantage?

So basically, this is how the loophole works.  If you, as a player, advise the AFL or the medical staff that you have used drugs at a point in time where you’ve been tested (basically, telling them when they test you that they will find drugs in your system), then no ‘strikes’ will be recorded against you.

No strikes.

So, instead of being firm and saying ‘three strikes and it’s over, baby’, the AFL are saying ‘do what the fuck you like, as long as you tell us.’

Fuck me.

I will be the first person to say that I really know fuck all about AFL footy.  I don’t understand the game anymore; there are too many rules now.  Players are pulled up for I don’t fucken know what, and the flow of the game seems lost to me.  The days of long bombs, speckies, biffo, quick conversions and flowing games are gone.  I watch footy now, and I seriously don’t know what the fuck is going on.

Charlie hates watching the footy with me, because I’m forever ‘What happened?’ ‘What was that for?’ ‘What did he do wrong there?’ ‘WTF?’  I’d be shitty at me too.

It’s all just about money, muscles, sponsorship, television rights, tattoos, WAG’s and players fucking up their knees all the time.

Now, the real beast, who’s been quietly working in the shadows, manipulating, controlling, destroying, is starting to come into the light, and he’s casting a mighty big shadow across the game.

After all of this Lance Armstrong drug confession bullshit of late, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to learn that some players are using performance enhancing drugs.  Some have suffered great injuries, and may turn to it to improve their fitness.  Some aren’t strong enough or fast enough, so they’re turning to some pharmaceutical assistance.

I understand that.  I don’t accept it; but I get it. 

What I don’t get, is their need to take illicit, recreational drugs.  This is a completely different evil.

I could bang on here about Ben Cousins, and how drugs hooked him in and fucked up his life, but it would appear that, so far, his life is going just fine.  He fucked himself up, cleaned himself up (apparently), got back in the game and finished his career.

He basically got away with it. 

The irony here, is not once did the AFL produce a positive drug test for him.  Not once.  He bought the game into disrepute.  That was his only crime, and he was demonised for it.

Ironic that a lot of players who fuck up behind the wheel of a car, or get into fights and brawls, or glass and bash their partners, or assault women, or try to murder people still seem to be running around the paddock…

The AFL has explained that the life of a player is a difficult one.  There are immense pressures on their shoulders, and sometimes life can be incredibly stressful for them.

So? 

That’s part of the deal, isn’t it?  If you reckon you can perform at that level, then you better deliver.  It’s not all glory and fame my friends; the weight of expectation is upon you.  That’s life in the spotlight, I’m afraid.

I can appreciate that sometimes these young kids’ sign up for deals, and no one knows if they can handle it until the ball starts bouncing (pardon the pun).  For some of them, the pressure gets to them, and they seek comfort in whatever way they can.

Their young, fit, good looking, famous, and playing in a glamorous game.  They’d be like a beacon to the underworld; the dirty dogs that peddle their wares to the unprepared.  The innocent.  The weak.

That’s what it is.  The stress of the game can produce a mental weakness that needs comforting.  Peer pressure, performance pressure, public pressure; it will all contribute to the decision that kid makes when he accepts that ‘little something’ to take the edge off.

That little something that hooks him in, and ruins his life.

This is where things can become quite tragic.  These are the kids I feel sorry for.  They get swallowed up and spat out by the AFL mill.  Just another name in The Record that eventually, we will forget.

However, it could also be a case of simply seeking a good time.  Young bucks on the prowl, wanting to max their fun, and getting on the gear without thinking they’d ever get caught.

The fame swells them; they start believing and living the hype, and they feel ten foot tall and bulletproof.  Invincible.  Untouchable.

But they’re not. 

A fox can only run for so long before the dogs catch him.  Though, if those dogs are the AFL, when they do catch you, they’ll give you a second chance at life.

So, the foxes are safe.  And always will be, because they can confess their sins and be cleansed.

Only to do it all over again.

So the AFL is having a massive Drug Summit this week to discuss these very loopholes in the policy; the loopholes that are letting these cunning foxes slip through.

Here’s a suggestion: zero tolerance.  No ‘confessions’ to cleanse the soul.  Two strikes; you’re gone.

After the first strike, get counselling, rehabilitation, and guidance; whatever the fuck you need to get clean and get off the gear.  Stop socializing with the people that bring you down.  Change your life, clean yourself up, and take seriously the gift that you’ve been given, and the opportunity granted.

If there’s a second strike, see ya later.  No more changes.  Gone.

Harsh?  Yep.  It is, and it needs to be. 

If players understood the severity of the punishment, maybe they would think twice before fucking up, because clearly, the policy in place is not working properly.  Not if players can confess and clear the slate.  Not if players think they can get away with it.  Not if the foxes can escape through the loophole.

Now, I’m not making light of a drug addiction here.  It’s serious, and I completely understand that.  It’s an all-consuming, soul destroying disease that takes you over.  Drugs are a numbing agent, designed to take you away from the life you have, and help you forget.

Issues around severe drug use can run very, very deep, and I sympathise with people that are lost to it.  I really do.

However, these boys are playing with fire, and they won’t win.  It’ll take them, which is why they need to be careful.  Which is why they need to see and understand, the consequences of their choices.

What may just start as a good time, just partying and living life, can turn into something much more sinister.  This is where the first strike comes in.  Sorts the players from the addicts.  Helps the AFL and the club involved determine which direction needs to be taken.

It’s the fork in the road; one way is a slap on the hand with a simple ‘pull your head in’; another is rehab, counselling, etc.; and another one just leads to darkness.

The first strike is a chance to start again.

Maybe I’m wrong? Maybe I’m coming at it from a completely incorrect angle?  By my own confessions, I’m pretty ignorant about the game.  However, one must wonder what needs to be done to clean up the sport.  Maybe it’s too complex?  Maybe it all just needs to be simple.

And clean.

I will be watching the results of this Drug Summit very, very closely, as I, like quite a few other supporters, want to see some serious action toward change.

Peace out.