editorial comment Impossible! Drug users are all losers. It's not possible for them to have any type of job whatsoever.

AFL players used illicit drugs such as ecstasy "from time to time", the league's football operations manager Adrian Anderson has said.

But Anderson refused to say whether former Carlton player Laurence Angwin was right or wrong when claiming illicit drug use was commonplace within the AFL.

With the league already embroiled in a debate over players using caffeine, Angwin claimed in The Bulletin magazine recreational drug use was rife among AFL players.

He said three other Carlton players were taking ecstasy along with he and teammate Karl Norman the night before the duo tested positive to the drug last year.

Angwin was sacked by the club, while Norman was fined and suspended.

"I believe that illicit drugs are used in society and they are used from time to time in football," Anderson told reporters in Adelaide.

"It is an issue in society, the use of these drugs, and footballers are part of society and the use of these drugs can happen in football like it happens anywhere else."

Carlton coach Denis Pagan slammed Angwin's claim that three higher-profile Blues were involved in illicit drug-taking, saying the allegations were unfounded and questioning his credibility.

But Anderson, in a somewhat farcical media conference outside the Adelaide Crows' headquarters, refused to directly answer questions about Angwin's claims or the wider issue of illicit drug use within the AFL.

"We have introduced a new illicit drugs policy this year and we're testing for illicit drugs more than we ever have before," he said in a stock line repeated in some variation 13 times in answer to reporters' questions.

He said the number of AFL players who tested positive for illicit drugs was "less than the incidence in the community".

Under the AFL's illicit drug testing program, medical officers at clubs are informed of any positive result, but the results are kept secret from the media and public.

"The incidence of drug use (by AFL players) has been well below what there has been in society," Anderson said.

Anderson conceded Angwin's claims damaged the image of the AFL, but said he had given no thought as to whether Angwin would be interviewed by the league about the allegations.

But Pagan wasn't holding back over Angwin's claims.

Angwin was axed in April 2004 following his positive drug test - the final straw for the club after he had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of burglary and theft.

"He had the opportunity to play AFL football, but it was his repeated misconduct that led to his playing contract being terminated by the club.

"The fact that he chose to make such unfounded comments some 13 months later, and not taken up the opportunity for assistance offered by the Carlton Football Club and the AFL Players' Association, certainly questions his credibility."

Pagan said it was Carlton's senior players who alerted the club to Angwin and Norman being under the influence of ecstasy at training - which led to them being tested by the club.

Pagan said the club had conducted its own investigations and found nothing to suggest other players were involved in illicit drug-taking.

"The matter was fully investigated at the time and there was no evidence to suggest any other player was involved," Pagan said.

"As coach of the Carlton Football Club, I can tell you that I fully support the playing group."

Pagan said he had every confidence in the AFL's drug-testing regimen and that those who took drugs would eventually be found out and pay the price.

back | to top | full article >>