Ben Cousins Last Chance

**Blood Oath** · 22nd March 2007, 10:05 PM

Just showed on the Footy Show Dalton Goodings comments on last weeks show that it was Benny Boys last chance.
Craig Hutchison just reporting that the father has admitted that his son is suffering from substance abuse and they want him to be given the privacy & opportunity to overcome this, especially the media.
My thoughts- how many last chances does one man get? (depends on how good you are in the game)
Why should the media go easy, they go at players that have been involved in fights and are drunken?
How can the general public feel sorry for a man that is earning $800,000 that has put himself in this position?
He needs rehab, obviously he has not had to drug test, or the club is covering for him!

**Blood Oath** · 22nd March 2007, 10:24 PM

Worsfold has just said - "From July last year there has been a problem with Ben turning up to training, was written to to let him know it wasn't appropriate"
Lets hit the bloke with a wet lettuce, not do anything about it, put our head in the sand cos he is such a great player. Gee, i really wanna be an AFL footballer now!!!

**Zlatorog** · 23rd March 2007, 06:08 AM

Sorry for asking, but why do we need another Benny thread?
Mods, can we have just one Benny threads so that people can dump their thoughts about that subject. This is now becoming tedious.

**Legs Akimbo** · 23rd March 2007, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by Zlatorog

Sorry for asking, but why do we need another Benny thread?
Mods, can we have just one Benny threads so that people can dump their thoughts about that subject. This is now becoming tedious.

This thread is about John Worsfold.

At the start of the interview he said he had been working with Cousins for a long time (i.e. since last July) and then indicated that he could not do anything about 'it' (i.e. elephant in living room) because there had been no positive drug test. He states that Cousins and others have lied to him about taking drugs and that therefore there is nothing he can do.

Worsfold did not come out of that interview with a skerrick of grace. The correct thing to do was obvious - suspend Cousins for 'not turning up to training' and have the AFL undertake say, weekly targetted drug tests on all players where they knew (and they did know by the sound of it) that there were drug issues. But no, none of this was done. It was clearly not done because a premiership was more important to the club.

Complete moral failure.

***goswannie14*** · 23rd March 2007, 08:16 AM

LA, I agree with you, it is not JUST Cousins fault. Obviously he has to take the blame for his habit, but when management know about it and do nothing, then they MUST be held accountable too.

Those who cover up crimes, of which taking illicit drugs is one, are just as guilty (as an accessory) as those who are using.

**j s** · 23rd March 2007, 08:17 AM

Perhaps Cousins' suspension should be backdated to (say) September, with all goals kicked by him retroactively disallowed.

**ScottH** · 23rd March 2007, 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by j s

Perhaps Cousins' suspension should be backdated to (say) September, with all goals kicked by him retroactively disallowed.

If Only.

I wonder how many other players, from any club, just got a severe wake up call?

**reigning premier** · 23rd March 2007, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by goswannie14

LA, I agree with you, it is not JUST Cousins fault. Obviously he has to take the blame for his habit, but when management know about it and do nothing, then they MUST be held accountable too.

Those who cover up crimes, of which taking illicit drugs is one, are just as guilty (as an accessory) as those who are using.

I'd disagree.... They may have known about it, but they couldn't prove it.. i.e. no positive tests. You can't blame your boss at work when you get @@@@@@ because he/she gave you a bonus can you???? If he's denying it, as alleged above, they're pretty powerless.

They might have suspected, but using the old tenet of innocent until proven guilty, it was out of their hands....

And rightfully so. I like being responsible for my actions. But then again, I like being an adult...

**Legs Akimbo** · 23rd March 2007, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by reigning premier

I'd disagree.... They may have known about it, but they couldn't prove it.. i.e. no positive tests. You can't blame your boss at work when you get @@@@@@ because he/she gave you a bonus can you???? If he's denying it, as alleged above, they're pretty powerless.

They might have suspected, but using the old tenet of innocent until proven guilty, it was out of their hands....

And rightfully so. I like being responsible for my actions. But then again, I like being an adult...

I didn't suggest they should have unilaterally suspended him for suspected drug taking. I suggested that they should have suspended him for not turning up to training. I also suggested they target others with intensive drug tested. Atheletes of all types are employed under different circumstances and set of covenants to regular salaried employees. This includes not taking illegal recreational drugs. This is why Woosher went out of his way, when asked, to say he did not think it is okay for players to take drugs if on field performances are unaffected. Most would be horrified if an AFL club were ambivilent about off-field recreational drug use. Would you want your kids playing for a club like that? None of this absolves personal responsibility - it is not mutually exclusive with third party or employer responsibility.