'Staggered' Malthouse condemns AFL over drug response
Mick Malthouse has delivered a passionate plea to the AFL to implement harsher penalties for illicit drug use following an allegation in federal parliament.
In one of the biggest bombshells in the sport’s history, federal MP Andrew Wilkie revealed discussions with a former Melbourne Demons doctor, claiming that off-the-books drug testing had been implemented at the club.
Players were reportedly told to “fake an injury” in order to cheat the system. AFL boss Andrew Dillon responded on Wednesday, failing to deny the allegations and claiming it was “private medical information” between a doctor and player.
Speaking on Nine’s A Current Affair, Malthouse, a former Collingwood coach, expressed his disbelief regarding the allegations and the AFL’s response.
“I’m staggered and I’m so disappointed … this is a great game, this is a game that should go forwards and not backwards,” Malthouse said.
“That [AFL response] is a kick in the teeth, more so than the bombshell itself. I just can’t come to grips that all club doctors are part of it, the AFL hierarchy have been part of it. Coaches, and certainly the ones I’ve spoken to, we are left in the dark.
“I reckon there will be a lot of sponsorship in question and a lot of people will be sitting back and saying this is not a good image. If they are fair dinkum, some of these sponsors, they will be thinking that our product and AFL don’t mix.
“I might be just a 70-year-old dinosaur, but there’s a lot of 70-year-old dinosaurs out there who watch the game and they feel as though they have been cheated. What they want is a transparency that sees their side run down the race
