Jan 12, 2016

AFL

James Hird: WADA used wrong facts

117 Comments

The decision today by WADA is a terrible miscarriage of justice. Probably Easily the worst in history.

When I said I hoped 2016 would be a ‘year of facts’, I was hoping they would be my facts, the ones that suit my worldview.

Unfortunately, WADA have chosen to look at all the facts, many which I have chosen to discount. I like to think it’s the facts I reject that make mine the best.

My facts have been hand selected, like I’m a ‘facts sommelier’, picking facts carefully and thoughtfully while discarding the ones I don’t like.

Being a facts sommelier gives you a far better outcome, a much more palatable one too.

WADA are like some ‘facts Dan Murphy’s’. Just every fact in the world under one roof, with no careful eye on which ones are completely unpalatable.

That’s why we’ve ended up with this result. Every fact has been sampled leaving a bad aftertaste. Like when teenagers make rocket fuel using whatever alcohol is in their parent’s cupboard. Sure, you get a result but it’s rarely a good one.

Is this the world we want to live in? Where unpalatable truths win over carefully crafted narratives?

It’s time to wake up.

The barbarians are at the gate and today we got a glimpse of what it will be like if they get inside.

COMMENTS

RedcliffeScott

Jan 12, 2016

Robfromtaroona TitusOReily Golfer banned 9 mths for beta blocker legally taking. Skiier lost medal on a Canadian Vicks. Essendon?

RedcliffeScott

Jan 12, 2016

Robfromtaroona TitusOReily Golfer banned 9 mths for beta blocker legally taking. Skiier lost medal on a Canadian Vicks. Essendon?

Robfromtaroona

Jan 12, 2016

2012 Brownlow should now go to Cotchin & Mitchell RedcliffeScott TitusOReily

Robfromtaroona

Jan 12, 2016

2012 Brownlow should now go to Cotchin & Mitchell RedcliffeScott TitusOReily

lorrainebomber

Jan 12, 2016

mickvagg did u read CAS report? Stephen Dank accepts NO responsibility, Dean Robinson claims he is a victim yet they get the most mentions.

mickvagg

Jan 12, 2016

lorrainebomber Who hired Dank and Robinson? Who gave them a free hand and helped hide it from the team Dr? Unconscionable conduct

lorrainebomber

Jan 12, 2016

mickvagg did you read the CAS report?

lorrainebomber

Jan 12, 2016

mickvagg Hird did not employ Dank and Robinson. Best to read up on events.

mickvagg

Jan 12, 2016

lorrainebomber Oh that's right, Hird was the one telling them NOT to beef up the players b/c he was happy with their level of strength

lorrainebomber

Jan 12, 2016

mickvagg Dank bought the supplements and injected them. Robinson was complicit as high performance coach.

mickvagg

Jan 12, 2016

lorrainebomber So Hird (who was getting some injections himself) is not responsible at all? He helped hide it, and he knew about it

Jezebel1982

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily on fire today! This is your GF day #guiltynotguilty

au_sesquip

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily "Morality is what I say is right, and immorality is what I say is wrong." GTAVC's Pastor Richards or James Hird?

georgechris67

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily very funny toot toot Wellio adamdepo

paul_newell

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily GrogsGamut "...If only they had used the facts we wanted them to use."

Paul Murphy

Jan 12, 2016

They used the other facts?

Adrian Cellante

Jan 12, 2016

Anthony Violi....... I'm gone lol

Adam D'Aloia

Jan 12, 2016

This is the best day ever.

SJ Yeo

Jan 12, 2016

Derryn Stanley Marcus Yeo Marcus Toovey absolute gold

Travis Ross

Jan 12, 2016

Haha pisser article Damien de Leeuw

Geoff Schaefer

Jan 12, 2016

Chris Gayle should be out hitting on everything that moves today. No one will care for the next 24 hours. No rush baby.

paul_newell

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily GrogsGamut "HIRD: "If only they hadn't used facts at all.....The outcome would have been very much different..."

Dean Morgan

Jan 12, 2016

Travis Hocart Kerryn Edwards Mackenzie Morgan Fergus Morgan John Howell Liz Cowell Mark Stewart I think this is his best yet!

Brad Berry

Jan 12, 2016

Funny read Mark White

Matthew Passmore

Jan 12, 2016

How can a fact be wrong

Tania Lock

Jan 12, 2016

lol Damien Kearney

Daniel Crute

Jan 12, 2016

That's every day for him, anyway.

Sean Lyons

Jan 12, 2016

This story is going to run you out of business, Titus. You only have to cut & paste this stuff. It self-satirises.

Sean Lyons

Jan 12, 2016

Normally if someone adds the word "fact" at the end of a sentence, it tends to lend some suspicion to the fact that the aforementioned fact is indeed factual. Same goes for "That's a fact". Traditionally used only in pubs after 10PM, Hird has seen fit to use it at press conferences/interviews with, it must be said, mixed results.

Simon Wood

Jan 12, 2016

Paul Maguire Peter Clohessy quality

Cody James Miller

Jan 12, 2016

I'm trying to think of a more arrogant person....James Hird - the Kanye West of football?

Damien Kearney

Jan 12, 2016

He gets A for effort

Damien Kearney

Jan 12, 2016

He has destroyed that club. And sadly they allowed him to.

Lynne Featonby

Jan 12, 2016

Facts schmacts. That bloody WADA treated the players like adults, with responsibilities and stuff. How very dare they!?!

Joel Villis

Jan 12, 2016

'Facts Somellier'. This could be your best yet.

John Howell

Jan 12, 2016

Morgsie - you know my position on this - when do you think someone will actually sue young James???

Chris Kendall

Jan 12, 2016

It's always better when James is seen and not Hird.

Paul Murphy

Jan 12, 2016

Even Tanya has left Jimmy.

Julie-Anne Gatehouse

Jan 12, 2016

James Robert Gatehouse "WADA are like some ‘facts Dan Murphy’s" :)

Dave Raus

Jan 12, 2016

Asada said there wasn't enough evidence to prove guilty, so how can they be proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt without any fresh evidence.. Another case of the capital always getting their way.

Ross Butler

Jan 12, 2016

'WADA is a Facts Dan Murphy's' - Top shelf from Titus. (y)

Dean Morgan

Jan 12, 2016

Good question, I have no idea. I this case do the players have any grounds? They have been found guilty for failing to look after themselves, is that anyone else's fault?
Did you read that link? Very funny.

Jed Mahoney

Jan 12, 2016

It's like a pub brawl where all the bystanders wait for the dust to settle before laying the boot in. Salad days.

Craig Lister

Jan 12, 2016

Today is just like Xmas for Titus Greg, Jared & Ashley

Ben Williams

Jan 12, 2016

Jimmy shut up now!

Richard Warren

Jan 12, 2016

Harriet Tolhurst you'll love this

Nadia Paternoster

Jan 12, 2016

James Hird and those in the know, did the wrong thing, and they got found out. People need to take responsibility for their actions. I feel sorry for the players who put trust in people who let them down.

Karin Cullen

Jan 12, 2016

As a PA supporter and member I can't even begin to tell you how pissed of I am.

Stuart Greig

Jan 12, 2016

Mark Robinson - hirdy may have a point here!

Stuart Greig

Jan 12, 2016

Matty a member of mensa?

Rhylie De Graaff

Jan 12, 2016

this is comment is spot on

Dylan Brogan

Jan 12, 2016

Nathan Jackson David Marsh Matthew Pope.
One of the best.

Andrew Worm

Jan 12, 2016

What is the point? The article made no sense...

Peter Moore

Jan 12, 2016

Kyle Kyle Halbert

Lisa Yorston

Jan 12, 2016

Absolute gold, Titus.

Amy Granger

Jan 12, 2016

Lol what an idiot

David Adamson

Jan 12, 2016

What a fkn knob. Hird got Essendon into this situation. He should hang his head in shame. No credibility, responsibility or accountability.

Kyle Halbert

Jan 12, 2016

Haha I like the one which said "this proves our innocence"

Catherine Digney

Jan 12, 2016

This did make me laugh U0001f602

Harriet Tolhurst

Jan 12, 2016

U0001f602U0001f602 'fact sommelier' haha so good!

Lee Greenhalgh

Jan 12, 2016

He reminds me of Comical Ali who went on live TV to deny Iraq was being invaded as an American tank rolled past in the background

Matthew Pope

Jan 12, 2016

Same as the current channel 9 cricket team ran Billy Birmingham out of a job. For the same reason.

David Reed

Jan 12, 2016

Rick Kreeck. Classic.

Ian Swann

Jan 12, 2016

'Players have received a 12-month suspension, meaning they will miss the entire 2016 season, including finals'. Now there's making a positive from a negative if ever I saw one.

Benno Napier

Jan 12, 2016

Dan Murphys of facts ahaha Hamish Parkour Bigwood Jordan Hounsfield

Adam Gregory

Jan 12, 2016

It's not beyond a reasonable doubt. It's not criminal.

Dave Raus

Jan 12, 2016

Really, wasn't aware of that.. Plays well into the hands of the organisations dishing out the punishments

Peter Cosgriff

Jan 12, 2016

What you have done to the careers of these young men is truly shameful and simply walked away.

Dan Degenhardt

Jan 12, 2016

You have to feel for those Bomber fans who put in the hard yards to become experts on the legal system and banned substances so that they could keep the rest of us so emphatically informed, and remind us how little we knew. I'm sure they're out there apologising to family and friends as we speak.

Grant Harrison

Jan 12, 2016

James Hird is a fallen star. He has disgraced the club he was meant to cherish and ruined the careers and lives of so many players and their families. How dare he blame others. He pushed others under the bus while taking his million dollar salary without a care in the world. James Hird - I used to have you up on a pedastal but now you are nothing but a liar and cheat and you should hang your head in shame, man up and apologise for the lives you ruined. Your a massive sook. If you have any friends on trial I truly hope they are not counting on you to provide supporting evidence for them. They will spend a long time in prison as you are the type of bloke who throws women and children behind them while running from the Sharks. Enough said.

Jeremy Keysers

Jan 12, 2016

Love the John West reference

John Howell

Jan 12, 2016

No didn't read yet - what happens now re bombers list???? Should I give them a call

Deborah Cosham

Jan 12, 2016

The wrong facts???? WTF??? That's like saying there is a different version of the truth! ! Crawl back into your hole James - enough damage has been done

Rod Randles

Jan 12, 2016

Asada never said there wasn't enough evidence, 3 AFL randoms,one being Wayne "Moose" Henwood ex Sydney player......Last I checked he was no rode scholar nor an expert on world drug taking.

Maurice Ferdinando

Jan 12, 2016

How caaan FACTS be wrong they are facts.If Hirds pride had not intervenedthe Dons would have been free like CRonula

Leigh Mcgillick

Jan 12, 2016

It's hard for essendon to say that they even know what the facts are given they went out of their way to ensure there were no records kept. It's the same principal the mafia use - don't keep records so you can't be caught. Well guess what, we can all smell the stench

Dean Morgan

Jan 12, 2016

I thought you should have called them last year

andrewkelly

Jan 12, 2016

Hello Rod
Looks like your no Rhodes scholar either

Nick White

Jan 12, 2016

Extraordinary that Hird has decimated the club that gave him everything.

Peter Moore

Jan 12, 2016

Haha he is gold really

John Howell

Jan 12, 2016

You are a good kid - always pumping up my tyres!!!

Dean Morgan

Jan 12, 2016

How many of their players could run out of defence spinning the ball on their fingers?

Ross Ramsey

Jan 12, 2016

Haha.
Unfortunately his legacy has been tarnished forever.

Dave Raus

Jan 12, 2016

All the need is a comfortable satisfaction, that's the level the need to say yay or nay

Graeme Fish

Jan 12, 2016

Haha, didn't know Tania and James were still in the country. Great investigative journalism Titus!

Libby Kaufman

Jan 12, 2016

If they're facts - they can't wrong

Wes Grainger

Jan 12, 2016

Maybe the bombers were hard done by Clint Grainger U0001f609

Gordon McNeill

Jan 12, 2016

Knew it
Bloody wada use the right facts!

Rosie Williams

Jan 12, 2016

Don't be ridiculous !! They WERE crooks and, received the appropriate sanctions!!
At last !!!!

Rusty Bolt

Jan 12, 2016

disgraceful how that was handled

Shavenewok

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily any truth to the rumour a win against Essendon will only be worth 2 points this year?

magpie_042

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily is el Chapo available again?

pwoiter

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily
Don't understand why these players get punished whilst Goodes gets away with pointing at someone who calls him an ape.

brknhed

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily as we all know there are good facts, bad facts and facts that suit the story. Hard for those who wish to deal only with facts.

GlennMcCallum

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily current queue for his $33 a head extravaganza at the end of the week #standbyturd http://twitter.com/GlennMcCallum/status/686843479444471808/photo/1

Rosa Frassoni

Jan 12, 2016

...and you know the principals the mafia use? Interesting!

bacardi_jr

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily Quite possibly. Your best yet. I read it three hours ago and have got my explosions of laughter down to a giggle now

TitusOReily

Jan 12, 2016

bacardi_jr cheers mate

raineoo5

Jan 12, 2016

TitusOReily Excellent work Titus!

TitusOReily

Jan 12, 2016

raineoo5 thanks

Doug Pell

Jan 12, 2016

I saw the Godfather movies,lol

Matthew Drane

Jan 12, 2016

Looking forward to the day all the facts are on the table, so that Hirdy & the boys are in a very good place.

Doug Pell

Jan 12, 2016

They were guilty of lack of governance of a system of cheating to obtain an unfair advantage. the drugs that were jabbed into their systems at the time were on the WADA list of banned drugs, when are you Essendon supporters going to accept that this decision is final and your club has let you down, simple as that.

Rick Kreeck

Jan 12, 2016

Ha! Doesn't James know that even if you call it Grange, you rave about it like it's Grange and you have players signing a form consenting to drink their Grange on the quiet, it doesn't mean jack when Dank is in the kitchen with a goon bag and a trade account with Chateau Dapto.

Clint Grainger

Jan 12, 2016

Facts schmacts. You can prove anything with facts. 40% of people know that!

Dave Raus

Jan 12, 2016

It's called being blinded by loyalty to your club & your an arseclown if you think you wouldn't do it to your own club either.
That's ok next time a players knee has blown out & can't walk & they jab him with cortisone so he can play on I'll turn a blind eye.. That's a "legal steroid". But still highly beneficial even more so than the peptides. Next time I read that players take a hand full of uppers before a game to benefit from the effects & then jump on the stilnox to come down & sleep I'll pretend it doesn't happen. Next time I go out to a club & a group of players smashing lines in the toilets I'll go yeah thats ok they want to gain an advantage on the dance floor.

Don Joiner

Jan 12, 2016

It was all his fault the AFL should ban him from all AFL grounds and activities for LIFE. He has dragged the name Essendon into the gutter and pretends everything is OK. The man has NO SHAME

Adam Dahl

Jan 12, 2016

Hird is a sociopath.

Gio Felicia

Jan 12, 2016

James hird and his Co horts should be deported to Syria !

Andrew O'Keefe

Jan 12, 2016

Eh dood pls

Norm Baker

Jan 12, 2016

Georgia Georgia Murphy, Mata Hari.

Mata Hari

Jan 12, 2016

Its a Jimmy Thing !

Norm Baker

Jan 12, 2016

No it's an arrogant, egotistical self absorbed, contentious thing!

Mata Hari

Jan 12, 2016

Ha! Yes, all of those. "Jimmy Thing" is a Dave Mathews Band SONG U0001f3b6U0001f601

Mandarin Soy

Jan 12, 2016

Thanks for making me laugh this morning Titus! If anyone saw AFL360 Essendon special last night, Robbo might as well have worn his Bombers Guernsey on the show last nite..

StephenKaye

Jan 13, 2016

Would love to read your comments Titus on Robbo's performance on AFL 360 last night.  What a train wreck......reckon Gill is still giggling.

Joanne Everett

Jan 13, 2016

As the song goes,(In these shoes? Let's do it here). Will the truth ever be hird?