Over 16 months after Essendon self-reported its 2012 supplement program to the AFL on February 5 last year, ASADA appear to have finally taken action on Thursday.
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It’s been reported the show-cause notices are in relation to the alleged use of peptide thymosin beta 4, yet there has been no confirmation of this from AFL House and indeed no statement whatsoever from the league.
A statement on the Essendon website simply read:
“Essendon Football Club is not in a position to comment on any matter relating to its players and the ASADA investigation.
“The Club will continue to act in the best of interest of its players and respect the integrity and confidentiality of this process.
“Essendon chairman Paul Little will address the media tomorrow afternoon.”
If the 34 past and present players have been issued with show-cause notices, they will have 10 days to respond to ASADA and explain why they should not be issued with infraction notices for breaching the WADA code.
ASADA’s move appears to have taken Essendon by surprise but a letter to club members from Bombers chairman Paul Little earlier in Thursday would suggest a lengthy legal battle ahead.
“Unfortunately there has not been any significant developments or relevant information made available to the club in recent weeks," Little said.
"Our players are still carrying the heavy burden of continued speculation in the media with no concrete timetable for the ASADA process to conclude - this has been incredibly frustrating for us all.
"However, I can confirm we are exploring all legal options for our players in the unlikely event they receive show cause letters from ASADA.
"We make no apologies for that.”
Essendon great Tim Watson – the father of injured skipper Jobe – worried the whole saga has the potential to drag on for a lengthy time.
“What we will know very shortly is there will be some legal action launched by the Essendon Football Club, and what happens after that is anyone’s guess,” Watson told Channel 7 news.
The news from ASADA completes a horror day for new AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan during his first week officially in the job, after Collingwood’s Dane Swan was linked with a charity event attended by Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto.