AFL great Kevin Sheedy has come under fire after he made “nonsense demands” of the league and re-listed Essendon’s darkest chapter.
Essendon legend Kevin Sheedy has left footy figures stunned after recent comments brought the club’s ugly drug saga back to the surface.
The club, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this Friday night against Carlton in the MCG, has been thrown into murky waters thanks to the AFL icon’s comments.
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Sheedy blew the AFL over its handling of the drug saga that rocked the club, saying the league should apologize to the Bombers.
“The AFL should apologize…and they probably wouldn’t have the courage to apologize to Essendon,” Sheedy told the Herald Sun† “They were pathetic decisions from the past.
“Looking back, I would think the AFL didn’t do it very smartly.
“There wasn’t one positive drug test in that entire drug saga and that hasn’t been the case for 10 years. All those players and everyone involved during that period were sentenced for suspicion.
“They were never found guilty in the eyes of positive tests.
“It’s 10 years. What am I supposed to do, wait another 10 years until I’m 85 years old, until they’re acquitted? It is a shame.”
AFL journalists Caroline Wilson and Damian Barrett were shocked by the comments, with Wilson criticizing their timing.
“Kevin Sheedy’s nonsensical demands today, referring to the most crippling period in the club’s history, were the last thing Essendon needed as it geared up for its big 150th celebration against Carlton on Friday night,” Wilson said. Footy classified†
“The AFL was not very smart with the saga according to Kevin. Seriously, Kevin? What about Essendon?
“Frankly, there’s no need for this rogue, cheerleading and truthful behavior either, as James Hird returns to the club for the pre-game celebrations.”
The fallout from the supplement saga forced 34 players to be banned for 12 months, Jobe Watson was forced to return his Brownlow Medal and James Hird was suspended as coach.
Barrett, along with Wilson, were stunned by the timing, saying he simply couldn’t understand the reasoning behind Sheedy’s comments.
“Not for the first time, I have no idea what Kevin Sheedy is doing,” Barrett said AFL Daily†
“To rightly refer to this period in the life of this football club – when it celebrates this big moment on this particular Saturday night at a gala event – and for him to basically volunteer everyone in the industry to return.” going to the darkest time (is bizarre).
“There are layers in it that also confuse me. He is a director of the club and he would be the only director, I think, of any club who would have carte blanche to make public comments, let alone such comments at this particular moment.
“In the end, he won’t care what we and others have to say about this. He won’t care if his own club chooses to quietly say, ‘Hey Sheeds, what were you doing?’
“I also imagine there’s an element of Kevin Sheedy’s big distraction around all of this… he’d make headlines everywhere if it were up to him to change the negative narrative surrounding the Essendon footy club.
“At the same time, I just have no idea why he would do it this week.?
“He chose to go down that road. He volunteered all of this again, out of the blue, this week, allowing everyone to see it for themselves in their own way, through their own lens.
“I’m regularly confused about the words that come out of that man’s mouth – and I’m just as confused this morning as ever.”
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