No more appeals for Hird

ONE chapter of the Essendon supplements saga is over, with coach James Hird ending his legal fight against the joint ASADA-AFL investigation into the club.

Hird confirmed yesterday afternoon that he would not seek special leave to appeal to the High Court.

It followed the unsuccessful challenge from Hird and the Bombers in the Federal Court last year.

Hird then broke ranks with the club and appealed against that verdict, which was also a resounding failure.

He had until yesterday to initiate a High Court appeal, following the January 30 appeal verdict.

While Hird has ended his legal challenge, he remains adamant the joint investigation was unlawful.

“All the way along, we’ve fought this in the Federal Court, firstly because we believed our players and staff weren’t afforded the rights they deserve,” he said.

“We believe the investigation was unlawful and we’ve fought this on principle.

“It’s been said we’ve tried to suppress evidence, we’ve tried to hide the truth, but that’s far from the truth.

“We believe the investigation was unlawful — we still believe that.”

Hird said his legal fight was over because he and everyone else at Essendon needed to concentrate on football.

“This football club needs to win games of footy and play football,” he said, while also thanking fans for their support.

The next step in the twoyear saga is the AFL antidoping tribunal’s verdicts on 34 current and past Essendon players, expected in the next few weeks.

The tribunal is deliberating on charges over the 2012 supplements program at the club.

“Fundamentally, we still believe our players weren’t treated the way they should have been treated — confidentiality and certain aspects that the average Australian is given,” Hird said. “We hope the players are cleared.”

All 25 players still on Essendon’s list in 2012 are sitting out the pre-season until the tribunal verdicts are known. This is to preserve the anonymity of the charged players.