AFL, ASADA want lifetime ban for Dank

Stephen Dank, the central figure in Essendon’s supplements program, allegedly wanted to use an untested racehorse drug on AFL players at the club.

News Corp Australia has published a 43-page document which claims to be a transcript of the AFL anti-doping tribunal penalty hearing on Dank last Tuesday.

In the document, ASADA lawyer Malcolm Holmes and AFL counsel Renee Enbom agree a lifetime ban is the just punishment.

Dank, who was not present at the hearing and failed to send a legal representative, has maintained his innocence throughout the scandal.

Much of the evidence discussed in the document is in line with the findings of Dr Ziggy Switkowski’s report in 2013, which detailed a “disturbing picture of a pharmacologically experimental environment”.

Enbom details an alleged series of SMS messages between Dank and compounding pharmacist Nima Alavi in 2012.

“I have discovered a new polymer which will provide slow release system while repairing damaged cell walls. Intra muscular injection … it’s amazing and being used in the US for elite horseracing,” Alavi reportedly wrote.

Dank’s response is “perfect. Let’s get going”.

In further messages, Alavi notes it has been used for “a few dental injections for periodontal sockets but not for sporting … amazing repair properties”.

Dank’s response is “well, let’s test a couple of players”.

Also in the document, Holmes notes how Dank was “completely disinterested” in players’ health.

Dank was found guilty of 10 violations of the AFL anti-doping code in April.

The breaches included trafficking, attempting to traffick and complicity in matters related to a range of prohibited substances.

They largely cover his work as the mastermind of Essendon’s 2012 supplements program, but also dealings with Gold Coast and a member of Carlton’s support staff.

Earlier this year, the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed it would appeal the AFL anti-doping tribunal’s decision to clear 34 present and former Essendon players of using banned substances.

No date has been set for the Court of Arbitration for Sport case, but it is expected to occur after the AFL season finishes.

The Bombers started the season brightly, but have slipped to 13th on the ladder heading into the mid-season bye.

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