The club chief executive has resigned, the chairman is exhausted and has pulled the pin as well.
The senior coach’s lofty reputation is tarnished nearly every day and the captain – another Brownlow Medallist – has publicly said he believes he took an anti-obesity drug not yet approved for human use.
But all that was only the preamble to the main event.
The AFL hopes that some time this month, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) will report its findings after a six-month investigation into last year’s supplements program at Essendon.
Once ASADA has handed down its verdict, the AFL can decide what action it will take.
The potential ramifications are massive.
The worst-case scenario for Essendon is that ASADA bans players for doping, then the AFL wades in with its own punishments.
The AFL has the scope to end Essendon’s run to the finals by removing premiership points.
Taking away draft picks, suspensions, fines and even stripping captain Jobe Watson of last year’s Brownlow Medal are other options for the league.
Even if ASADA clears Essendon, the AFL could still punish the club for bringing the game into disrepute.
But that is all speculation until ASADA hands down its results.
There has been speculation that ASADA will report as early as next Monday. Others say their findings are weeks away. ASADA is saying precious little publicly.
“ASADA has a duty of care to be both thorough and accurate in every step of its process. A number of issues are being worked though before finalising the process,” a spokesman said on Thursday.
The AFL has two very good reasons for wanting an ASADA resolution this month.
First, and most obviously, everyone wants this done as quickly as possible. Since Essendon announced on February 5 they would be under investigation, it’s been an almighty mess.
Coach James Hird, the 1996 Brownlow Medallist and the man at the centre of this storm, made a reasonable point a week ago when he warned this had the potential to affect people permanently.
It certainly affected the health of chairman David Evans to the point where he collapsed last Friday night in the Essendon changerooms.
The following evening, Evans dramatically resigned.
Evans joined chief executive Ian Robson as the most senior casualties of the club’s anti-doping crisis.
Robson stood down after the May release of an independent investigation that Essendon commissioned.
The club had brought in former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski to look at their governance and processes. Or – how the hell did this happen?
Switkowski’s report was damning, referring to a “pharmacologically enhanced environment” last year at the club.
Then came Watson’s bombshell on television that he believes he was given AOD9604, one of the key substances in the supplements saga.
Watson is adamant he has not broken the anti-doping code. Hird and Essendon also insist there have been no doping offences.
But until ASADA reports, no-one knows for sure.
Meanwhile, the strain and stress continues.
Most recently, Essendon’s former fitness coach Dean Robinson unloaded on Hird and Essendon in a wide-ranging paid interview with Channel Seven.
The Bombers strenuously deny many of Robinson’s allegations. But they can’t stop the mud slinging.
The second reason the AFL want ASADA reporting in August is everyone has one eye on what comes next month – finals.
It’s unlikely, but the nightmare scenario for the league is that ASADA announces doping charges against Essendon during September.
For now, only a very small group of people knows exactly what will happen, and when.
