Collingwood CEO Gary Pert says clubs are committed to the health of their players. Source: Herald Sun
COLLINGWOOD chief executive Gary Pert has slammed his AFL Players Association counterpart, Matt Finnis, for his "inaccurate, ignorant and inflammatory'' comments about illicit drug use in the AFL.
Pert, who privately raised concerns about football's growing drug culture at the club CEOs meeting on the Gold Coast last month, took issue with a column Finnis wrote about the issue in today's Herald Sun.
In an email to Finnis, which was also circulated to AFL boss Andrew Demetriou and the other club CEOs, Pert wrote: "I thought the entire article was very disappointing and, ironically, misleading, one-sided and not a truthful reflection of what is occurring in the industry at the moment.''
"I noticed you took the opportunity to take a swipe at officials who were just posturing and speculating, and CEOs and presidents who were just looking for a cop-out .... I may remind you that officials, CEOs, presidents and boards have done a very good job at looking after the players' best interests for over 100 years, way before a players association was even thought of.
"I also stress that the clubs, including the CEOs and boards, are committed to the health of all club stakeholders including the players.
"We cannot continue to allow the disciplined players, club supporters and other club stakeholders to have their reputations tarnished by the undisciplined behaviour of a few."
Finnis wrote in his column that "unfortunately it seems there will always be people who want to spread misinformation about the issue and muddy the waters with sensationalised claims.''
Pert's response was "ironically, that was clearly the intent of your article''.
Finnis said today he would address Pert's concerns directly with him and not in a public forum.
Read Matt Finnis's full column here
The Collingwood boss said he believed the players association was grandstanding by "taking pot shots'' at those who sought to offer constructive criticism for a significant industry issue. Instead, he felt Finnis could have raised his concerns at next month's AFL forum established specifically to take the issue of drug use.
I have not heard a single CEO shoot down the testing regime.
"It serves no purpose to have a public debate in the papers about a serious and sensitive issue like this. I remind you that while some details did leak out from the CEOs conference, the CEOs discussions have all been in a confidential, private forum to avoid this exact scenario," Pert wrote.
He also denied that the clubs believed the AFL's illicit drugs policy was no good, rather that there were ways to improve its effectiveness.
"I have not heard a single CEO shoot down the testing regime regardless of their thoughts," Pert wrote.
"In fact, your comments that there is room for improvement are the only public comments that reflect that change is required."
He acknowledged that "we share a common commitment to deal with the issue of illicit drug use by AFL players. As leaders though, we must also maintain the professional standards and integrity of the entire AFL."
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