TWENTY years ago, growing up through my teens, the thing I hated being around most was smoke. It was a grotesque smell that would get in my lungs, making me cough and splutter. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have a cigarette in my mouth.
Yet there was also a mystique to it. The temptation to try it wasn't so much a need to have that foul taste in my mouth but more a means to look "cool" like everyone else. It seemed like everybody did it.
Then, all of a sudden, the dangers of smoking became apparent. Awareness programs popped up everywhere. Sport refused to accept sponsorship from tobacco companies. Legislation was changed, graphic advertisements aired.
Cigarette packets were covered with dire warnings about nicotine and its addictive qualities, and graphic photographs of lung cancer victims formed part of a comprehensive education process. Pubs and clubs joined the fight and now smoking is banned inside.
Sounds like anything else you know? What's the 2007 equivalent to cigarettes of 20 years ago? Illicit drugs. The awareness campaign has begun all over again. And society has another fight on its hands.
If you walk down the street or sit on a bus today, odds are that someone you pass or sit across from could be on drugs. As a parent of young children, the whole thing is horrifying.
Should we be so surprised and shocked that even our sporting champions succumb to the addictive qualities of drugs? Not at all.
Because no one is immune and if there is one thing that I learnt from a ride I did in 2005 to help raise money for Teen Challenge — a drug rehabilitation clinic for kids — it is there is no such thing as a social drug user. When you are in, you are in. You cannot control it because it controls you.
I'm proud of the role AFL players, through the AFL Players Association and the AFL, have played in the campaign to combat this ever-increasing problem. They identified an issue that was a growing trend in football and have chosen to hit it head-on via voluntary out-of-competition testing for illicit drugs.
The question is how long do the players fight alone? How long until others jump on board and attack the problem as a unified group? Are we going to accept people who try to pull the whole thing apart in one fell swoop?
We have the opportunity to learn from past sins and attack the issue of illicit drugs faster than ever before. Through the diverse media outlets we have as part of the football family, we have a chance to educate people on the dangers of these substances and put measures in place to quell their massive influence.
The AFL and its players are not just fighting to prevent the release of confidential medical records of players but drugs themselves. If the injunction at the heart of the ongoing drugs controversy is not upheld then the fight has been lost because players cannot tackle it alone, and the policy via which the AFL and its players have been doing their utmost to combat this enormous problem is in grave doubt. The collective playing group won't stand there and cop rabbit punches time and again. Eventually, we need all parts of the football family to join forces.
Football is only a small part of society but, through its profile, has the capacity to play a big role. Just as we want to educate athletes who have been tempted by the lure of whatever it is that illicit drugs offer, we need to help educate the general public. To say it is not acceptable to take drugs and to set a standard that hopefully people will follow.
It is time to follow the AFL's lead and extend this policy across all sports across Australia. Andrew Johns slipped through the system because, until this year, rugby league and other sports follow only the WADA code. They test only for illicit drugs in competition. There is no out-of-competition testing.
We saw the impact this had on Johns' life and after being caught he has sought rehabilitation and forgiveness. He's undertaken an approach that is at the very heart of the philosophy embraced by the AFL and its players.
I support the AFLPA's right to retaliation. I would fully understand any players now thinking "why should we bother?" I'd understand if the AFLPA decided to walk away from the commitment to voluntary out-of-competition testing for illicit drugs.
Confidentiality in this circumstance is nothing new or special. It is based on the philosophical right that each individual has to receive medical advice on a confidential basis. For that confidentiality to be breached not once but twice, and for private medical records that were apparently stolen to be purchased and broadcast is unacceptable. The fight against drugs is dependent on the total commitment of all concerned. Football can only make a worthwhile contribution if we have a united voice. And that's not just the players and the AFL but everyone associated with the game.
Self-interest must be put aside to allow the football industry to utilise the privileged position and power it has for the common good. Is one headline or a 30-second news report worth all the damage it can do? And if that is not seen by the powers that be who wish to have this private information released, then I say "God help us all".
