BEN Cousins' day of judgement was a tumultuous 12 months in the making and wrapped up in a 90-second statement in which the disgraced footballer meekly accepted his fate.

The famed Cousins cockiness was largely absent after the AFL Commission found him guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and suspended him for 12 months.

"I am bitterly disappointed that I cannot continue to play football but that's not to say I have given up hope of doing so in the future," he said in a statement he had memorised.

"I would like to stress the fact that I am overcoming drug addiction, which is an ongoing process. Contrary to media reports, I am a lot further down the track in my rehabilitation than has been reported."

The AFL Commission, sitting at its Docklands headquarters, began its eight-hour hearing at 9am. After avoiding the media by slipping in through a side door, the sacked West Coast player gave evidence for almost an hour before spending the afternoon sweating on the deliberations of the eight commissioners.

It was a family affair, the 29-year-old flanked in his brief press conference by his mother Stephanie and father Bryan, along with manager Ricky Nixon and his lawyer. The 2005 Brownlow medallist began with a mea culpa, thanking the Commission for a fair hearing, and apologising to the AFL, players and supporters.

Detail of the evidence that led to Cousins' guilty verdict remains scant. The charges were brought after Cousins was arrested in Perth in October over possession of a prohibited drug and refusing a driver assessment test, but the police charges that cost Cousins his job were eventually dropped. Charges may also be pending in the United States after an alleged cocaine binge in Los Angeles earlier this month.

AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and chief commissioner Andrew Demetriou refused to go into detail: "We had a full and frank discussion for several hours and we have agreed to maintain the confidentiality of that discussion," Demetriou said.

"It was a sad day today," Fitzpatrick told more than 40 members of the media. "We know that players are under vastly different pressures than they were 20 years ago when I played. There is increased scrutiny and recognition. However, all players also benefit from the increased success of the game. It's a privilege to play at the highest level and players must take responsibility for their actions and understand the expectations of AFL supporters and the general community."

The AFL backdrop behind Demetriou and Fitzpatrick was removed when it was Cousins' turn to front the media. But he remains, for the moment anyway, a wayward son of the AFL rather than an outcast, with his eligibility for the 2009 draft hinging on his completion of rehabilitation and co-operation with medical experts nominated by the AFL.

"The message we're sending here today is, we've said to Ben, 'you go away and get yourself right'," Demetriou said. " 'We want you to get healthy, we want you to be rehabilitated and if you can do that you can come back in 12 months … the rest is up to him."