Psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said that "players should only be allowed one strike" and has called on the Australian Football League to ban alcohol sponsorship, according to Jon Pierik of THE AGE. Carr-Gregg said that he had urged at the '13 drugs forum for the league "to ban alcohol sponsorship, just days before the Essendon supplements saga exploded." He said, "I upset everybody at that forum by suggesting the greatest hypocrisy is with the AFL who continue to accept alcohol advertising, which does far more damage than all of these drugs put together. If they really want to get serious about drugs and alcohol, they would sever that sponsorship deal tomorrow." The AFL has Carlton & United Breweries as one of its major corporate partners, "while alcohol advertisements help to bankroll the broadcasting of matches." AFL spokesperson Patrick Keane said, "People need to make sensible decisions about use of alcohol in moderation. As an organization, the AFL has always believed in education around issues, and not bans." Former AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou conceded after the '13 conference that the league had "dropped the ball" on alcohol education. While alcohol can prompt drug taking, club bosses suggested that "players are increasingly avoiding alcohol, for fear it will increase fat and show up on skin-fold tests, in favour of drugs, which do not linger in the body for long and do not add weight" (THE AGE, 4/7).
