Australian Football League players "have been described as some of the fittest athletes on the planet" but AFL Players Association CEO Paul Marsh said that "they should be allowed to start pre-season training a little unfit and even a bit fatter." With many AFL players either back at training or returning in the coming weeks, Marsh "argues the pressure cooker environment modern footballers find themselves in and the mental health issues some are dealing with aren’t being helped by a holiday period where they are expected to continue to train hard." Marsh said, "When they get a break they get should get a break. The conditions expected when they return should be loosened a bit. They shouldn’t come back looking like me but they should be able to come back a little bit behind" (Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH, 11/16). ... Alberto Contador said that Chris Froome’s decision to release all independent analysis of his test results "will not be enough to satisfy the two-time Tour de France winner’s critics." Contador, who tested positive for clenbuterol in '10, said that "Froome’s publication of new data next month will not stem the vitriolic campaign against the British rider." He said, "It won’t give too much to resolve this problem. Maybe it’s more important that people can see you being more open in the way you work. I think that’s more useful than just giving out lots of data" (London GUARDIAN, 11/16).
