A Victorian senator is pushing for the release of secret documents containing sworn testimony of the sports scientist at the center of the Essendon drugs scandal, saying that "rapists had more rights" than Australian Football League footballers, according to Chip Le Grand of THE AUSTRALIAN. He also wants the release of the conclusions of anti-doping investigators who did not "believe the players should be charged." John Madigan has written to the PM’s office "seeking access to material that could shed light on political machinations behind the drugs scandal and whether footballers banned for doping were treated fairly." The senator has also listed the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's final report into its Essendon investigation and a review of ASADA's work by retired Federal Court Judge Garry Downes "among documents that should inform a Senate inquiry." Madigan, neither an AFL enthusiast nor an Essendon supporter, said that he "was concerned players had been treated unfairly by a drugs scandal fueled by cynical politics." He said that despite the published reasons of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, it "was unclear how guilt was assigned to each player." He said, "Remove the sport from it. Is there natural justice? Is there fairness?" Madigan said that the AFL had "abrogated" to an int'l tribunal its own responsibilities. He said, "How many times can a person be punished for a crime, and for how long? I wouldn't wish this on anybody. Rapists have more rights, it seems, than an AFL footballer" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/22).
