Former Australian Football League side Essendon Bombers Manager James Hird's latest defeat in court -- this time being "slugged" with a bill for A$660,000 ($494,280) -- "is another chapter in a saga" that could eventually cost more than A$35M ($26.2M), according to Jon Pierik of THE AGE. The fall-out of the Essendon injecting program "is now in its fourth year." While there has been "untold damage to individuals and the sport, in terms of pure finances, the figures already are astounding -- and will jump when the Bombers settle compensation claims for the 34 past and current players." Two lawyers involved in the Essendon case and another in the National Football League "anti-doping saga have estimated legal fees in the Bombers' case would have topped" A$10M ($750,000) -- so far. Essendon, according to its '15 annual report, spent almost A$5.5M ($4M) fighting the anti-doping charges -- and "this has not included ongoing expenses ahead of the players' appeal against the ban imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport." Hird has faced significant costs himself, including the A$750,000 ($561,682) "payment a mystery benefactor paid on his behalf" to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority. The club agreed to "cover the contracts of the dozen banned players still at the club." This "is likely to be about" A$7M ($5.2M). The "next challenge facing the Bombers is settling compensation claims brought by the 34 players for health-and-safety breaches and loss of earnings and reputation." This "has been estimated" at between A$10M and A$20M ($15M) (THE AGE, 5/3).
