AFL Side Essendon Interim Coach Mark Thompson Says Media Affected Hird Decision

Interim Australian Football League side Essendon coach Mark Thompson has suggested that the "decision to keep James Hird away from a match-day role in 2014 was influenced by the media and public perception," according to Daniel Cherny of THE AGE. Speaking three days after the Bombers "confirmed that Hird would play only a peripheral part" in the club's finals push when he "returns from his 12-month suspension" on Aug. 25, Thompson "hinted that if the situation were placed in a vacuum, Hird would return without delay." Thompson: "You guys are powerful ... the media drive agendas." Thompson "believed the decision to keep Hird away from the coach's box had been made to promote the best interests of the club's players." Thompson: "We feel that if he is seen out on the ground then the story will be about him and not the players" (THE AGE, 7/29).