Most media have never considered to report the following statements from lawyers, CAS panellists, and expert witnesses. Out of respect to players, their names are redacted. “PLAYER” refers to different players at different times. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - CLELLAND [for 32 EFC players]: Dr Thevis, as I understand it you were asked by WADA to develop a test for Thymosin Beta-4; is that right? PROF THEVIS [for WADA]: Yes. CLELLAND: Were you asked to develop a test for any other Thymosins? PROF THEVIS: No. CLELLAND: Were you asked to test for any other Thymosins in the samples which were provided in 2015? PROF THEVIS:No. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - PROF ROBYN LANGHAM: I'm a nephrologist, a kidney doctor, and a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne... So my basic premise is that this is an endogenous [naturally occuring] peptide, that we couldn't know anything about in terms of its response to injury and inflammation in the body; we know very little I suppose, about the circumstances of the physiological state of those players where the urinary TB-4 was elevated, and in the absence of that evidence I don't think we can really draw any safe conclusions that this is from an exogenous injection. ... I guess the only piece of evidence that was unusual in my mind was that provided by Professor Thevis of the volunteer from his laboratory that did have an exogenous injection and the level of urinary metabolite of TB-4 was still quite disappointingly low. So I guess, where there was exogenous TB-4, there wasn't a huge rise in urinary TB-4 that would be expected ... If this very high level of urinary TB-4 was from exogenous TB-4, then perhaps we would have expected to see that in the urine of the volunteer. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - PROF LANGHAM: We can see that in patients that have chronic low level inflammation in their joints, that their blood levels of TB-4 are higher than normal. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - DR HANDELSMAN (WADA expert witness]: ... there's an even higher outlier in the 54 AFL players, but I believe that there's circumstantial evidence that that may be due to TB-4 administration as well. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - MR HALLOWES [for 2 players]: Professor Handelsman... are you aware of the consent forms that were signed by the players in relation to the recommended dose [of ‘Thymosin’], that that be given? DR HANDELSMAN: The one I recall said 0.5 mils of 3,000 milligrams per millilitre, which would be an almost impossible dose. HALLOWES: As I recollect, whether it was your evidence or the evidence generally given before the AFL Tribunal, it was in essence that 3,000 milligrams per millilitre in effect would be sludge, to use a layman's term; does that accord with what you'd say. DR HANDELSMAN: It wouldn't be soluble, I think that's probably right. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - DR HANDELSMAN: I did the same as Professor Hibbert in fitting the data to all 54 players. PROF HIBBERT [expert witness for players]: Could I just say that Professor Handelsman is completely wrong, he is absolutely and utterly wrong in this... I have shared all of my data with Professor Handelsman, I have asked him for his code, he has not given me anything. I am willing to sit down with him and go through step-by-step all of the calculations, because it's obvious, it's just - it's -sorry, I am speechless. DR MADIGAN [expert witness for players]: ...I'm very uncomfortable with Professor Handelsman removing the high values from the 54, the AFL sample, and then saying that what's left is not consistent with the high values in the - that's completely circular reasoning. That's saying, if you take out high values in one dataset, that the one value of the Essendon set looks high. Of course it does, because you took the high values out of the 54. That argument just doesn't have any logic or force. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - PROF HIBBERT: ... we have three sets of data: we have a bunch of German sports students, we have some AFL players, which may include some Essendon players, and we have 24 Essendon results. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - MR SPIGELMAN [CAS Arbitrator]: Professor Langham... we are told that you've got to test within 24 hours, or something less - maximum of 24 hours to get a TB-4 reading. PROF LANGHAM: I think I can only answer in the context of the natural expression of the biological population of any substance... this is an endogenous peptide that is going to be produced at a basal level in the whole population – that you will have low levels, you will have high levels, but most of the population will sit around the middle. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - THE CHAIR: ... the two statisticians who are representing the players say there is nothing unusual about this particular elevated sample. Professor Handelsman, on the other, says actually it is unusual. MR SUBIOTTO [CAS Arbitrator]: How likely would it be that the 54 AFL player samples were contaminated? And taking into account the characteristics of this product which we're told could have a half life of as little as 6 hours, which would mean that the 54 players would have needed to have had some kind of injection all pretty much at the same time within the six hours? - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - CLELLAND: From the time you left the football club in Melbourne, at lunchtime on the Friday, to the time you came off the ground after the game, did you receive an injection from Stephen Dank? PLAYER: No. CLELLAND: When you came off the ground after the game, at some stage were you told that you were required to give a sample for drug testing? PLAYER: Yeah, straight after the game one of the ASADA guys came up and told me, and he pretty much stayed with me until you urinate. CLELLAND: If you can urinate immediately, do they take the sample and then you can go back and shower and change and leave the football ground? PLAYER: Yep. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - CLELLAND: Did you go into Mr Dank's office and have an injection on that Friday morning before you went to the airport? PLAYER: No. CLELLAND: Did you ever, in your time – this is 2012 – did you ever receive an injection from Mr Dank on game day? PLAYER: No, definitely not. CLELLAND: Did you ever receive an injection from Mr Dank the day before a game? PLAYER: No. I'm pretty confident I haven't. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - CLELLAND: ... were you asked some questions by the ASADA representative who was taking the sample? PLAYER: Yes. CLELLAND: Did you fill out a form, or did they fill out a form? PLAYER: They filled out the form for me. CLELLAND: ...do you accept that you were asked whether on that occasion you had taken or were using medication, vitamins or supplements? PLAYER: Yes. CLELLAND: Your answer is recorded as "nil". Do you accept that that's the answer you gave? PLAYER: Yeah, definitely. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - CLELLAND: What was your understanding as to whether the medical staff at the Essendon Football Club knew about the supplements that you were being injected with by Mr Dank? PLAYER: So, our doctors and that, did they understand what was going on? CLELLAND: Yes, what was your understanding about that? PLAYER: I thought they did, yes. CLELLAND: Why did you think that? PLAYER: Just because, I thought – I just thought there was general consensus and I thought the doctors would know and everyone else would know as well; I didn't think it was a hidden sort of practice. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - CLELLAND: Was there any direction to you [Player] or an agreement between you and the players that you wouldn't tell the medical staff about these injections? PLAYER: No. CLELLAND: Was there any direction to you or agreement by you that you wouldn't disclose those injections on a doping control test? PLAYER: No, definitely not. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - NORTHEY [WADA expert]: ... when did they [injections] start? PLAYER: November [2011]. NORTHEY: What were you told that they were? PLAYER: I was told they were a vitamin and/or an amino acid. NORTHEY: Did you raise that with Dr Bruce Reid? PLAYER: Yes, I did. NORTHEY: What did he say? PLAYER: He said that everything was above board, it was normal. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - RYCHENER [for WADA]: Over the period you were receiving the injections, did you have any basis for thinking that Dr Reid knew you were getting them, apart from the discussion we've just mentioned? PLAYER: Yeah, I thought – it was my understanding that there wasn't anyone within the club who didn't know we were getting injections. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - RYCHENER: You understood, as you said in your statement, he [Dank] explained that, because he was giving you better supplements than other teams were getting, that he asked the players to keep the supplement program secret? PLAYER: From, I think, external teams, yeah. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - PLAYER: ...it's my understanding there wasn't a person who worked within the football club who didn't know that we were getting injections. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - RYCHENER: At the players meeting that you attended, you had the general understanding that the players were to keep the supplementation program secret within the club? PLAYER: No. No, that was never said. - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - Justice for the 34 renews its call for a Senate or Independent inquiry into anti-doping with wide ranging terms of reference which allow all sporting bodies, all athletes, and all interested parties to make representations. It’s in the national interest. Support an independent inquiry to sort this mess out.