JAMES Hird believed Essendon players were being giveninjections of vitamins during the club's contentious 2012 supplements program,his lawyer has claimed.
Julian Burnside, QC, told radio station 3AW shortly afterthe Bombers coach accepted a 12-month suspension as part of the club'spenalties over the program, that rogue elements had been responsible forEssendon's fate.
"A couple of cowboys came into the joint, and despiteJames laying down firm and clear rules about what was to be done, thesuggestion is that those people acted in defiance of those rules.
"And James was not aware of that.
"He made it clear right from the start that anythinggiven to the players had to be legal, had to be given the OK by ASADA and WADA,and had to be approved by the club doctor, and had to be given with theinformed consent of the players.
"He reiterated that several times very firmly.
"What more is a bloke supposed to do?"
Burnside described Hird's acceptance of the suspension as a"heroic" and "courageous" act.
On Wednesday morning he said Hird likely would have won the now-abandonedcourt action he launched against the AFL.?
Speaking on SEN on Wednesday morning, Julian Burnside, QC,said it was "very likely" that Hird would have cleared his name overthe allegations of conduct unbecoming and bringing the game into disrepute.??
But he warned, "that would have dragged on the wholesorry thing for another three or four months".
Burnside, who confessed to not being a football supporter,was critical of the inquiry process.
"I don't like what I saw ... (there was) not a greatsense of natural justice ... What I saw worried me a lot."
He said it was "astonishing how much sensitive materialwas leaked to the press.
"I'm not sure who leaked it, but I'm pretty sure itwasn't the players or the club."
On 3AW Burnside said Hird had agreed to drop his SupremeCourt writ and accept a penalty for the good of his club and the game.
"The driving consideration for James right from thestart was to do the best he could for the players he loves, the club he lovesand the game he loves.
"He's been brutally maligned in the press over the pastsix months – I don't know how he has managed to survive it – and he has wantedto show that he is not guilty of anything.
"But against that, he wanted to do the right thing bythe club and the game.
"I reckon what he did tonight was nothing short ofheroic."
Burnside expressed his bemusement at the charges broughtagainst Hird, questioning how he could be accused of 'conduct unbecoming' when,"What was said against him was that he didn't do things – he didn't noticethings, he didn't take steps. It's hard to know how that can be said to be'conduct'."
Burnside confirmed that Hird had apologised to the AFLCommission on Tuesday, but reiterated that an apology was not an admission ofguilt or wrongdoing.
"It's important to understand that saying you're sorryis an expression of regret," he said.
"It's not saying, 'I did something bad.'
"I know the evidence in this case as well as anyonedoes, and in my opinion he did absolutely nothing wrong.
"If someone goes rogue in an organisation, is itreasonable to criticise people for not being aware that someone has gonerogue?
"That's what it comes to.
"There is no suggestion in any of the evidence that anyof the people who have been brought before the Commission were aware of thesetwo rogue characters doing anything wrong.
"They didn't know about it."
Burnside also slammed the AFL its public release of the34-page charge sheet, which he said created a misleading picture of the facts.
Hird, who will begin his suspension immediately, chose notto front the media on Tuesday night, instead returning to his home with wifeTania.
