James Hird's father, Allan, has spoken out on his son's overdose and criticised the AFL's treatment of the former coach.
In an interview with radio station, 3AW, Mr Hird said his son was made a scapegoat over the drugs scandal.
โThey (the AFL) are bullies,โ heย said.
โI think they had some dignity and some integrity, but they havenโt got a moral compass.
โRight from the start I believed Jim trusted people too much. He put too much trust in the club doing the right thing, he put too much trust in the AFL, he put too much trust in our system of government.
โAnd I think if he had his time over again he would have done it differently.
โRemember, he put out when they started this supplements program at Essendon, two basic rules - it has to be WADA compliant - in fact he put out three - the doctor has to sign off on everything, and it has to be not injurious to the playersโ health.โ
Mr Hird said his son's overdose took him completely by surprise.
โMy daughter has been keeping me regularly informed,โ he said.
โIโm in Brisbane, Iโm coming down shortly to see him but my daughter has been keeping me informed. Heโs fine.
โI had no inkling, just out of the blue, but anyway, thatโs where it is.
โI donโt really know what the cause is, thatโs really between Jim and God, I dont want to make any overt connection, I dont believe that itโs appropriate.โ
The former Essendon player and coach was rushed to hospital last Wednesday night following a reported drug overdose.
He was later taken to a specialist mental health centre for further treatment before being discharged on Friday.
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