Is that, is that fair?

Well, y- yes, and you've been quite outspoken on this.

It's really only because he's been open about it.

Now, when you're taken to hospital after having a seizure with sort of life support paramedics involved, I mean, I think it's probably in your best interest to be interest about, uh, to be honest about what's really gone down.

But yeah, because he has admitted that, then that now for the AFL has counted as a, a, as a, as a public admission like Ginnivan and Smith.

But they were photographed and videoed in public settings.

Now, what the PA won't be happy about, um, Rui, is that, um, essentially this was a private medical emergency, and that's why this whole story has come out because he, you know, he was admitted to hospital and then Channel 7 reported it.

J- Jay, isn't this the problem with this whole issue, is walking the fine line between there's those that say like, "Punish them and name and shame them," but then there is this duty of care health issue that you can also go down the path of.

Yeah

... uh, the two Blues both ending up in, in hospital, mate.

And as you mentioned, we expect, uh, sometime this morning to the, for the AFL to confirm a two-match suspension for Cowen.

Hayward, uh, I think will get off.

Now, the key difference here is that, as I understand it, Lachie Cowen has been completely open, fessed up, come clean about his drug use at Will Hayward's house- house party on, uh, Saturday night.

So, like Bailey Smith and Jack Ginnivan a few years ago, twenty-twenty two, twenty-twenty three, be a two-match suspension.

He'll be missing for the first two rounds of, uh, next season, and then that again will reignite, um, a fresh wave of debate and controversy over the AFL's illicit drugs policy.

Is that, is that fair?

What is the real story?

Yeah.

Hey guys, thanks so much for having me on.

Look, it's been, uh, an extraordinary week.

I haven't encountered a story, um, like it where, as you say, a, uh, player at the Geelong Football Club signed a waiver which removed his legal rights in case of, uh, further brain trauma, um, and, and went into detail about the increased chances of likely, um, urological, um, and permanent damage going forward.

So incredibly scary stuff.

We're, we're learning more, um, about sort of brain trauma and concussion in this space, and inexplicably and extraordinarily, um, yeah, this, this player, this one player in the competition, the Cats chose to remove their rights from.

It doesn't make sense otherwise

And were you, uh, threatened? Did the radio industry embrace this change? Did the population of New York think this was a good idea? Did you get any support at all?

Uh, well, yes.

Uh, management absolutely, positively wanted to do this.

And, uh, and, and they frankly picked the date.

They were a little faster at it than, than I was, because they wanted to make sure they could make the ratings book.

And, uh, and so management, ABC management in particular, uh, were, were very excited about, uh, making this change.

They saw that, uh, that, that talk radio, uh, was going to be kind of on AM, and music radio was gonna end up on FM, and they frankly had been beaten a couple of times.

At some point did you go, "Man, I think we got it"?