TonyK
CibbuanoEagles terminates Ben Cousins' contract
October 18th 2007 01:30
The West Coast Eagles have terminated the contract of former captain Ben Cousins overnight.
Chief Executive Officer Trevor Nisbett and Chairman Elect Mark Barnaba delivered a statement on behalf of the West Coast Eagles board that they had unanimously voted to sack the talented player after he was arrested and charged with possession of an illegal drug and failing to take a blood test.
Below is an excerpt from Mark Barnaba's statement:
“At a special meeting today, the West Coast Eagles board decided to terminate the contract of Ben Cousins because he has seriously breached the conditions and spirit of the revised contract under which he returned to the club several months ago.
“While those conditions were private and confidential, Ben was aware of them and the incident yesterday left us with no alternative but to act in this manner. As you would understand, there are still some legal implications involved, but we will terminate his contract.
“Ben will no longer be a part of our playing group but we will not abandon him. He has a very serious health issue and we will continue to support him in his quest to regain his health and rebuild his life.
“I have spoken to Ben’s father, Bryan, and advised him of the club’s decision which was reached as a result of an accumulation of recent events."
Cousins was arrested on Tuesday in his car in the busy inner Perth suburb of Northbridge when he was spotted driving erratically by police.
It is not the first time the star player has had a run-in with the law due to illegal substances. Just seven months ago, he was suspended indefinitely by the club for drugs for which he subsequently entered rehab in the United States for treatment.
He was later allowed to return to the club on the grounds that he agreed to a zero tolerance clause to testing positive to banned substances and did not fall foul of the law.
His latest brush with the law has effectively ended his career since he was no longer a registered AFL player after being sacked by his club.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the return of Cousins to AFL was unlikely given the circumstances and that any decision would have to pass through the AFL Commission.
This is undoubtedly a sad day for the club and fans of AFL to have witnessed the premature end of a talented athlete's career.
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Comment by Andreas Berg