Footy star's parents reveal terrifying tactic crime gang used to blackmail them over their son's drug debts

The parents of a former AFL footballer have revealed they were allegedly 'blackmailed' by a crime gang over their son's unpaid drug debts while he was part of the league's controversial medical model. 

Their son, who allegedly became addicted to drugs during his time in the AFL, faced threats from criminals who sent a photo they'd taken of the player to his parents, demanding payment to ensure his safety.

That information has been given to Sport Integrity Australia. 

The AFL's Illicit Drug Policy medical model exempts occasional or regular drug users from the three-strikes program, with only the player and the club doctor aware of any positive tests until the third test. 

This has created a loophole through which players identified as occasional or regular drug users can be exempted from the three-strikes program and undergo secret testing before games to avoid recording positive results and getting suspended.

Federal MP Andrew Wilkie exposed the scheme in parliament earlier this year, sharing claims from ex-Demons doctor-turned-whistleblower Zeeshan Arain. 

Arain alleged that medicos suggested faking injuries to explain why players needed to miss games due to positive drug tests.

Following these revelations, Wilkie used parliamentary privilege to allege that AFL players using illicit drugs were kept out of games under the pretense of injuries to avoid positive tests and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code breaches. 

Wilkie has now disclosed that his office received 'credible evidence of a family being blackmailed by drug dealers over their son's unpaid drug debts'. 

The parents were told that criminals would destroy their son's reputation if they didn't hand over cash, and we have seen proof that cash payments have been made,' he told News Corp.

'The family had a photo of their son, taken by criminals, sent to them, and my office has been shown that photo. This information has been provided to Sport Integrity Australia.' 

The family described how their son, who was on an AFL club's list during the alleged extortion, saw senior teammates using drugs including ice pipes just days after being drafted aged 18. 

'The kind of drug use being described by the families isn't occasional, recreational drug use. We are being told of players using the medical model to continue taking illicit drugs for multiple years,' Wilkie said.

'Rather than helping players get off drugs, the medical model has enabled players to continue taking drugs in secret.' 

Outgoing Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) boss David Sharpe has made several recommendations to the AFL, including independent oversight of the Illicit Drugs Policy. 

Sharpe warned about the potential corruption of athletes through the supply of illicit drugs.

Sharpe said there is a clear and present threat to all Australian sport and said policies need to align with 2024 needs. 

'The illicit drug landscape was different in 2005 when the AFL's IDP was first developed compared to today, necessitating an immediate overhaul of the current policy to align with current societal trends and increasing integrity and health threats in sport,' he said.

The AFL claims its drug program was vindicated as SIA found the 'off the books' tests did not violate WADA rules. However, Dick Pound, WADA's founding president, condemned the league for downplaying the report's seriousness.

'I guess it's one of those things where you will seize upon anything that mitigates against a total disaster,' Pound told the Herald Sun.

'You polish up the little nugget that you found and hope that the rest goes away, but clearly the overriding conclusion [of the report] was that this is not the way you should operate.'

Pound suggested that it might be time for the AFL to acknowledge its mistakes.