I don't agree with your assessment, Shane.
from the article:
“What was said to me was, if I win games I would get sacked,” Bailey told investigators in 2012.
“I was threatened. Yeah, I didn’t like it. I think it was a terrible thing to be bullying and harassing not only me but the rest of the staff.
“Absolutely, I knew if we won those games, I felt that I would get sacked.”
Interviews conducted with 58 current and former Demons staff in 2012 revealed a number of troubling allegations.
This included senior figures in the football department admitting they had been specifically directed not to win any more than four games that season, as well as ‘fake injuries’ to keep certain players from being selected.
It is not as easy to dismiss those statements by comparing them to ongoing player development.
I would add a further complication. Betting on games has now been officially sanctioned, both by the authorities and the controlling body, the AFL. Where teams deliberately lose games, where does that cross over into fraud. Betting companies can stand to lose substantial sums as can punters. Other sports involving match fixing have resulted in prison terms for those involved because it is a form of fraud.
Playing young players for development reasons is just not the same as intentionally losing for draft picks.
ps. I do NOT endorse gambling on footy games, nor do i endorse any betting agency.
