This is how ex AFL superstar James Hird ended up in hospital in what some are calling a suicide attempt in form of a drug overdose.
The shocking news at first came through as a major health scare,but news that followed suggested Hird had intentionally taken a form of poisoning intentionally in a suicide attempt.The drama saw an
ambulance called to the the stars family mansion in Toorak at 10:07 last night.
However the exact substance he is alleged to have taken has not been made known yet.
Reports coming through said he was taken to Cabrini Hospital in Malvern then moved to another facility.This has neither been confirmed or denied by those in the know at the
establishments.
Tania,the wife of the Essendon coach did not help matters by refusing to pur a light on happenings.She left the family home tight lipped not making any comments when probed.
A spokesman for the Essendon Football Club said officials had made attempts to contact the Hird family.
But why would he want to go through such an act of taking his own life with a drug overdose?What could be the catalyst behind this move for the much loved star who at his peak played more than 250 games for the Bombers?Could it be as a result of an accumulation of events?Remember as senior coach, he was at the centre of the 2012 Essendon supplements scandal.
The man who led his team to the single-most successful season by a team in AFL history. was banned by the AFL and spent a year away from the game, before returning to the club and tearfully resigning as coach in August 2015 after a series of heavy losses.
"To my family and friends ... I am truly sorry for what you have had to endure," Hird said at the time. "In making this decision (to resign), I hope we all get a chance to move on and enjoy how wonderful life really is.
"I think the whole three years has been very tough on my family.
"It's put a lot of strain on everyone, a lot of stress on a lot of parts of my family life.
"I think it'll be just good for the family to get some space from the media spotlight."
It might just be a case of all these dramas proving too much for the two-time premiership player with Essendon to handle and finally decided to take the easy way out.
But that is not the only burden on the man who won five club best-and-fairest awards and was All-Australian five times.
He had also lost a court bid to have an insurance company pay his legal bills of close to $660,000 over the long-running supplements saga.
The Essendon supplements saga exploded into the public domain in February 2013 when club officials, including Hird, fronted a press conference to announce the club had "self reported" its programme to the AFL and anti-doping body ASADA.
Thirty four players were eventually banned from the AFL for 12 months, wiping out their 2016 seasons. In January last year, in a television interview, he said those players had been sacrificed to send an anti-drugs message.
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He fell out with former close mate and Bomber chairman David Evans very publicly. He missed many of the reunions held by the 2000 premiership side he led to the single-most successful season by a team in AFL history.
Many have attempted to contact him to offer their support in vain. Increasingly frustrated at not being allowed to help, some have switched off.I hope whatever demons he is fighting,he gets over.It is always so sad to see someone who has put a smile on many faces and made many happy end up in misery.