- Former AFL star Harley Balic died aged just 25 in 2022
- His father Eddie was stunned that the code kept his son’s drug use a secret.
- The midfielder was included in the ‘medical model’ of the code
The devastated father of former football star Harley Balic has blamed the AFL’s controversial policies on illicit drug use for his son’s tragic death.
Balic was just 25 years old when he died in a Melbourne hotel room in January 2022, a victim of his ongoing drug addiction.
During his three-year playing career with the Fremantle Dockers and Melbourne Demons, Balic was placed in the AFL’s “medical model”, under which players are not penalized for testing positive for illicit drugs.
It comes as a Sport Integrity Australia investigation has begun into the league’s controversial illicit drug policy.
“I believe the AFL has a duty to formally intervene early on vulnerable young players who have been identified as having substance abuse problems,” Balic’s father Eddie said. News Corporation.
The devastated father of former football star Harley Balic (pictured) has revealed why he blames the AFL for his son’s tragic death.
Balic (pictured right) was just 25 years old when he died in a Melbourne hotel room in January 2022, a victim of his ongoing drug addiction.
“I also believe that if my son had been given better support from the beginning, this tragic outcome could have been avoided.
“The big disappointment is that the AFL knew too much and as a family they didn’t tell us… we may have saved him.”
“To this day I am disappointed that no one from AFL senior management has contacted me over the terrible loss of my son.”
Under the AFL’s ‘medical model’, players identified as occasional or habitual drug users are exempt from the competition’s three strikes programme.
In turn, players may be tested before matches to ensure they do not give a positive reading, and then supposedly ruled out for false injuries to avoid suspensions under the world anti-doping code.
Balic, a junior star in Melbourne with the Sandringham Dragons, was selected by Fremantle with the 38th pick in the 2015 national draft.
The midfielder played four games for the Dockers in 2017 before transferring back to Melbourne.
Balic (centre pictured playing for Fremantle against West Coast) announced his immediate retirement from the sport in August 2018.
Harley Balic submerged himself in ice water during the 2020 lockdowns in Victoria to raise awareness about mental health issues.
The soccer star’s mother Nancy paid tribute to her son in a birthday photo (pictured) just days before his death.
The Demons delisted him after just one season, failing to play senior football.
After announcing his retirement in 2018, Balic focused on helping others.
When Melburnians were plunged into the first of many Covid lockdowns in 2020, Balic plunged into icy waters hoping to draw attention to the population’s hidden mental health crisis.
What started as a 30-day challenge was extended to 50 days as then-Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ lockdowns were extended again and again.
‘Regardless of your situation, you are not alone. Do things that make any situation you face less chaotic instead of more,” Balic posted after 30 days.
“I’m no angel, but this is something that helps me with clarity and routine.”
Balic worked for Monash Health as a mental health worker, before sadly taking his own life four years later.
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