An unnamed player has come out and admitted what many in the community have suspected, that the drug culture at the West Coast Eagles has been rampant since at least 2002. The unnamed player stated in the Age, "I knew what was going on. Me and another player went to the coaching staff and told them. We informed them about drug use," the former player said.This player was repeatedly told to be quite by an administration which did not want to have to deal with the implications of such a problem.

Leading football writer Caroline Wilson has called for West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett to resign over the issue, stating that if such a culture was allowed in a normal company, the CEO would have taken responsibility for it years ago.

I believe that the administration at the West Coast Eagles have had a 'win at all costs' mentality, which has not served the club well in the long term. Retiring West Coast Chairman Dalton Gooding is believed to have no chance of securing the coveted AFL Commissioner seat following the latest scandal involving Ben Cousins. Many on the AFL Commission are privately very angry at West Coast, and are calling for off field sanctions to be applied to a club which clearly has not addressed some basic discipline issues with players.

When speaking to The Age, the former player placed the blame square on the Eagle hierarchy stating, "They were told six years ago about it and they pushed it under the carpet."
With some of the senior and most skilled Eagles players being involved with recreational drugs, the temptation to ignore the issue has been given into by the Club Administration, and I believe someone must take responsibility for the problem. I think Trevor Nisbett needs to resign, and allow someone fresh and objective into the club.

Despite one charge being dropped against Ben Cousins, the serious charge of refusing to undergo a driver assessment will proceed.