"We may have saved him earlier" - Harley Balic's father hits out at AFL for tragic death of his son after prolonged battle with drug addiction
Former Australian rules player Harley Balic's father, Eddie, blamed the AFL's illicit drug policy for the tragic death of his son at the age of 25. Harley died on January 9, 2022, following his retirement from the game.
Recently, his father made a shocking claim in his interview with The Herald Sun. He revealed that his son died after a long battle with drugs and that his son would not have died if the AFL had been a bit more supportive.
Speaking of Harley Balic's death, Eddie said (via Fox Sports):
"I believe that the AFL has a duty of care to formally intervene early into young vulnerable players who have been identified as having substance abuse issues. I also feel that had better support been put in place early for my son, it may have prevented this tragic outcome."
“The huge disappointment is that the AFL knew a lot, and as a family, we weren’t told. We may have saved him earlier. To this day, it disappoints me that no one from senior management of the AFL has ever made contact with me over the terrible loss of my son," he added.
Harley Balic was a former Australian rules player who played for Fremantle Football Club. The club selected him in the 2015 AFL draft as the 38th overall pick.
Balic played the sport for a few years before announcing his shocking retirement in 2018 at 21. He revealed that he lost passion for the game, and a few years later, Balic died in January 2022, just four days after celebrating his 25th birthday.
"He clearly sat in where he needed support and medical attention"- St Kilda coach Ross Lyon on the tragic death of Harley Balic
Following the shocking statement of Balic's father, St. Kilda coach Ross Lyon remembered the late AFL player. Lyon had previously coached for the Fremantle team when the Balic was playing for the club before the end of the 2017 season.
Recently, Ross Lyon spoke about Harley Balic's tragic death. He said that he "had a personal relationship with him." Moreover, Lyon also revealed that Balic needed support and attention.
Remembering Harley Balic, Lyon said (as quoted by ABC.net):
"I was very close to Harley. I had a personal relationship with him, spent a lot of time one-on-one with Harley. If the AFL illicit policy is really about that medical model, my experience of what Harley shared with me, he clearly sat in where he needed support and medical attention."
"Because I have no visibility of what happens behind the scenes, I just make the judgement that that occurred," he added.
Harley Balic had played two professional seasons in his career. He played four games in the 2017 season and recorded three goals for the team while playing for Fremantle. He had also played for Melbourne before retiring from the game.