Mark Thompson has refused to answer questions as to why alleged drug-trafficking bikies were staying in his Melbourne home.
The former AFL coach and footy legend arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday but was reluctant to speak about the scandal.
Police raided Thompson’s house in Melbourne last week and allegedly found drugs.
Thomas Windsor, 26, and Karl ‘Bang Bang’ Holt, 31, were arrested after the raid at the Port Melbourne converted warehouse last week.
Thompson surrendered to police and was questioned about his relationship with the pair before being released without charge.
Mark Thompson has refused to answer questions as to why alleged drug-trafficking bikies were staying in his Melbourne home
The former AFL coach and footy legend arrived in Los Angeles on Tuesday but was reluctant to speak about the scandal
Thompson refused to answer questions from reporters as he walked out of the airport
Thompson refused to answer questions from reporters as he walked out of the airport.
He has taken off to the United States on holiday with his son, according to Nine News.
The Essendon legend was asked if he had been mixing with the wrong crowd, but refused to answer other than saying ‘no comment’.
Earlier, Thompson had denied any involvement with criminal activity.
Mark Thompson says bikies charged with drug trafficking when police raided the former AFL coach’s house had moved in and wouldn’t leave
The former Geelong and Essendon boss’ Melbourne home was targetted by police in a raid on Friday, with footage emerging of officers storming the apartment complex
‘What a bizarre week. I think they realised that I’m not in the gang,’ he told the Herald Sun.
The 54-year-old said Holt, who reportedly has links to the Banditos, moved in to his home recently along with Windsor, an alleged Rebels bikie.
‘They just moved in, you just can’t get rid of them,’ Thompson said, noting they were there ‘on and off’ and it wasn’t a standard tenancy.
‘He just comes in when he wants. He just used to… do whatever he wanted.’
Thomas Windsor, 26, was arrested after police allegedly found drugs at the Port Melbourne converted warehouse last week
The Rouse Street home has two flats, one upstairs one downstairs, with Windsor and Holt living in a different area to Thompson.
Windsor has previously served jail time for trafficking more than 100g of meth. A 22-year-old woman was also charged along with them.
The raid on Thompson’s home, footage of which showed armed cops yell ‘police, don’t move’ as they broke down the door, came amid revelations he tried to visit a criminal in immigration detention.
Numerous friends said they were concerned about Thompson, who grew reclusive and often didn’t answer texts or return calls.
Several said they tried to reach out since the scandal broke but weren’t even sure who was supporting him at present.
His ex-wife Jana Clack, who his marriage to ended during fallout from the Essendon supplements scandal, said she hadn’t talked to him in two-and-a-half years.
Footage of the raid showed armed cops yell ‘police, don’t move’ as they broke down the door
Windsor (pictured) has previously served jail time for trafficking more than 100g of meth. A 22-year-old woman was also charged along with them
Thompson said the supplements scandal that ended his coaching career left him ‘bitter and twisted’ and destroyed his love for the game.
‘It just sits in my guts and churns and it still does and it’s going to probably end up killing me because I can’t let it go,’ he told a Law Institute of Victoria breakfast last April.
‘I don’t like the game any more. I don’t want to work in the AFL system, I don’t want to associate with people.
‘I’ve lost my love for it, which is a shame because I’m a bloody good coach.’
Thompson said Holt, who has links to the Banditos, moved into the Rouse Street home recently along with Windsor, an alleged Rebels bikie
The home has two flats, one upstairs one downstairs, with Windsor and Holt living in a different area to Thompson
Thompson was turned away from Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre late last year trying to visit a foreign-born inmate awaiting deportation
Thompson appeared on radio and TV discussing football but it never seemed a good fit and quit his job at Fox Footy’s AFL 360 after six years earlier this month.
‘Mark Thompson has decided to stand down from his Fox Footy commitments,’ Fox Sports said in a statement.
Instead he had taken up the solitary pursuit of trading in Bitcoin in the months leading up to the raid.
‘For the first time in a while I’ve found something that fulfils me. I enjoy doing it. It’s competitive – you win or lose money and sometimes it’s chaotic and your mind is just going crazy, and I like that,’ he said late last year.
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