‘I can’t believe I’m saying this’: Emotional AFL coach Mark Thompson admits smoking ice ‘to mask the pain’ but furiously denies trafficking charges as he fronts court
- Former AFL great Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson is charged with drug trafficking
- He has admitted smoking ice but denied ever selling the drug to anyone
- ‘It was a difficult time. I left the industry where I worked in a bad way,’ he said
Former AFL great Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson (pictured) admits he’s taken drugs but insists he hasn’t sold them
Former AFL great Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson admits he’s taken drugs but insists he hasn’t sold them.
The 55-year-old said on Wednesday he used ice during the latter half of 2017, adding that he was also tempted to try LSD but ‘didn’t have the guts’.
Thompson is in Melbourne Magistrates Court fighting three drug trafficking charges and four of possession after a raid on his Port Melbourne property.
‘Ice, that’s it really,’ he said when asked about his drug use.
The former Essendon premiership captain and coach said it had become a habit.
‘I was smoking too much,’ he said.
‘It was a difficult time. I left the industry where I worked in a bad way.’
Thompson linked his struggles to Essendon’s supplements scandal, which rocked the club and league.
Police allege a lock box containing MDA, ice, Xanax and an LSD tablet were found at Thompson’s home in January last year, along with equipment including scales.
He admitted owning the scales and using them to make sure he got the quantity of drugs he had paid for.
‘I used to weigh stuff up,’ he said.
‘What you paid for is what you got.’
‘I can’t believe I’m saying this.’
Thompson also admitted he’s considered taking LSD.
‘I always wanted to take it but I didn’t have the guts,’ he said.
The ongoing Melbourne Magistrates Court hearing is expected to hear from a DNA expert later on Wednesday.
The ongoing Melbourne Magistrates Court hearing is expected to hear from a DNA expert later on Wednesday. Thompson is pictured left in 1993