I DON'T think there has ever been a time when I have been ashamed to be linked to the AFL. I am proud of what it stands for and what it represents to the wider community, its ability to touch many people of any race and religion, the opportunities it brings and its positive power and influence on so many people around the world.

That was until last week. Until Michael Braun was labelled a drug cheat without a shred of evidence.

I always have considered Braun an elite runner. He may not have the sustained surge of Ben Cousins or the explosiveness of Chris Judd, but his ability to get up and down the ground is equal to anyone I have played on from the first time I played on him, in 2001, to the last time I played on him last year.

But as much as Braun is the victim in this case, this isn't just about him. It is about character assassination. I am ashamed that we have tarnished a player's name, character and reputation in one fell swoop with no consideration of the consequences or foundation to the accusation.

I am not suggesting that AFL players are immune to taking drugs such as erythropoietin. I could never make such a wide-reaching statement without overwhelming evidence. Which is exactly why I cannot assume anyone has taken EPO, either. No evidence.

Last year, I felt for the three players who allegedly had tested positive to illicit drugs and about which there was an uproar over whether they should be named. In the end, sanity prevailed and they remained anonymous.

But if the court case had gone the other way and their privacy was not preserved, at least they had tested positive, so there was evidence against them. Not Braun. And this wasn't illicit drugs. This was a much more serious "allegation" of performance-enhancing drugs. Of being a drug cheat.

We have had so much focus on illicit drugs this year that performance-enhancing drugs have slipped under the media radar. Yet this must still remain the game's main focus in the fight against drugs. When it comes down to it, an athlete or footballer only wants to know that their opponent has had the same fuel they have had and no more — no artificial upgrade to boost their performance.

This is why I support the fact that there are appropriate channels to air suspicions of inappropriate activity. But in this case, on the back of gossip, innuendo and rumour, a person's name has been slandered with the word "cheat".

It's a big dent on the reputation and character of anyone and the ultimate insult to an elite athlete.

Your reputation is how people perceive you based on things that you have done. It is the gateway to your character, so it's easy to understand why Braun is devastated by what has happened. And why he is so keen to fight back.

When all things are said and done, regardless of what you have achieved, the only thing that endures is your character. This is what stays with us. Always. We can't run from it and cannot hide from it.

Whenever people get injured, some will say "it will be good for your character" or "it's character-building". It can sound like a throwaway line to make someone feel better.

Yet what they are really saying is it will build who you are. It will challenge you like no other time. You will learn more about yourself and how you handle adversity. And you will be better for it. It will test your real desire, determination and dedication to the cause and test whether you have the mental resolve to overcome a setback.

It will test your honesty, your loyalty and respect for others. It will force you to think of your team ahead of yourself. It will require hard work and sacrifice — to push yourself harder than you have before, to test your limits and to break through barriers.

It will drive you to keep fighting even when you experience a setback and feel like you are losing your way. It will teach you to maintain a focus on your goal even when you encounter obstacles. It will test your discipline, your confidence, your faith in the program and will require a positive mental attitude to help the healing.

It will require a special type of class. Showing you are a good sportsman, being considerate to others, showing pride in yourself, having humility, poise and displaying a self-confidence without being arrogant. It will give you an opportunity to show that under pressure, irrespective of external pressures and those endless nerves, you can still produce the goods when required.

It's the ability to keep your eye on the ball, the will to succeed and the desire to work hard and be better than the next guy. It's about going again after getting a severe burning sensation in the legs from endless 400-metre runs and being dumped in the dirt time and again, even harder than the last time. It's the mental strength to block out the voice in your head telling you to stop.

That is all about character and that is precisely what Braun is defending — the knowledge and satisfaction that all this was not manufactured artificially. That the ability to back up time and again was all about "elbow grease" and nothing else.

To me, these internal characteristics are much more powerful than any drug. And until someone proves categorically otherwise, I'll always believe that.

But you can understand why Braun wants to explore every possible avenue to clear his name. Because the very heart of who he is, what he stands for and what the majority of his life has been about is under threat. His character.