1967Sharks
OzCardTrader
Should we silence him?
NRL Drugs scandal ????????
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Should we silence him?
Interesting take on the situation - http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...ldnt-be-punished-ofarrell-20130307-2fmw0.html
It raises a good point, if the players didn't know they were taking something illegal and it was given/injected to them by someone employed by the club in that area then to what degree can the players be held responsible?
It raises a good point, if the players didn't know they were taking something illegal and it was given/injected to them by someone employed by the club in that area then to what degree can the players be held responsible?
thenamesgould
OzCardTrader
It's always the players responsibility to know they're not taking anything illegal.
Agree to a certain extent but only if the players were out and out lied to about what they were being injected with. If they just didn't ask and let themselves be injected with something they didn't even know what it was; they are just as accountable in my opinion.
If I were a pro athlete and my livelihood depended on staying fit and staying on the paddock, i would want to know the full details of every single supplement, meal plan, injection, etc.
Yeah i was more implying that they could have been lied to about what they were taking...if they were told the truth about what they were being injected with or knowingly injected something illegal then i agree it is their responsibility and their fualt if they do so. Surely medical staff have to be held accountable too though if they knowingly inject players with something that they know is illegal...and if they lied about it then the players are not responsible.
This from Rothfield. Makes sense as why no other players who have left the club (eg Smith and Snowden) have been dragged into this...........yet.
According to Rothfield, there may be two different groups of players in question at the Sharks - some who ceased contact with Dank after he was sacked, and some who continued seeing the sports scientist at his Bankstown practice.
"Now that's where we might be dealing with two groups of players at Cronulla," Rothfield said on 2GB radio on Thursday morning.
"I think it's been established that most of them, like Essendon, were given drugs, they trusted their medical staff and they weren't illegal at the time.
"Shane Flanagan got rid of Stephen Dank. But he had a surgery in Bankstown - and a number of NRL players, not just from Cronulla - continued to go and see him.
"So this is where we're talking two groups.
"I'm told that Paul Gallen is definitely not one of the players who continued seeing Dank. "The club has told me today that part of the investigation does not involve their skipper, the NSW captain, continuing treatment once that Dank was moved on."
While Sharks players were given Thymosin Beta 4 and CJC-1295 peptides during the 2011 season these were not put on the banned list until 2012.
According to Rothfield, there may be two different groups of players in question at the Sharks - some who ceased contact with Dank after he was sacked, and some who continued seeing the sports scientist at his Bankstown practice.
"Now that's where we might be dealing with two groups of players at Cronulla," Rothfield said on 2GB radio on Thursday morning.
"I think it's been established that most of them, like Essendon, were given drugs, they trusted their medical staff and they weren't illegal at the time.
"Shane Flanagan got rid of Stephen Dank. But he had a surgery in Bankstown - and a number of NRL players, not just from Cronulla - continued to go and see him.
"So this is where we're talking two groups.
"I'm told that Paul Gallen is definitely not one of the players who continued seeing Dank. "The club has told me today that part of the investigation does not involve their skipper, the NSW captain, continuing treatment once that Dank was moved on."
While Sharks players were given Thymosin Beta 4 and CJC-1295 peptides during the 2011 season these were not put on the banned list until 2012.
I believe an athelete should be aware of everything that passes their lips. Injections from someone other than the club Dr would surely ring alarm bells but unfortunatley it's just not that simple. For one it is reported that one of the peptides was applied as a cream, too me that would seem pretty innocent and not warrant any questions.
Darren Lockyer himself has been in the media saying that he and the Broncos take tablets in a cup everyday when they arrive at training without any questions asked. In a NRL Club situation you are an employee and you trust and simply do what your employer wants you to do. Imagine being a 18 rookie and the club that has given you a shot at being a professional football gives you supplements you aren't going to ask what's in them.
I think with this team doping issue that trust has now been broken and all sportsmen will now start querying what it is they are being asked to take.
Ross
I do agree with what you say, and my major point is, do all athletes even as young as 13 year olds,now have to start taking drugs or supplements just to make a team. These role models and sporting clubs have suggested that YES, get an injection or take tablets so you can make "THE TEAM'', and then how many actually get to the highest level on their own skills/ability without any type of supplement be it Legal or Illegal!
It must make you wonder who is doing what because i believe these supplements or drugs are way out of hand and has been for many years!
Alex Watson the Olympian back in 1988 woke me up to the fact that athletes find many ways to assist their sporting achievements!
It must make you wonder who is doing what because i believe these supplements or drugs are way out of hand and has been for many years!
Alex Watson the Olympian back in 1988 woke me up to the fact that athletes find many ways to assist their sporting achievements!
One of the more alarming things to come out of the latest allegations against the Sharks is the lack of 'natural justice' they are getting. I do not know a lot about the ACC or ASADA but I do know they are very very powerful in terms of investigations and being backed by legislation. I am not sure what the standard of proof for an allegation by ASADA is ( criminal or civil) but given there does not appear to be a court process I think it would be the latter. Surely the Sharks or any other NRL club named have the right to maintain their innocence until proven otherwise. I am yet to see any substantial evidence other than the uncorroborated testimony of a former trainer. Unfortunately this debacle is fast becoming a trial by media. I do hope that natural justice prevails and that no player is suspended or punished without reasonable evidence.
Probably the best thing i have seen written on this farce so far. From Andrew Webster in the DT. ANOTHER day, another press conference, another reason for every rugby league player, coach, official and fan to feel their game has been unfairly and unnecessarily belted around the head. Some detail finally came floating down to League Land yesterday concerning the investigation into peptide use with the anti-doping authority wanting to interview 31 current players and at least 10 former players over the next four to six weeks. It was hardly breaking news, and it's much less than the 150 players ASADA boss Aurora Andruska mindlessly suggested at the start of all this. Of greater significance was the revelation from league bosses Dave Smith and John Grant that alleged systematic use has only allegedly occurred at Cronulla, meaning players or groups of players have acted independently at other clubs. In other words, the other five clubs named in the Australian Crime Commission report - Manly, Canberra, Penrith, Newcastle and North Queensland - have been dragged through the mud for no good reason. Their coaching staffs, their officials, and most of their players with the possible exception of some rogue elements are all in the clear. Presumably, an apology to these people will be coming some time soon ... No matter what they end up finding in all of this, no matter who the scalps are, it will never justify the way this continues to play out with mind-numbing incompetence. With all due respect to ARL Commission chairman John Grant, his remarks yesterday that the game applauds the ASADA process and that there has been a "presumption of innocence until proven otherwise" are laughable. Presumption of innocence? From the moment Sports Minister Kate Lundy and Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare held their hysterical press conference on February 7, every player in the NRL and the AFL has been dipped in excrement and now eagerly wait for it to be washed off. Grant might consider asking some players how they feel about this. Like the leading player, from none of the club's mentioned, who this column spoke to recently about how much he fields questions about the drugs topic each time he drops his children off at school. ACC chief executive John Lawler this week partly explained the reason for going public on February 7 was because he feared "someone could have died". If that's so, if the consequences of these so-called peptides, which are under the greyest of areas of the WADA code, are so dire, why not pick up the phone and tell whoever is using them that they are at grave risk? Instead, the ACC with the powers of a royal commission thought the best way was to hold a televised press conference. Yesterday's front page of The Daily Telegraph carried a story about calls from more politicians to haul players and coaches before a senate inquiry. In the wash-up to all this, maybe they should call a senate inquiry into the way government departments have handled this from day one.
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