It is what it is
John Solomon (38)
I'm just genetically blessed, eat right, train hard and sleep well........trust me.
Was it corked?The Titans GM reckons the urine vials were at least six months old, "not us" he cries.
He basically means that the knowledge of how the drugs work (half lives, detectability etc) as well as the testing procedures and protocols means that you should not get caught. If you fail a drug test it's more to do with making a mistake with timing and such than the actual drug taking. Many of the biggest drug cheats never tested positive, even these club rugby players in Oz got done because of parcel deliveries.
As Drew Mitchell said, ignorance is no excuse.
Whilst it might give a player someone to blame, the athlete is the one taking the drug and they are the one that is responsible.
Clearly other people involved can also be banned from that sport (or all sports) but it isn't really a mitigating factor for the athlete in question.
It shouldnt be swept under the mat, I'm concerned that they would attempt to make it happen.Why would it or should it be swept under the table?
If teams and players have taken banned PERs and it can be proven, I don't think there will be much of an effort to protect them and claim it was all a big mistake.
I think part of the issue is that they are trying to get athletes to own up. "We know you're cheating and we're going to catch you soon" statements are aimed at athletes that they haven't caught yet who's guilty conscience get the better of them and they turn themselves in. I don't think it's going to happen unless they provide an incentive. You will be banned for 2 years but the criminal charges will be down graded, or something of that ilk might be worth a try.
I don't want to hear about any athlete blaming someone else for a failed drug test. There is so much education around this that they have no excuse. They are all provided with a number to call if they have any issues about anything they take. Sally Pearson has taken a good stand on this
http://www.perthnow.com.au/entertai...or-sally-pearson/story-e6frg30l-1226574616564
If a player is relying on a doctor to give him only legal stuff, and the doctor is giving him scripts (as opposed to vials) then i think the player is morally in the clear.
If there's no paper trail then you have to think that the player has been wilfully blind to the risk that what's being done is not entirely kosher.
But, let's face it, these are not necessarily the brightest blokes in the world.