Bryce Gibbs cleared by ASADA
Date
July 24, 2013
Brad Walter, Michael Carayannis
Cronulla prop Bryce Gibbs has been cleared by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority after being identified as the mystery 14th Sharks player to attend a crisis meeting of players and officials earlier this year.
Gibbs, who was not at Cronulla during the period in 2011 under investigation by ASADA, was one of eight players named in a document leaked to News Ltd listing the details of contracts players would want honoured if they were suspended for inadvertent drug use.
However, Fairfax Media has been told Gibbs is not one of the 30 NRL players required to organise interviews with ASADA from August 1.
It is alleged the reason Gibbs attended the meeting at Sharkies Leagues Club in the week leading up to Cronulla's opening match against Gold Coast on March 10 was to give moral support to his teammates.
Sources said they were ''dumbfounded'' and ''bemused'' when Gibbs fronted for the meeting.Richard Redman, the legal counsel appointed by Cronulla on behalf of their players, is known to represent 14 Sharks - but only 13 members of the current squad were at the club in 2011.
Gibbs joined Cronulla from Wests Tigers last year. His name had not been mentioned publicly in relation to the investigation until it appeared in the leaked document.The others named in the document were Paul Gallen, Wade Graham, Nathan Gardner, Nathan Stapleton, Matthew Wright, Stewart Mills, and Jason Bukuya.
Fairfax Media understands Ben Pomeroy, John Morris, Anthony Tupou, Chad Townsend, Ricky Leutele and Sam Tagataese were the other players at the meeting. It is understood three of the 14 players are considered unlikely to have any cause for concern as ASADA does not want to interview them.
