ASADA delivers trick for ‘cheaters’
Brent Read
The Australian
April 12, 2014 12:00AM
THE latest delays involving *Stephen Dank may be just the tip of iceberg for the ongoing Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency investigation as it *emerges that players suspected of being drug cheats could use the appeal process to delay any sanctions for up to two years.
Judge Garry Downes, called in by the federal government to fast-track the ASADA investigation, is only weeks from compiling his report, a move that was expected to signal the process was close to closure.
However, sources yesterday told The Weekend Australian that any move to act against players could take years to finalise. It raises the spectre that athletes accused of being drug cheats could continue playing for that period while they await potential sanctions.
The news comes only a day after the entire process was held up for ridicule by circumstances surrounding Dank. The sports scientist was expected to have his matter ruled on by the Anti-Doping Rule Violation Panel this week but the hearing was *delayed because the required number of board members was not available.
The ADRVP has seven members, but a number of them have stepped down. Federal Minister for Sport Peter Dutton insisted the board still had four current members but it emerged yesterday that at least one of them was overseas.
According to noted sports doctor Peter Larkins, sports physician Diana Robinson was in Monaco at the IOC World Conference on Prevention of *Injury & Illness in sport.
“Up to health minister to appoint new members to ADRVP ASAP — not an ASADA issue — at least one member (Robinson) here in Monaco — no mtg possible,” Larkins tweeted.
Eventually, the ADRVP is *expected to rule on the players at the centre of the ASADA investigation. However, there were suggestions yesterday that players targeted by the investigation, and found to have a case to *answer by the ADRVP, could string out the process for years by taking their case to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and then the full Federal Court.
While the sports would have the option to issue infraction *notices earlier, *sources suggested the more prudent move would be to allow the process to be completed.
If they infracted players who were subsequently cleared by the appeals process, it would leave the respective governing bodies of the sports open to potential legal action.
An appeal to the AAT can take anything up to one year, *potentially the same amount of time required for the full Federal Court to hear any appeal.
A worst-case scenario would result in the full process taking two years to complete, in turn raising the spectre that players suspected of being drug cheats could keep playing while the *appeal process was played out.
Furthermore, it could mean players in the latter stages of their careers could stretch out the process to ensure their sanctions were not finalised until they retired.
Under the existing process, once the ADRVP decides an *athlete is to be placed on the register of findings, that person has 28 days to appeal the ADRVP's decision to the AAT.
Dank has already indicated he plans to take his matter to the Federal Court. Former Canberra NRL winger Sandor Earl remains the only athlete to be sanctioned as a result of the ASADA investigation.
Earl, who has based himself in Thailand during his suspension, was expected to have his four-year suspension reduced by 75 per cent under the substantial-assistance clause.
However, Earl is still waiting for a verdict on whether he qualifies for the discount.
