Sharks ASADA case: A stain that will be hard for players to remove
Rebecca Wilson, Josh Massoud and James Hooper
The Daily Telegraph
August 21, 2014 12:00AM
IT’S an effective ban of just 10 weeks, but the potential cost is a lifetime of slurs.
That was stomach-churning dilemma served up to 17 past and present Cronulla players on Wednesday night, just hours after they received ASADA ‘show cause’ notices in relation to the club’s 2011 supplement program.
The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday learned that every player in the firing line has been offered a one-year suspension, back-dated to November 1, 2013.
But in exchange for sitting out just over two months, the players must admit that the club gave them banned peptides CJC-1295 and GHRP-6 in 2011.
In short, the players are being asked to admit to being part of a group of drug cheats.
The alternative is to continue to assert their innocence by fighting the ‘show cause’ notices in either the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) or Federal Court and risk a mandatory two-year ban for the use of those two growth stimulants.
A statement released by the Sharks indicated the five players still contracted to the club – skipper Paul Gallen, Wade Graham, Nathan Gardner, Anthony Tupou and John Morris – had been given just two days to make this decision.
“Players have been offered a proposal regarding a possible suspension, which they need to consider before the weekend, with the players to consult with their legal representatives over the next two days in relation to their individual circumstances,” the statement read.
Remaining members of the 2011 squad who received ‘show cause’ notices include: Kade Snowden (Knights), Jeremy Smith (Knights), Luke Douglas (Titans), Albert Kelly (Titans), Mathew Wright (Cowboys), Broderick Wright (retired), Colin Best (retired), Paul Aiton (Leeds), Stuart Flanagan (Appin), John Williams (retired), Josh Cordoba (London) and Ben Pomeroy (Catalans Dragons).
After receiving the notices from their own lawyers at various locations throughout the Sydney CBD; Gallen, Graham, Gardner, Tupou, Morris, Smith and Snowden all met for an hour inside an office tower on Bligh St shortly after lunch.
Gallen drove Graham, Tupou and Morris from the underground car park in a black ute about 3pm without offering a comment.
However, selected players remained in the city for further meetings with their lawyers last night.
While all players have the same opportunities to achieve a reduced and back-dated sentence, their relative responses could produce different outcomes.
It’s understood the players have until Friday to indicate whether they intend to co-operate, and ASADA will then determine the length of their recommended suspension on the candour of their reply.
Under the World Anti-Doping (WADA) guidelines, bans can be reduced to 12 months for players who can demonstrate “no significant fault or negligence”.
In this case, the Sharks players could claim they were misled into believing the substances were not prohibited under the WADA code.
The proposal to back-date the suspensions stems from ASADA’s “undue delay” in finalising the investigation.
Essentially, ASADA has acknowledged the players have already suffered because of the probe’s extraordinary length and draining public nature.
The back-dating on November 1, 2013, is recognition that this was the date the investigation officially completed.
Co-incidentally, it’s also the date new NRL contracts are registered, meaning none of the 17 players would be prejudiced by ongoing bans should they seek a new deal.
NRL sources have denied any collusion with ASADA to back-date the suspensions to this date.
Under the best case scenario, Gallen might even still be selected as part of Australia’s squad for the end-of-year Four Nations tournament, given he would just miss one game prior to the Kangaroos clash against England on November 2.
He would also be forced to skip a planned boxing bout in early October, but still has enough time to stage two fights before the new season starts next March.
Wednesday’s events have also placed Douglas in a difficult spot, jeopardising his record streak of 214 consecutive appearances since debuting in 2006.
