Blue Bombers’ Spooner says he’s no cheater

Offensive lineman accepts punishment for his failed drug test, writes Paul Friesen.

WINNIPEG As a reserve offensive lineman, Qadr Spooner hasn’t taken many hits on the field this season.

But the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ second-round draft pick has taken a big one off it.

To his reputation.

The 6-foot-4, 309-pounder from Brossard, Que., recently failed a drug test, the news coming out Aug. 9, two days after his 26th birthday.

On Monday, Spooner agreed to his first interview on the subject, talking about what it was like to get that call.

“So much anxiety,” Spooner said. “You’re denying it. I’ve never been into that stuff. I never even really liked supplements. I take them to recover. Or I take dietary supplements to help me manage my weight and stuff like that. But never have I been interested in pursuing steroids or anything like that.”

What drug-testers found in Spooner’s system is the designer steroid methasterone.

Soon after his positive test was made public, Spooner took to Twitter to deny he knowingly took the drug. Monday, he explained.

“Pure ignorance,” he said. “I didn’t know. It wasn’t my intention to cheat. To this day it’s really hard to be able to pinpoint which supplement may have had these drugs in it. But I have to take the responsibility at the end of the day.”

He also has to endure eye-rolls and comments from fans who’ve heard that excuse over and over again.

It was my first reaction in Spooner’s case, too. But the longer I talked to the man, the more I began to believe him.

First of all, he agreed to an interview, one-on-one, and wasn’t evasive or flippant with his answers.

His response to the failed test was to immediately look at the supplements he’d taken, going back to the off-season.

Spooner also has some therapeutic-use exemptions, medication he has to get cleared through his doctors. One for asthma, for instance.

But the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports, which runs the CFL’s drug-testing program, wasn’t able to pinpoint what caused his positive test.

Spooner had the option of appealing the ruling, which includes a two-game suspension and loss of pay.

But after doing as much research as he could, he decided to accept it.

“When you accept it, it’s (with) the understanding that whether you took it for the wrong reasons or you took it out of pure ignorance, it comes down to being mindful and knowing what you’re putting into your body,” he said.

While the league and the Bombers provide guidance on what players can and can’t take, it’s still up to them.

“And even with all the guidance and information they do provide us, they let us know there’s still risk,” Spooner said. “Sometimes they don’t even identify all the ingredients that could be in each supplement. So supplements are a dangerous thing to mess with.”

Whether you believe Spooner was simply caught in the dirty supplement game is up to you.

“I do ( believe him),” head coach Mike O’Shea said. “There’s enough stats out there about tainted supplements and anabolics finding their way into protein supplements.”

Spooner is a product of McGill University, where he was an all-star his senior season. The Bombers chose him with their second pick of the 2017 CFL draft. O’Shea has decided to let him practise and attend meetings as usual.

“The punishment is he’s losing wages,” O’Shea said. “Like an injured guy, they need their teammates more during these situations and get the support they need. You just don’t turn them into outcasts when things happen to them.”

The failed drug test means Spooner is now subject to further testing. Another positive test and he’ll be suspended for nine games. A third time, he’ll be suspended an entire season. Then life. The hit to his reputation is indefinite.

“There’s always some people that misunderstand a situation like this,” Spooner said. “Some people that assume and expect the worst when they hear this stuff. Label you a cheater and stuff like that. It’s really disappointing. I was drafted last year. I’ve taken numbers of drug tests in university as well as in the draft process. I’ve never failed a drug test.

“So in a situation like this, it is ridiculous. Some fans may question and assume the worst of you, just because they don’t know you.”