Drug cheats know risk
DRUGFREE Sport New Zealand has warned athletes there is risk in using any sports supplement after Kiwi basketballer Gareth Dawson was hit with a four-year ban for his second doping breach.
The Sports Tribunal suspended Dawson, a former Canterbury Rams centre, for the presence of a prohibited substance, higenamine, in a sample taken from him at a National Basketball League (NBL) game on May 27.
Higenamine is a specified substance banned in and out of competition and is on the Prohibited List 2017. The source of the higenamine was from the supplement Oxyshred, used by Dawson and which can still easily be bought online in New Zealand. Higenamine is listed among the product’s ingredients.
Sports supplements have become such a problematic area that New Zealand Rugby’s head of professional rugby, Chris Lendrum, says every professional side has a designated supplements manager to reduce the risk of the use of any banned substances, and also advise players on purchasing safe supplements.
DFSNZ chief executive Nick Paterson echoed that caution and was unapologetic about Dawson’s lengthy ban.
‘‘Neither WADA or DFSNZ endorse any supplement brand or company, and supplements are taken at the risk of the athlete,’’ he said.
‘‘It is 100 per cent the athlete’s responsibility as to what they put into their body.’’
Dawson said an updated list of all prohibited substances is released on January 1 every year by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).
‘‘Supplements are tricky and we have empathy for athletes trying to navigate their way through, because of the hundreds, if not thousands of supplements available, with more on the market every day, and the ability to pur- chase supplements online from around the world.
‘‘Not all ingredients are listed on supplement labels so DFSNZ cannot be certain what the supplements contain.’’
But he said there were no blurred lines between what can be used and what is disallowed by WADA.
Athletes in New Zealand have access to a 24-hour 0800 number, a text-in system which automatically confirms a banned sub- stance, a new handbook every year, online medication and supplement checks, and clean sports seminars.
New Zealand Basketball chief executive Iain Potter said Dawson’s suspension was the right and fair thing to do, given he had all the information at his fingertips.
‘‘The Sports Tribunal had little choice but to suspend him for four years given it was his second breach.
‘‘It’s very disappointing that an experienced player, especially one that has had previous contact with the Sports Tribunal system, would place himself in this situation.’’
In rugby, younger players often use supplements to build muscle mass when coming through the ranks.
NZR is so aware of the risk that rules require these players to advise their manager when they are taking supplements not pro- FAIRFAX vided by their club/franchise.
All supplements provided by clubs must be batch tested unless the manager considers them to be low risk. All policing is done by DFSNZ, but clubs also carry out batch testing on the supplements they use.
NZR has the same list of prohibited drugs as that WADA provides.
‘‘ . . . the messages are very clear that the responsibility lies with the player,’’ Lendrum said.