Another Kerry player fails a doping test

[seafoid]

You would wonder if the Tipp full back line were on some thing dodgy.

[gallsman]

On the form he filled in at doping controls he listed 8 different supplements and 1 medication he took in the 2 weeks before the final. Augmentin, whey protein, pharmaton, pre-fuel, caffeine tablets, caffeine gel, vitamin C, Krill oil and magnesium. These are meant to be amateur athletes but I'd say there are professional athletes who aren't taking supplements in these quantities. No wonder the top resourced counties are getting further away from those with small budgets.

I know people who aren't even athletes who would be taking some or all of these.

All those supplements he is taking is fair enough and would have more than likely been advised by the dietician. Was this fat burning supplement not mentioned in his doping control test?

Yep.
'Caffeine tablets'.

That's the other bit - I'm happy to be pleasantly surprised that the supplement was actually contaminated rather than just something he bought and used the contaminated supplement excuse.

However, these are clearly fat burning pills (I've used similar before from myprotein), not caffeine supplements. So if that's what he put down on his list, he evidently had a worry about the stuff.

[DJGaliv]

Full decision here.
http://www.sportireland.ie/Media/Latest_News/Sport%20Ireland%20and%20GAA%20Confirm%20Anti-Doping%20Rule%20Violation.html

Seems like a couple of folk who doubted the fact that the sample was contaminated owe the lad an apology.

That's the big stumbling block here. In Irish amateur sporting circles - cycling, running, triathlon, badminton, tennis - contaminated supplements is not an excuse. You're unlucky but you put yourself in that position to be unlucky that majority of athletes don't.

That's the risk you take when you buy without advice.
Advice isn't as simple as reading the back of the packet. There are specific companies with better records than others, there are companies that batch test their product. And also sports dieticians would have looked at his body fat scores and thought they could be achieved over time in safer ways.
Any sports dietician worth their salt would have told him the risk of contamination and it wasn't one worth taking.

I do feel really sorry for Brendan O'Sullivan, but I think all these people arguing for him, or seeking apologies or asking to let him away with just a slap on the wrist, do more damage to him.
I know there's huge uproar in other Irish sports as to the way this is being spoken about. If it was let be, yeah he was silly and here's his punishment which he is accepting of then it would pass over. However listening to this as if he is the first guy ever to be done for a contaminated supplement and should be treated differently is extremely naive.

[gallsman]

Have just listened to the Last Word. Clerkin was doing ok until he started shiteing on about how there needs to be financial incentive to dope and subsequently that whatever incentives are available to lads in the GAA aren't even worth talking about. You only have to look at all the lads picking up a new Audi A4 every six months off the back of their "brand ambassadorships" to see there's plenty of money involved.

One of the things that pisses me off the most about this (and Quirke was the worst for it) was that nobody in the GAA would have any reason to dope over, say, your "average" Olympic athlete. There appears to be a complete refusal to acknowledge, particularly​ at the very top level, that footballers and hurlers are sporting royalty in this country - much more so than someone like Rob Heffernan, Derval O'Rourke or even Sonia, never mind a canoeist, hockey player etc.

[Beffs]

Have just listened to the Last Word. Clerkin was doing ok until he started shiteing on about how there needs to be financial incentive to dope and subsequently that whatever incentives are available to lads in the GAA aren't even worth talking about. You only have to look at all the lads picking up a new Audi A4 every six months off the back of their "brand ambassadorships" to see there's plenty of money involved.

One of the things that pisses me off the most about this (and Quirke was the worst for it) was that nobody in the GAA would have any reason to dope over, say, your "average" Olympic athlete. There appears to be a complete refusal to acknowledge, particularly​ at the very top level, that footballers and hurlers are sporting royalty in this country - much more so than someone like Rob Heffernan, Derval O'Rourke or even Sonia, never mind a canoeist, hockey player etc.

Agreed. And the freebie Audi's are only the tip of the iceberg. There are other far more intangible things at play here. It is not all about money. To a Kerryman, having a Celtic cross in the arse pocket is of far, far more importance than Red Bull or Audi or Adidas throwing you a few bob during your few years at the top of the inter county food chain. To say that no one is going to dope, unless there is massive amounts of money involved, is incredibly naive at best, and stupid at worse.

Being a GAA star in Ireland is huge deal. Winning an All Ireland is a big deal, in ways that have nothing to do with money. Players have pride and personal ambitions. They aren't robots. They want to succeed as GAA athletes for themselves, for that sense of accomplishment that comes with winning Liam/Sam, but also for the validation and pride that comes from their own families and clubs and parishes when they win a trophy. You can't put a price tag on any of that. If a lad decides to step over a line, to get all that, the finanical perks that may follow along afterwards, may be very far down the pecking order in their original decision making. It is daft to think otherwise.

Am not picking on Kerry. They just happen to be the county in the cross hairs right now. You can say that about any county in the country really. Good luck getting former players (like Quirke) to admit any of this. They want people to think they are all pure as the driven snow, who play their sport because they are all paragons of manly virtue. They aren't. They are human beings, just like the rest of us, with flaws, just like the rest of us. I also expect few journos (like Malachy Clerkin) to be unsympathetic to their current plight. He has a job to do. Any GAA journo that earns himself a reputation as a doping crusader, will soon find inter county doors closed to him and, players not returning his phone calls.

[Wildweasel74]

Why is all thes lads taking so many supplements anyway! Who recommending them! Played fball 15 yrs never once took anything outside of an inhaler; odd red bull maybe!!

[gallsman]

They are human beings, just like the rest of us, with flaws, just like the rest of us. I also expect few journos (like Malachy Clerkin) to be unsympathetic to their current plight. He has a job to do. Any GAA journo that earns himself a reputation as a doping crusader, will soon find inter county doors closed to him and, players not returning his phone calls.

This is where you'll see the distinction between real journalists and "new" media with bolloxes like Parkinson who are simply lads who used to be on the inside of things.

[Beffs]

Unfortunately, "real" journalists are prone to the same "know where your bread is buttered" career realities, just as much as the clickbait loving "new" media are. Maybe even more so. They build relationships over time and do long sit down interviews, such as the recent one with Colm Cooper and Vincent Hogan in the Sindo.

To the new meeja, you make a funny two minute You Tube video, or you have a player do a quirky Q&A session, you throw it up on Twitter account and it's bobs your uncle. As the bulk of your target market are on their smartphones and spend an average of 24.8 seconds on each clickbait item you put up, that is all you need to hit your adverising target. Job done !

[GalwayBayBoy]

Why is all thes lads taking so many supplements anyway! Who recommending them! Played fball 15 yrs never once took anything outside of an inhaler; odd red bull maybe!!

As Sir Dave would doubtless say....marginal gains.

[Wildweasel74]

If hes training 6 times a week for a non paying sport i doubt he may find something else to do!  Either pay the players; or go bck to the proper ethos of the gaa! I withdrawn from the sports council grants! How much does a sub get anyway for this harassement whether he guilty or innocent! The man who started this thread probably one of those who turned a blind eye to one of their players been involved  in dog fighting  in the past

[Jinxy]

We didn't need any new-fangled supplements back in the 80's & 90's.
Just good old-fashioned 'Uncle Sean's patented revitalising tonic'.
100% natural.

[Jinxy]

If hes training 6 times a week for a non paying sport i doubt he may find something else to do!  Either pay the players; or go bck to the proper ethos of the gaa! I withdrawn from the sports council grants! How much does a sub get anyway for this harassement whether he guilty or innocent! The man who started this thread probably one of those who turned a blind eye to one of their players been involved  in dog fighting  in the past

[orangeman]

Why is all thes lads taking so many supplements anyway! Who recommending them! Played fball 15 yrs never once took anything outside of an inhaler; odd red bull maybe!!

And an Embassy Regal at half time.

[Il Bomber Destro]

Full decision here.
http://www.sportireland.ie/Media/Latest_News/Sport%20Ireland%20and%20GAA%20Confirm%20Anti-Doping%20Rule%20Violation.html

Seems like a couple of folk who doubted the fact that the sample was contaminated owe the lad an apology.

I'd like to think you are joking. At the very best he has gone on a solo run and taken a product which he actively sought out himself because the caffeine supplement prescribed by the team doctor wasn't adequate. The product he purchased co-incidentally happened to be a fat burner and some research into the product will show how he could easily have been seduced by its contents and effects.

There has to be some responsibility placed on the athlete in checking what goes into their body. The medical support staff were available if he had asked them.

The fact is that he did check the product's ingredients to see if any were on the prohibited substances list and none of them were.
He was able to provide evidence of these searches to Sport Ireland.
Chances are high that if he had asked the medical support staff they would have told him there was nothing in the product he used that was prohibited.

It's one thing to say the product was contaminated if there's no product to be tested as an excuse, it's a bit of a different story when he says the products must be contaminated, is able to provide unused samples for testing and the samples provided test positive for the substance in question.

The fact is that ignorance is not an excuse. If this had been an athlete or cyclist they would be looking at a possible 2 year ban and left with no support network around them. He is lucky he is a GAA player with plenty of people batting his corner.

But surely the sport ireland statement has confirmed that this is NOT a case of ignorance being an excuse?
This guy checked the product, did his research and confirmed that no banned substances were listed as being in the product.
I agree he should also have ran it by the team doctor or whoever but unless they actually tested the product would they have come to any other conclusion?
The fact that a banned substance was contained in the product was near impossible to establish without actually testing the product.

Having said all that, every player is responsible for everything that goes into their own bodies so there is no doubt that he should receive a punishment for having a positive test.
He has received (and served) a 21 week ban for this.

I think some people judgement is being clouded on this by the fact that it is only becoming public knowledge AFTER the ban has already been served!


Is 2 years the maximum punishment for any doping offence?
Would people agree that there should be different punishments for different levels of drug taking? i.e. the lance armstrong type doping Vs some fella taking a lempsip!

He didn't bother to run it by the Kerry medical side, he didn't bother to check it was on the allowed supplement list and make further checks with qualified people.

The whole ignorance and playing dumb story is not in any way plausible or excusable. At the very best he took a chance by breaking the rules and procedures and at the worst he knew full well what he was at. He's got off very, very lightly.

[Il Bomber Destro]

If hes training 6 times a week for a non paying sport i doubt he may find something else to do!  Either pay the players; or go bck to the proper ethos of the gaa! I withdrawn from the sports council grants! How much does a sub get anyway for this harassement whether he guilty or innocent! The man who started this thread probably one of those who turned a blind eye to one of their players been involved  in dog fighting  in the past

I fail to see the correlation between dog fighting and doping in GAA.