Former Australia lock Justin Harrison handed eight-month suspension

[travelling_gerry]

From correspondents in London
July 21, 2009 Former Australia and Bath lock Justin Harrison has been handed an eight-month suspension after admitting three drug-related charges at a Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing.
The 35-year-old was suspended by RFU disciplinary officer Judge Jeff Blackett for "actions which are prejudicial to the interests of the game".

Harrison admitted taking a prohibited substance during an end-of-season celebration in London and of subsequently failing to submit to a drugs test.

The former Australia international also admitted to shouting: "Class A, it's OK, everyone's doing it" in the vicinity of Bath's academy players.

The suspension was back-dated to May 14, the day Harrison resigned from Bath and withdrew from the Barbarians tour, and he is banned from playing and coaching rugby until January 13, 2010.

Three of Harrison's former Bath team-mates - Michael Lipman, Alex Crockett and Andrew Higgins - face similar charges at an RFU hearing later this month. All three vehemently deny any wrongdoing.

Harrison requested a separate hearing and in return agreed to abide by the judgement of the RFU's disciplinary officer.

Harrison said: "I wish to express my acceptance of my suspension by the RFU.

"I deeply regret the incidents of Sunday, May 10, 2009 and the subsequent damage to Bath Rugby Club and the game itself.

"My situation highlights the dangers to elite rugby players of excess drinking and illicit substances. Whether in season or out those dangers should be avoided.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to remain involved in the game and I fully intend to use my own experiences to educate younger players in the future."

Harrison has not been banned from all rugby-related activities because the charges related to an incident that was out of competition and therefore did not fall under the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
Agence France-Presse

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23217,00.html

[Happy]

ooops

[fulvio sammut]

And the difference between his actions and those of Wendell is?

(Or does doing it out of season make it relatively OK?)

[Thequeerone]

He is 35 - not going to be a wallaby anymore, what can they do to him now

[travelling_gerry]

By Iain Payten
From: The Daily Telegraph July 21, 2009 7:06PM Source: The Daily Telegraph

FORMER Wallabies lock Justin Harrison will not be able to pursue a playing or coaching career back in Australia this year, with the ARU confirming it will enforce an eight-month English ban for drug use.

Harrison was yesterday suspended by the Rugby Football Union after pleading guilty to bringing the game into disrepute by using cocaine at end-of-season celebrations for his UK club Bath in May.

In a case with similarities to Andrew Johns' arrest in 2007, Harrison admitted to taking the drug after it was offered to him by Australians he'd met earlier in the day at the notorious Church club. The celebrations later turned sour when Harrison and other players were involved in a fight with rival Harlequins players.

An investigation followed but four Bath players - including Harrison - refused to take drug tests and resigned from the club.

At an RFU hearing this week, 35-year-old Harrison pleaded guilty on three charges of bringing the game into disrepute for a) taking drugs, b) refusing a drug test, and c) saying on a bus full of Bath teammates: "Class A, it's okay, everyone's doing it."

Harrison returned from Australia to London for the RFU hearing.

In his judgement, RFU judicial officer Jeff Blackett said he was impressed with Harrison's honesty and contrition and took four months off a year-long suspension accordingly. His ban from playing and coaching will end on January 13.

Harrison said in a statement: "I wish to express my acceptance of my suspension by the RFU.

"I deeply regret the incidents of Sunday, May 10, 2009 and the subsequent damage to Bath Rugby Club and the game itself.

"My situation highlights the dangers to elite rugby players of excess drinking and illicit substances. I am grateful for the opportunity to remain involved in the game and I fully intend to use my own experiences to educate younger players in future."

Harrison did not receive a two-year ban like Wendell Sailor because the incident occurred out of competition.

The controversial lock will not be able to return home as either a player or a coach. The RFU hearing heard it is the latter career Harrison is hoping to pursue in Australia, along with media work.

"Any RFU suspension would certainly be enforced in Australia," an ARU spokesman said.

But the Brumbies are ready to welcome Harrison back after his suspension, with boss Andrew Fagan strongly endorsing his character.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225752877630

[lotus flower]

typical brumby behaviour

[prop53]

No Excuse BAN FOR LIFE

[Darren]

It's a pity - I've always appreciated Harrison. At his age, an 8 month ban (and being booted from your club) is as good as a life playing ban.

I see no real difference to Wendell's case (and subsequent 2 year ban) 'cept Wendell got busted during the season - thems the breaks.

Bottom line is they're both mugs to get caught up in it...

[AndyS]

Interesting case of timing. Had to laugh about the AFL link though - I wonder if anyone thought to ask what they do if they actually catch someone, why players have suggested that they get a heads-up about impending visits, and why the most high profile "catch" of recent times wasn't caught but had to grass himself up for chronic abuse?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RFU tackles illicit drug use
Fri, 17 Jul 2009

A ground-breaking conference on illicit drugs in rugby was held at Twickenham Stadium on Wednesday.

The Illicit Drugs Forum on July 15 - a joint venture between the Rugby Football Union, Premier Rugby and the Professional Rugby Players' Association - brought together key personnel and organisations from the sport and anti-doping.

While English rugby operates a robust in and out of competition anti-doping testing programme, the World Anti-Doping Agency does not currently prohibit or test for illicit drug use out of competition. The forum discussed how the game in England can protect the health and welfare of the players as well as the reputation and integrity of the game. The conference covered the areas of education, testing, sanctions and rehabilitation.

Player, coaching and medical representatives from the Guinness Premiership clubs and England elite teams were joined by the Australian Football League (Australian Rules), one of only a few national governing bodies in world sport who test players out of competition for illicit drugs.

Delegates also heard from former Arsenal and England footballer Tony Adams about his battle with alcohol and how he formed the Sporting Chance clinic to support and counsel sportspeople, with friend and now Chief Executive, Peter Kay.

Organisations involved in providing education, policy information and drug testing also made presentations.

RFU anti-doping officer Gavin Dovey, one of the organisers of the forum, said: "Illicit drugs are a community wide problem and as a sport we wanted to have an open, frank and constructive debate about how to mitigate the risk of illicit drugs to our players and the Game at large.

"English rugby is at the forefront of the anti-doping campaign under the WADA Code but it is clear that the current WADA regulatory framework does not provide us the mechanism to best manage that risk and what is essentially a social, health and welfare issue.

"This forum is part of a long term programme we have in place with our partners that has been brought into sharper focus by recent events.

"We looked at all aspects of the illicit drugs issue, from testing to education and rehabilitation, so that those that govern the game as administrators and participate as coaches and players can formulate what we hope will be a world leading and effective Illicit Drugs Policy and Programme."

RFU head of sports medicine Simon Kemp said: "The issue of illicit drug use in rugby forces us all to consider how best we could potentially balance the need for a clear and strong "anti-drugs" message, protect the image of the game and maximise the deterrence value of a sanction whilst providing a "fair" opportunity for players to achieve a successful rehabilitation.

"Successful illicit drugs policies are typically based on a medical model - one that focuses on education, counselling and treatment.

"The conference was an exciting opportunity for the game's stakeholders to be briefed about the risk, share opinion and look at achieving consensus as to the way forward."

PRL rugby director Phil Winstanley added: "We have been working with the RFU on the WADA anti-doping programme for some time and we have a comprehensive education and testing programme operating at Guinness Premiership level.

"However, figures show that the use of illicit drugs is most prevalent in males aged 16-34, which almost exactly matches our playing population. We would be arrogant to imagine that our players are not at risk and doing nothing is not an option.

"The feedback we have had already suggests the forum was a huge success. It allowed us to address all the issues around illicit drugs in rugby and will ultimately help us form policy."

PRA Chief Executive Damian Hopley commented: "The players wholeheartedly support the development of an illicit drugs policy in rugby. They feel the image and reputation of the game have been tarnished by recent events and by formulating and implementing a robust policy we will demonstrate a clear stance against illicit drug use in rugby.

"Delegates at the forum had a valuable opportunity to learn from the experiences of guest speakers from other sports and hold a constructive debate on the way forward and I was heartened that so many of them viewed player welfare as the prime concern in shaping a future policy."

Adrian Anderson, general manager (Football Operations) for the AFL concluded, "Illicit drug use is an issue for everyone in the community and the RFU, Premier Rugby and the Professional Rugby Players' Association have shown great leadership in seeking the best solution to educate players about the dangers posed by illicit drugs and - where necessary - change behaviours.

"Four years ago we decided to address the issue of illicit drug use and we worked with the players' association and medical experts to come up with a programme to tackle the issue. The Australian Football League [AFL] is happy to pass on that experience and help in any way we can.

"In four years of out of competition illicit drug testing - run in addition to our anti doping policy - the level of failed tests has dropped from 4.03 percent to less than one per cent of the 1,220 tests we conducted last year.

"More importantly we were able to intervene in the lives of footballers who had experimented with illicit drugs and get them the counselling and treatment to help change their behaviour."

http://www.rugby365.com/all_news/nbc...ws/1805520.htm

[Thequeerone]

"More importantly we were able to intervene in the lives of footballers who had experimented with illicit drugs and get them the counselling and treatment to help change their behaviour."

http://www.rugby365.com/all_news/nbc...ws/1805520.htm

Is it that the individuals were scared into believing that they would not be able to play professionally or the actual medical problems which most encounter with drugs that has caused this drop in incidents.

I personally love the zero tolerance approach of the ARU however would have to admit that it seems to be counter to the trends of society where many more people believe it to be socially acceptable compared to the ethos of my youth.