Yes on the face of it seems bad but when you take the time to read the story it's certainly not in the 'Hock' mold.

Should there be such high standards of drug testing in the part time game? If you have a job as well as play and you need the income to live then surely taking prescription drugs along with a doctors note should exempt you from a ban!

It's part time rugby not the olympics! Seems a bit harsh to me.

Dean Gaskell was banned for a few months for using one too many doses of his asthma inhaler, during his first game back after a long lay off, so he was understandably struggling more than usual.
i always thought that was rather harsh. apparently he was cleared to use it, but only a certain number of times. obviously asthma attacks dont pay any attention to abitrary limits.

ANY prescribed drugs by a GP should be ignored by the anti-doping agency. Only if prescribed by the club doctor should questions then be asked.

It's definitely not in the 'Hock' mould. Hock took a recreational drug.

Sports drug testing reached a ridiculous state of paranoia years ago. What should be intended to clamp down on sportspeople taking genuinely performance enhancing drugs now searches for the tiniest trace of thousands of substances contained in innumerable medications.

As for recreational drugs - I've always thought that's a matter for the police, not sport. What do I care if a footballer smokes a joint? Or a rugby player does a line of coke? I'm sure we all know plenty of people who take drugs - it's an illegal but very common activity in society. We don't ban players for other criminal activities, why should recreational drugs be any different?

[size=50(yes I know some tests 'apparently' show cocaine has limited performance enhancing qualities)[/size

Ben Johnson was caught out for steroid use in 1988, when McDermott would have been 9 or so, so he would have heard the story and known about the fuss since then. So at one point in his career, and why, does he then think "Taking anabolic steroids is OK and they'll never catch me"?

Stupid

The only thing about that was your linking this with Ben Johnson and then displaying a complete ignorance of the case at hand.

Hock took recreational drugs which thousands of people nationwide do and they will never be banned for two years from their job. I'm not saying what he did was right, he was clearly wrong. But what exactly do you mean by the 'Hock mold'?

There are plenty others would just be outright sacked.

Doesn't change the fact imposing the same ban for performance enhancing drugs and recreational drugs is ridiculous.

If you're going to ban players for smoking cannabis or having a sniff of coke on a night out, you might as well ban them for speeding, drink driving (a far worse crime) or selling dodgy printer ink.

That's not to say I approve of any form of drugs - I despair of my friends who sneak off to the toilets doing lines - but recreational drugs should be a police matter and/or for the club to deal with as a disciplinary matter.

I 'exactly' mean by the 'Hock mold', that Gareth Hock took recreational drugs with no meaning or purpose other than enjoying himself illegally.

McDermott has took a prescription drug that wasn't illegal and prescribed by his doctor to aid his recovery to work in the coal industry to providefor his family.

Slight difference.

yeh,he IS a great role model and knowing Brett he will use this experience to enlighten the younger generation - he has been a model RL player and given great service to his employers as well as us fans - i'm NOT a Raiders fan BTW.To compare him with the likes of Hock is ridiculous.AJ Viking is 100% correct with his post ...


RL players at all levels risk their pro or semi-pro careers by taking the occasional recreational drug - I don't believe this is a major problem in the game in the SL & C/C1 etc but it does go on.It would be ridiculous to deny it.
Brett knows he made a mistake and he has just ended a distinguished RL career.As I said,good luck to him for the future and fellow players at all levels take note !

What extra info is there that you have and is not in the Sporting Life link then? That's all I have as it's all that's in the OP. Care to share your knowledge with the group?

Johnson apparently took Stanolozol

"Stanozolol, commonly sold under the name Winstrol (oral) and Winstrol Depot (intramuscular), was developed by Winthrop Laboratories in 1962. It is a synthetic [uanabolic steroid[/u derived from testosterone, and has been approved by the FDA for human use." (wikipedia)

McDermott "provided a sample containing the prohibited substances drostanolone and 19-norandrosterone, which are [uanabolic[/u agents"

So I'm struggling to see why you think there isn't a link. Not the same drugs but from the same family. I'll ask again, why would someone who would have known that anabolic steroids are banned take them, unless he did so by accident, in which case I apologise. But there is nothing in the report linked at the start to suggest that this is the case.

Did you even read the thread before casting your verdict on BMs actions?



You make a lot of assumptions in that statement.

Placing that statement within quotation marks is a bit misleading

Maybe you should hold your water a while and wait for some facts before summarily condemning the blokes actions and his reasoning.

Yep. And read the Sporting Life report too



I'm not claiming to know his thoughts

Just seems a bit odd that someone who, as a sportsman, would have heard about Ben Johnson (probably the most high profile drug test fail ever) does not appear on the basis of the report to have questioned whatever he was taking/offered. Like I say if it was an accident, I apologise, but based on that report, who knows?



Maybe.

Maybe you should too in terms of leaping to his defence? Or do you have facts that you're not prepared to reveal?

so your saying that the doctor provided him with masteron then???

In my book, he is a fool whatever way you cut it and certainly not a role model (but could become one).

If he took the drugs in a deliberate act to extend / improve his playing career he is an idiot a cheat and a fraud. If he was given a prescription drug by a GP that was on the band list then he is not particularly bright. The requirements of drug testing are widely knowns across sports and all he needed to say to the GP that he could be subject to testing therefore would require a drug not on the band list. If no such drug was available, he could have declared the fact to the authorities with the support of the GP. As long as this is done in advance of any test it shouldn't cause a problem (this is how Asthmatic athletics get around the problem). Checking isn't exactly hard as either McDermott or his GP could have referred the prohibited list on the WADA website.

In many jobs a failed drug test can lead to immediate dismissal regardless of whether the drug is recreational or performance enhancing, in RL it leads to a 2 year ban allowing the individual to return to play the sport if still young enough or alternatively in a different capacity.

He has let himself and his family down. Now is the time for him to to become a role model by ensuring others do not make the same mistakes he has.

its rubbish, he knew what he was doing and thats a fact. masteron is used to make lean gains and not hold any water! you dont just accidently take masteron(drostanolone) its also only detectable for up to 2 months so he was probably thinking he would get away with it!

Its a difficult call in the case of part time players.
A few years ago my dad had a number of leg rebuild operations culminating in knee replacements. It was a painful and slow process only made possible by the use of certain steroids and other medication which if he was an elite sportsman instead of a 70 year old would have counted as banned substances.

So we put individuals into a high impact sport which leads to a large percentage of injuries and then tell them that any recovery cannot use normal medication and will be slower and less effective. Then we watch parades of past players looking like old men at 40 walking with the aid of sticks. Surely a day will come where clubs are sued for failing in their duty of care to employees (I think Ian Knott was considering this after playing with pain killers and getting spinal degradation)

I don't know what the answer is...in Brett McDermott's case he seems to have been trying to speed up his recovery in order to feed his family and keep his job. If that's the case I struggle to criticise that. However to open up a loophole for him to use would encourage large scale cheating.

There are some people just posting to carry on an argument.

I think its apalling that a player who is playing the second highest standard of RL in europe has to think about finance and helping his family. Brett didnt take the drug for no reason, or to enhance his performance or for pleasure he took it for his family and for finance.

And whoever said Brett isn't a role model, your not from Barrow or anywhere near cumbria. The man is idolised by every young RL player in the area he is a hero. He was a player who put his body on the line, had pride in the badge he was wearing and played with honour.

I understand the ban to prevent loopholes and others doing it, but people saying he's a cheat and an idiot is a disgrace.

well said RN,and i've never even been to Cumbria !

Brett gave a typically honest interview with the local press 2 months ago when this story first broke, for anyone who wishes to get the full facts before judging him..... www.nwemail.co.uk/news/my-drugs- ... th=raiders

Brett gave a typically honest interview with the local press 2 months ago when this story first broke, for anyone who wishes to get the full facts before judging him..... www.nwemail.co.uk/news/my-drugs- ... th=raiders

“I took some orals from the gym to speed things up. With work, I wanted to get back to fitness as soon as I could.

“I didn’t ask what was in them. I knew they were anabolic, but I didn’t ask what was in them, I just wanted to get back playing and working and this sorted us out''
=#FF0000i understand his wish to get back to work, im sure we all get that. being semi pro he has to be able to complete his 'real' job to support his family. that being said he obviously knew full well what he was doing.

“There are things you can take in competition and out of competition and I thought, as long as I’m clear when I’m playing, I would be fine''
=#FF0000With all due respect to the man thats bloody stupid. what about pre season then?

“I was never taking any performance-enhancing drugs when I was playing''
=#FF0000 clearly not, it would be a bit obvious if you started popping pills or shooting up DURING a game. people are tested year round for good reasons. if he absolutely needed to take if for medical reasons he should have actually got it from a doctor and not some meat head juicer in a gym and declared it to the powers that be. to take it knowing it is banned, from an unofficial source and say nothing is just stupid.

“It’s a bad way to end (my career). I hope people don’t judge me on what I have done now, but rather what I have done in the past.
=#FF0000i certainly wont judge him a cheat. im sure we all can understand why, hes taken this stuff for 'recovery enhancement' not performance enhancement as such. but i will judge him as bloody stupid.

Completely disagree.

Recreational drugs can easily be considered as performance enhancing: one of the differences between the 'top' sports stars and the 'also rans' is their ability to stay calm before big games and wind down afterwards. Recreational drugs taken to relax, have fun etc are clearly aiding this, and therefore performance enhancing - and if illegal deserving of a ban.

That's one of the most tenuous arguments linking recreational drugs with performance in sport I've ever heard. I doubt very, very much, that Gaz Hock (or any other player) on a night out with his mates, does a line or two in the toilets and is thinking "well, this'll help me chill before next Friday's game and therefore play better."

People do drugs such as cocaine, Es, whizz, etc to get a high on a night out. They smoke cannabis to get a bit daft, get the giggles and chill - but to suggest cannabis is performance enhancing because it relaxes you is toooo far out maaan. And remember, they need to train all week - having your body in an induced state of relaxation, or going through recovery from the drug is hardly going to enhance your performance.

As for McDermott - a sad situation. It's not hard to understand that players are looking for as rapid a recovery as possible to get back to work and earn their bread. Once you get past your 30s recovery takes a bit longer...and a bit longer...and a bit longer. But that said he knew he was popping something dodgy and has admitted his mistake.