A national anti-doping panel has suspended veteran Barrow forward Brett McDermott for two years after he failed a drugs test. McDermott, 32, was found to have provided a sample containing the prohibited substances drostanolone and 19-norandrosterone, which are anabolic agents. During a 17-year-career, the Ireland international also played for Workington and Whitehaven and represented Cumbria against England last October. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... ml&BID=480

A national anti-doping panel has suspended veteran Barrow forward Brett McDermott for two years after he failed a drugs test. McDermott, 32, was found to have provided a sample containing the prohibited substances drostanolone and 19-norandrosterone, which are anabolic agents. During a 17-year-career, the Ireland international also played for Workington and Whitehaven and represented Cumbria against England last October. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... ml&BID=480

The guy took some drugs that normal people in normal jobs would take so that he could get back to his day job doing coal deliveries.

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(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.