Well it is an opinion like mine and you are entitled to it. When I was young I liked the Rolling Stones.We have fans on here who avidly followed the Beatles. Drug taking was rife in pop culture at that time ask your Mams and Dads.

I honestly think people take drugs because they are inquisitive. Some do some don't but it is nothing to do with pop stars or sports stars it is a choice thing.

George Best drank loads of white wine and eventually sadly it caused his premature death. He was much better known than Mick Govin but even though I am of that age group I prefer red. I do not for one minute believe people blindly foillow an individuals habits just because they admire an individual in a particular sport or a musical star.

I can't stand celery or aniseed but if Mick Jagger had extolled them 50 years ago it would not have made me want celery or aniseed.

One last word before I go and curl up in bed. Drugs and Rock and Roll cultures sort of go hand in hand. Do you think that a simillar relationship between sport and drugs is healthy? Goodnight Franky baby.

There, but for the grace of God, go many of us....or our kids!!

However much anyone wants to take the moral high ground, the fact remains that addiction is an illness. We aren't talking about a 'drug cheat' here - the use of cocaine was never going to improve performance. We're talking about a young lad who, for whatever reason (and none of us really know - unless we have personal experience - how the mind of an addict works) could not control this urge.
As Frank points out, there are plenty of people who have a 'need' to get pished up every weekend.....and the tales of some of the best players ever to pull on a Leigh shirt, and their pre/post match drinking habits are the stuff of legend!! The only difference is the use of this drug is considered acceptable in the eyes of the law.
It would be a shame if this ended up being the ruination of another career. Govin, on form and injury free, is a quality player.....and no one can deny his contribution to the fantastic start we made to the season. I'd like to think that some way could be found to rehabilitate Mick - get him on a programme, then get him 'paying his dues' by going round the schools and youth organisations of the area, and educating the kids to not go down the same route. And who's to say that in a couple of years time, he couldn't find a role back within the game (he'd still only be 2icon_cool.gif? Gaz Hock has managed it, and (and you won't here this from me very often!) the 'umbles are to be congratulated on how that situation was handled.
I'm sure any of us with any compassion would sooner that, than another Terry Newton.

whats more suprising is how long he has been getting away with it

If Govin asks for help with this problem then i'd hope the club would be there for him.

He's been taking illegal substances, and he got caught. End of .... Govin, you t!t ....

And if any of the squad have been doing the same, then I hope they stop. Otherwise, they'll get theirs as well.

the 'casual drugs' thing is more widespread than you think

last season a Toulouse player was approached after their home game by a couple of Championship players (no names) asking where they could by some 'fixes' for the nighs' entertainment - there are quite well known/recognisable players

who knows how big the problem is ?

Just like everyone knew Hock was doing it years before getting caught, same with Govin Im afraid!

The club have stuck by him, when his first sample tested positive he admitted to the charge. That was quite a while ago and he has been around the club since including the final and the celebrations!

On a side note so thats breaking the cap and having a druggie, maybe you will win the grand final to

Last words I am going to say about this. Walt the moral high ground is where we should be where drink and drugs are concerned. These two things are the biggest problems in areas of poverty and in the middle classes. I very much doubt that Mick is an adict as he would probably need to spend about £350 a week on the stuff and I don't think he has that much disposable income. I would say that players today drink nowhere near as much as bygone days because the game has changed and fitness is paramount. To keep using the drinking habbits of players from 20 years ago is wrong. I'm not talking about 16 and 17 year old kids being influenced by this I mean the U10s, U12s, U16s teams at the Miners nad at East who have players who look upto Mick as a role model. These are the people that need to be taught the lesson that what he has done is wrong and bad for them, and not just at the clubs there will be kids who come to watch RL that don't play that think he is great. When Terry Newton did away with himself I wrote that the RFL should make sure that this never happens ever again and players caught should not just be cast aside but they must be punished and severly. He should have nothing to do with RL for 12 months and in that time he must pass a co run by the RFL which he must take random tests to make sure he isn't using it anymore. The second twelve months he should be made to a second part where he went round to local clubs and hammered home to the kids the horrors that come from drinking and taking drugs. I don't think this should have anything to do with the clubs community dept either. What amazes me about using cocaine these days is that it isn't cocaine. It is anything but and it is riddled with cancer causing chemicals. Just because he pulled on a Leigh shirt and it is only a recreational drug should not cloud anyones judgement. It is wrong and very wrong.

When Govin first went missing from the team, it was stated/rumoured that he had an injury and I thought;here we go again the injury prone thing had struck! Personally i'm bitterly dissappointed that Drugs is the reason he wont be playing. I have always been a great admirer of his play, he is a gifted player and competent goalkicker who is able to play in many positions. The team have performed fantastically this season and players like Ridyard,Ellis,Duffy and Hill have been at the forefront however, when introduced into play Govin has made a signifcant difference to our play and, never more so than the two thrashings handed out to Widnes where he totally changed the direction of play! Its interesting that Mick Nanyn has not figured as much, in Govin's absence!
I obviously dont know Mick Govin however, at twenty six years old he still has time to change his life around, should he want too? My advice would be, get some help Mick change your life around and come back in two years time and help Leigh into Super League! Penky,Hock and Hudson are all examples!

1. Unlike Heroin Cocaine isnt a drug you get physically addicted to, mentally yes in that you feel you need it to have a good time etc..
2. The substance Mick has been banned for isn't Cocaine but a (not 100% correct but saves a longer winded post) substance that is left in the organs of the body (usually the liver) after prolonged Cocaine use/abuse.
3. A low grade Cocaine will leave the body after about 5 days, thats why most sports 'stars' don't get caught, by low grade I mean a lesser percentage mix with the substance used to 'cut' or mix it to make it go farther.
4. There have been no recorded deaths due to Cocaine use whereas Alcohol, tobacco and heroin use causes thousands per year.
5. Do not confuse Cocaine powder use/abuse with crack cocaine they are totally different in the way it's taken and the effect it has on the body.

So those of you out there who smoke or drink more than the recommended units per week/day or at all are in a bigger danger than a Cocaine user, and cost the taxpayer far more in health bills, it's just that one is illegal and the others are not.
In other words you take it you take the chance - but most of us take substances that are more harmfull to the body, and most 'kids' know that - not that Cocaine is a 'kids' drug per se the substance they are taking thinking it's cocaine is usually Amphetamine (speed)- which in it's self can be very harmfull yet is a lesser drug according to The Drugs Act, and is easier and cheaper to manufacture.

Sorry to sermonise but Drugs education was something I was passionate about in my other 'life'