Fremantle's Ryan Crowley tests positive to banned substance

[bornadog]

Fremantle's Ryan Crowley has tested positive to a banned substance under the AFL's anti-doping code.The AFL advised the Dockers in September that ASADA had issued the 31-year-old a show cause notice after he tested positive following the club's round 17 game against GWS last season.
Much like the 34 current and former Essendon players at the centre of the ongoing Bombers supplements saga, Crowley has commenced a provisional suspension.

story continues here (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/fremantles-ryan-crowley-tests-positive-to-banned-substance-20150316-1m08nb.html)

Penalty will be interesting

[chef]

Silly boy. He really should know better.

[Twodogs]

It says he tested positive to AFL testing. Would that tend to mean it was a recreational drug he's tested positive to? Because if it was a PE drug then it would be an ASADA testing regime.

[bulldogtragic]

Interesting.

[AndrewP6]

It says he tested positive to AFL testing. Would that tend to mean it was a recreational drug he's tested positive to? Because if it was a PE drug then it would be an ASADA testing regime.

I read it was a painkiller, taken outside the club.

[Mofra]

I read it was a painkiller, taken outside the club.
Someone who knows far better than me suggests over the counter painkillers are off the list so he must have known he was pushing it with whatever he was taking.

[LostDoggy]

It says he tested positive to AFL testing. Would that tend to mean it was a recreational drug he's tested positive to? Because if it was a PE drug then it would be an ASADA testing regime.

If it was a recreational drug wouldn't he just get a strike and not be named an shamed? Unless it is his third strike of course.

[bornadog]

At minimum the penalty must be the same as what Ahmed Saad copped.

[Happy Days]

The reporting on this is very confusing; The Age and The Sun reporting it as a PED violation, whilst the ABC has said that he's violated via the three strike policy.

Think that we need the dust to settle a little bit to gather the full picture. Whilst a banned substance, off-script painkillers are very much a recreational drug also.

[Greystache]

#StandByCrowley :rolleyes:

[Twodogs]

If it was a recreational drug wouldn't he just get a strike and not be named an shamed? Unless it is his third strike of course.


I think you're right. Does it make a difference if it's Match Day or out of training as well?

[Remi Moses]

After all the education the players get on this you'd think they wouldn't even take a disprin.
Mind boggling

[Greystache]

After all the education the players get on this you'd think they wouldn't even take a disprin.
Mind boggling

It might not be as simple as that. It could well be a case that he was trying to hide something from the club and took drug that came up in a match day drug test that he didn't think would.

[bornadog]

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/574493203769896960/2Waj35Rk_normal.jpegPatrick Keane @AFL_PKeane (https://twitter.com/AFL_PKeane) · 11m11 minutes ago (https://twitter.com/AFL_PKeane/status/577354373220601857)

Timeline
• Sample collection 13/7
• A Test 11/8
• Player told A Test 18/8
• B Test 11/9
• Show Cause Notice 18/9
• Provisional Ban 25/9

Why has this taken so long to deal with.

[GVGjr]

All, please do not speculate on the substance he has tested positive to especially discussions on recreational use or PED. It's a no no.
By all means discuss the time lines etc but without the facts we can't tarnish the reputation of a player.

[GVGjr]

Why has this taken so long to deal with.

On face value the AFL has taken way too long to share this with the public. It's a curious time to make this public given how long ago it occurred.

[SlimPickens]

Someone who knows far better than me suggests over the counter painkillers are off the list so he must have known he was pushing it with whatever he was taking.

Some over the counter medications are against the code during competition. So it very well may be a pain killer and because it was during competition he is stuck. Same situation happened to a player in the neafl, he got a 2 year ban.

As a side it may also just be one ingredient in a medication that may break the code.

[Flamethrower]

Crowley tested positive to a specified substance. The rules are different to a player who tests positive to a banned substance.

A few of the differences....

A player testing positive to a specified substance can continue to play until the case is heard by the tribunal. The case is to remain confidential until a suspension is handed down. In this case however, Crowley and the Dockers have chosen to begin a provisional suspension in September, obviously wanting any suspension to be backdated to this time. They have chosen to go public now to answer why Crowley is not playing during the preseason.

In comparison, a positive test to a banned substance results in an immediate provisional suspension.

The only question regarding the timeline is why has it taken so long for the AFL to hear the case at the tribunal, and it is possibly because they have been busy dealing with the Essendon saga.

[azabob]

Why has this taken so long to deal with.

Clearly it is a very under resourced area. I have no issue with sample A testing taking so long. But sample B should have been tested a whole heap quicker!

[Sedat]

The Crowley case is proof that ASADA don't leak information. So we know which side of the fence has done so for the last 2 years in the Essendon doping case.

On a side note, I wonder if Jayden Schofield now knows who Ryan Crowley is :D

[Topdog]

Why 3 weeks between A and B test? Shouldnt have been allowed to play finals last year.

[SonofScray]

Eventually Australian sport, our media and the public will have to come to grips with the fact that we do in fact have cheats in our midst and that no matter which gravy train they are hitched to, rules are rules. Throw the book at him.

[westdog54]

Why 3 weeks between A and B test? Shouldnt have been allowed to play finals last year.

The player can opt out of the B Sample test and accept the A Sample test. The time in between is for the player to make this decision. Given what they've got on their plate I think ASADA have done all they can on this one.

[bulldogtragic]

12 months back dated. By my counting, free to play late finals if picked.

[Twodogs]

12 months back dated. By my counting, free to play late finals if picked.


Finding by tribunal or a deal?

[Axe Man]

12 months back dated. By my counting, free to play late finals if picked.

He's got about as much chance as Clive Waterhouse has of getting a call up for a preliminary or grand final. Doubt he will play again for Freo and odds would be slim another team would pick him up (he's 32 before the start of next season).


Finding by tribunal or a deal?

Sentence handed down by the AFL. WADA could always decide to appeal!

[KT31]

12 months back dated. By my counting, free to play late finals if picked.

He can count himself lucky or Saad is very unfortunate as he got two years for a sports drink.
Another system which seems to have a fair bit of inconsistency.

[Axe Man]

He can count himself lucky or Saad is very unfortunate as he got two years for a sports drink.
Another system which seems to have a fair bit of inconsistency.

Saad got 18 months.

Although both seem to have inadvertently taken a banned substance, I guess the difference is that Saad took something that is potentially performance enhancing whereas Crowley took a pain killer.

[Ghost Dog]

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.
Is there any way he can contest this decision?

[westdog54]

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.
Is there any way he can contest this decision?

Can appeal if he chooses to but risks a larger penalty.

What worked in his advantage was that it wasn't a prohibited performance enhancing substance.

[Twodogs]

Can appeal if he chooses to but risks a larger penalty.

What worked in his advantage was that it wasn't a prohibited performance enhancing substance.

It was methadone wasn't it? How does that get into the system of an AFL footballer? I can't imagine him waiting at the little hatch in the chemists to get dosed.

[Remi Moses]

Freo are better off without Ryan Crowley.
Been a great warrior for them , but their midfield seems to perform better without him.

[1eyedog]

It was methadone wasn't it? How does that get into the system of an AFL footballer? I can't imagine him waiting at the little hatch in the chemists to get dosed.

Was in a pain killer. They'll get him back in, gun tagger and they'll need him to look after Mitchell or Bont in the granny.

[Happy Days]

Was in a pain killer. They'll get him back in, gun tagger and they'll need him to look after Mitchell or Bont in the granny.

"Pain killer"

[1eyedog]

"Pain killer"

huh?

[Twodogs]

Was in a pain killer. They'll get him back in, gun tagger and they'll need him to look after Mitchell or Bont in the granny.



But it's not the sort of thing you take by accident. It's a scheduled medicine that I had to jump through hoops and spend a couple of weeks in rehab to be prescribed. The pharmicist told me this morning that the only way to get it outside of being prescribed by a drug and alcohol doctor is to get it off the street.

[Axe Man]

But it's not the sort of thing you take by accident. It's a scheduled medicine that I had to jump through hoops and spend a couple of weeks in rehab to be prescribed. The pharmicist told me this morning that the only way to get it outside of being prescribed by a drug and alcohol doctor is to get it off the street.

From the Age:


Fairfax has previously reported that the relevant banned substance in the Crowley case was methodone, and that the player told the tribunal in a one-day hearing this year that he did not know the drug was in the painkillers an allied health professional, not connected to Fremantle Football Club, gave him to help with back pain.

[Happy Days]

huh?

Why does one usually take methadone?

As Twodogs said, it's not exactly a go-to prescribed painkiller.

[1eyedog]

Why does one usually take methadone?

As Twodogs said, it's not exactly a go-to prescribed painkiller.

Isn't it a compound in codiene or isn't codiene a natural compound found in methadone? I can't remember...

[Twodogs]

Why does one usually take methadone?

As Twodogs said, it's not exactly a go-to prescribed painkiller.


Its typically used by recovering addicts of opioids. Heroin mostly. But as an aside my pharmicist also said this morning that people who become addicted to codeine also are prescribed methadone.

[Happy Days]

Its typically used by recovering addicts of opioids. Heroin mostly. But as an aside my pharmicist also said this morning that people who become addicted to codeine also are prescribed methadone.

Bingo.

There's more to this, I'm sure of it.

[Twodogs]

I think the key question is What's a Allied Health Professional and why/how are they prescribing any substance at all that contains a scheduled substance that usually only prescribed by drug and alcohol doctors.

[1eyedog]

Its typically used by recovering addicts of opioids. Heroin mostly. But as an aside my pharmicist also said this morning that people who become addicted to codeine also are prescribed methadone.

Exactly, I used to drive a mate who was recovering to the chemist every third day. I knew there was a codeine / meth connection but I couldn't remember what it was.


Bingo.

There's more to this, I'm sure of it.

I'm sure you are looking into it too much. If Crowley needs methadone as you're implying it means he's been on H, not just once or twice but many times and recently. You can't hide a H habit, you just can't.

[1eyedog]

I think the key question is What's a Allied Health Professional and why/how are they prescribing any substance at all that contains a scheduled substance that usually only prescribed by drug and alcohol doctors.

A Dank?

[boydogs]

I think the key question is What's a Allied Health Professional and why/how are they prescribing any substance at all that contains a scheduled substance that usually only prescribed by drug and alcohol doctors.

Or looking at it another way, why are they prescribing a substance banned under the WADA code to a professional athlete

Not that it matters, WADA don't care what the reason is if you've got the substance in your system. Saad got done for an unlabelled ingredient

[AndrewP6]

I think the key question is What's a Allied Health Professional and why/how are they prescribing any substance at all that contains a scheduled substance that usually only prescribed by drug and alcohol doctors.

A health professional (not including medical, nursing or dental professionals) who has direct patient involvement. In Australia, an AHP can be: Audiologists, Chiropractors, Dietitians, Exercise Physiologists, Genetic Counsellors, Music Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Orthoptists, Orthotist/Prosthetists, Osteopaths, Hospital Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Perfusionists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Sonographers, Speech Pathologists, with the Associations for Audiometrists, Diabetes Educators, Diversional Therapists and Practice Managers as Friends.

http://www.ahpa.com.au/Home.aspx

[jeemak]

Exactly, I used to drive a mate who was recovering to the chemist every third day. I knew there was a codeine / meth connection but I couldn't remember what it was.



I'm sure you are looking into it too much. If Crowley needs meth as you're implying it means he's been on H, not just once or twice but many times and recently. You can't hide a H habit, you just can't.

Do we call methodone "meth" as well?

[1eyedog]

Do we call methodone "meth" as well?

Nah lazy post which I didn't re-read. Edited.

[jeemak]

Nah lazy post which I didn't re-read. Edited.

You could imagine the embarrassment if the two were mixed up on the big day!

[1eyedog]

You could imagine the embarrassment if the two were mixed up on the big day!

Absolutely Jeemak and calling it that is actually a huge insult to people on methadone.

[Twodogs]

You could imagine the embarrassment if the two were mixed up on the big day!


Absolutely Jeemak and calling it that is actually a huge insult to people on methadone.

Meh! I'm not upset. I've never actually seen meth.

[Twodogs]

A health professional (not including medical, nursing or dental professionals) who has direct patient involvement. In Australia, an AHP can be: Audiologists, Chiropractors, Dietitians, Exercise Physiologists, Genetic Counsellors, Music Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Orthoptists, Orthotist/Prosthetists, Osteopaths, Hospital Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Perfusionists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Sonographers, Speech Pathologists, with the Associations for Audiometrists, Diabetes Educators, Diversional Therapists and Practice Managers as Friends.

http://www.ahpa.com.au/Home.aspx


Drug and alcohol counsellors or therapists?

[Twodogs]

Or looking at it another way, why are they prescribing a substance banned under the WADA code to a professional athlete

Not that it matters, WADA don't care what the reason is if you've got the substance in your system. Saad got done for an unlabelled ingredient

Maybe ignorance of the rules? Although it would be up to them to get up to book on what your responsibilitys were.

Maybe he didn't indentify as a professional athlete?

[AndrewP6]

Drug and alcohol counsellors or therapists?

Not in that list. Not 100% sure though, and there is no universally accepted definition of an AHP.

[jeemak]

Meh! I'm not upset. I've never actually seen meth.

Que?

[Twodogs]

Que?


Crystal meth. It's newish and well out of my time.

[Maddog37]

Crawley's case just seems like a stuff up. Probably got a chronic problem and pushed the health professional for something stronger and either was happy to run the risk or was just plain stupid.

[bulldogtragic]

His ban is now over. Crowley is free to be selected.