By Admin – Steroidal.com
It doesn’t take much to end someone’s career. L’Equipe, a French magazine reminded us all of this with a claim that they had made against New Zealand rugby icon Dan Carter and two teammates. In particular, their claims were that Dan Carter had attempted to bypass the anti-doping laws by taking drugs that provided a performance enhancement without causing the alarms to go off.
The Evidence Against Dan Carter & Teammates
To back up the claims it was making, the magazine L’Equipe sited the drug test results for the players. In particular, they released the results that were released by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFDL). The findings were that Dan Carder, Joe Rokocoko, and Juan Imhoff had all tested positive for traces of corticosteroids in their urine samples. Being a banned substance, the existence of corticosteroids would mean suspension from future games for a lengthy periods of time. It would also mean a black mark for the team that was supporting him, even through the accusations being made against his credibility.
The accusations made against the rugby players by L’Equipe were pretty severe. With their hands tied behind their backs and no ability to confirm or deny the accusations themselves, the three individuals from the Racing 92 Team re-affirmed that they were innocent. Backing their players, the team backed up the claims of the players, stating that the individuals in question had received treatments that were not only authorized, but responsibly given in a way that was according to the FFR ruling. With a history of proven conditions existing prior, the team re-affirmed their story that everything was by the books and correctly done. Stating again and again their compliance to FFR rulings as well as international standards, the team as well as the players in question turned to the FFR to vindicate their stance when facing the accusations of a paper they themselves accused of being sloppy with the facts.
Investigating The Claims
With the accusations made by L’Equipe and the oppositional stance of the 92 Racing Team, it was left up to the FFR to determine for themselves whether or not there had been a possible breach in the anti-doping laws. The FFR took time to consider the evidence and eventually came to a conclusion on the matter. They concluded that the allegations made by the magazine were completely unfounded. The medical commission also validated the position held by the Racing 92 Team, and reiterated that the team doctor as well as the players had not committed any breach in either the rules or the ethics involved. The team as a whole was grateful for the ruling.
A Step Too Far
Relieved that he was vindicated, Carter was grateful for the ruling. Taking his comments to the next level, Carter then made a rather unbelievable statement, suggesting that he had never met a person using prohibited steroids while playing rugby. What Carter was doing was re-affirming the integrity and he honor of a sport he loved. Whether or not you believe that there are no doping at all in Rugby, Carter none-the-less made a convincing argument, pointing to the anti-doping regulations as well as the existing procedures in place stopping anyone from breaking the rules. While this may be a noble sentiment, it is hard to believe that top level athletes in an entire sport have never used steroids. What may be noble optimism on the part of one rugby player who had his reputation restored after an inflammatory and untrue article does not hold up for every person in a sport that spans the world over. Regardless, Carter continues to play the sport, his career untarnished.
Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/1990280/dan-carter-cleared-of-doping-after-racing-stars-urine-was-found-to-contain-traces-of-steroids/
