Queenslander
04-03-06, 02:11 PM
This is a good article written by Wayne Bennet; its quite a good read.
************************************************** ********
Drug cards on table
by Wayne Bennett
Saturday March 04, 2006
Source: The Courier-Mail
THERE has been plenty of discussion about the Broncos' internal drug-testing policy and, until now, I have made no comment but this week, with the football season still a week away, it might be timely to lay our cards on the table.
By establishing a procedure whereby the club conducts its own tests over and above the NRL-WADA random tests the Broncos are not indicating we have a problem with drugs but we are not naive enough to think we can ignore something which touches all of society.
Under the WADA code adopted by the NRL, after some to-ing and fro-ing, the NRL pays for the Australian Drug Agency to conduct about 600 random tests a year and it is not uncommon for representative players to be tested six to 10 times a season.
The ADA tests for performance-enhancing and recreational drugs and the penalties established under the NRL-WADA code are the same as in the Olympic movement - an automatic two-year ban from competition.
The Broncos have been conducting internal tests for at least six years but while we were very confident there wasn't a problem with performance-enhancing drugs in the club we decided that, because of the growing prevalence of recreational - or so-called "party" - drugs in the community, we needed to step up our vigilance in this area.
We decided to establish a code of behaviour and conduct which the players are required to sign. Players are given instruction and lectures on what is acceptable (they already know) and told what can happen to them if they breach the code.
Part of our code - and the players all signed it without resistance - deals with alcohol and binge-drinking and part of it deals with recreational drugs and our internal tests.
Under our new protocol, players can be tested 24 hours a day, seven days a week ... anywhere, anytime ... and a refusal to comply will count as a positive test.
We decided on this course of action when we realised that, in most cases, recreational or party drugs stay in a person's system for about 24 hours so there was no point testing only at matches or training sessions.
It would be irresponsible and just plain dumb for us not to think our players will come into contact with party drugs. Despite what some people think, footballers are part of society and with the amount of drugs in society it is inevitable players will see, hear about and be offered drugs.
And let's not put the blinkers on here: this is an issue which affects all football codes and all football clubs and every time I see a CEO or general manager in other areas saying they don't have a problem with recreational drugs I'm not sure whether to laugh out loud or shake my head in sorrow. Who do they think they are kidding?
Footballers are young men who have fairly large disposable incomes at a young age and they live under a large amount of scrutiny and pressure in regards to performance so it is only natural they feel the need to unwind occasionally.
Unlike people in a lot of professions and unlike players in the past, they can't simply go out for a drink to unwind after matches because they are breathalysed at rehab sessions the next morning and have their weight so carefully monitored we can tell when they've had a pizza, let alone a night on the grog.
For some players, recreational drugs might seem to be an easy short-term way of unwinding, even if they know of the inherent dangers in any substance abuse.
And for those puritans who say players who succumb to these temptations are weak or flawed, let me say the same thing can happen to doctors, lawyers, teachers, bricklayers and, yes, even journalists. Footballers are no more perfect than anyone else but they're no less perfect either.
What the Broncos are telling the players - and again let me stress the players support these initiatives - is if they do take drugs, we are going to get them eventually.
Where the Broncos anti-drugs strategy differs most from the NRL-WADA system is that theirs is a no-second-chances policy and ours is based on three phases of counselling and rehabilitation.
That doesn't make our system wishy-washy.
Under the NRL-WADA system, a player who returns a positive test to drugs will be thrown out of the game for two years but only after he has been humiliated by being named publicly. I wonder who is going to be around to pick up the pieces for these guys.
At the Broncos, if a player returns a positive test, we will do everything in our power to help him through the problem. At the first stage, he will have to attend counselling; at the second, he will have compulsory rehabilitation; and only at the third, will he have his contract terminated.
Throughout these phases, everything will be done in strict confidence because we are not interested in hanging players out to dry by parading them around for all to see.
The Broncos believe in what we are doing and the players believe in it, too and I can assure you there will be no going back in regard to our attitude to alcohol or drugs.
The days of patting a young bloke on the back and saying "We know you've got a problem with the drink but don't worry you're still a good player" are over.
When it comes to alcohol and drugs we will go to bed at night feeling a lot better if we know we've done all we can to tackle them head on rather than turning a blind eye.
At the end of the day, I deal with a lot of thoroughly decent people. I meet mums and dads who love their sons and want us to look after them and I meet young men with dreams and ambitions. I don't want to see those things destroyed by alcohol or drugs.
Wayne Bennett's column appears in The Courier-Mail every Saturday
************************************************** ********
Drug cards on table
by Wayne Bennett
Saturday March 04, 2006
Source: The Courier-Mail
THERE has been plenty of discussion about the Broncos' internal drug-testing policy and, until now, I have made no comment but this week, with the football season still a week away, it might be timely to lay our cards on the table.
By establishing a procedure whereby the club conducts its own tests over and above the NRL-WADA random tests the Broncos are not indicating we have a problem with drugs but we are not naive enough to think we can ignore something which touches all of society.
Under the WADA code adopted by the NRL, after some to-ing and fro-ing, the NRL pays for the Australian Drug Agency to conduct about 600 random tests a year and it is not uncommon for representative players to be tested six to 10 times a season.
The ADA tests for performance-enhancing and recreational drugs and the penalties established under the NRL-WADA code are the same as in the Olympic movement - an automatic two-year ban from competition.
The Broncos have been conducting internal tests for at least six years but while we were very confident there wasn't a problem with performance-enhancing drugs in the club we decided that, because of the growing prevalence of recreational - or so-called "party" - drugs in the community, we needed to step up our vigilance in this area.
We decided to establish a code of behaviour and conduct which the players are required to sign. Players are given instruction and lectures on what is acceptable (they already know) and told what can happen to them if they breach the code.
Part of our code - and the players all signed it without resistance - deals with alcohol and binge-drinking and part of it deals with recreational drugs and our internal tests.
Under our new protocol, players can be tested 24 hours a day, seven days a week ... anywhere, anytime ... and a refusal to comply will count as a positive test.
We decided on this course of action when we realised that, in most cases, recreational or party drugs stay in a person's system for about 24 hours so there was no point testing only at matches or training sessions.
It would be irresponsible and just plain dumb for us not to think our players will come into contact with party drugs. Despite what some people think, footballers are part of society and with the amount of drugs in society it is inevitable players will see, hear about and be offered drugs.
And let's not put the blinkers on here: this is an issue which affects all football codes and all football clubs and every time I see a CEO or general manager in other areas saying they don't have a problem with recreational drugs I'm not sure whether to laugh out loud or shake my head in sorrow. Who do they think they are kidding?
Footballers are young men who have fairly large disposable incomes at a young age and they live under a large amount of scrutiny and pressure in regards to performance so it is only natural they feel the need to unwind occasionally.
Unlike people in a lot of professions and unlike players in the past, they can't simply go out for a drink to unwind after matches because they are breathalysed at rehab sessions the next morning and have their weight so carefully monitored we can tell when they've had a pizza, let alone a night on the grog.
For some players, recreational drugs might seem to be an easy short-term way of unwinding, even if they know of the inherent dangers in any substance abuse.
And for those puritans who say players who succumb to these temptations are weak or flawed, let me say the same thing can happen to doctors, lawyers, teachers, bricklayers and, yes, even journalists. Footballers are no more perfect than anyone else but they're no less perfect either.
What the Broncos are telling the players - and again let me stress the players support these initiatives - is if they do take drugs, we are going to get them eventually.
Where the Broncos anti-drugs strategy differs most from the NRL-WADA system is that theirs is a no-second-chances policy and ours is based on three phases of counselling and rehabilitation.
That doesn't make our system wishy-washy.
Under the NRL-WADA system, a player who returns a positive test to drugs will be thrown out of the game for two years but only after he has been humiliated by being named publicly. I wonder who is going to be around to pick up the pieces for these guys.
At the Broncos, if a player returns a positive test, we will do everything in our power to help him through the problem. At the first stage, he will have to attend counselling; at the second, he will have compulsory rehabilitation; and only at the third, will he have his contract terminated.
Throughout these phases, everything will be done in strict confidence because we are not interested in hanging players out to dry by parading them around for all to see.
The Broncos believe in what we are doing and the players believe in it, too and I can assure you there will be no going back in regard to our attitude to alcohol or drugs.
The days of patting a young bloke on the back and saying "We know you've got a problem with the drink but don't worry you're still a good player" are over.
When it comes to alcohol and drugs we will go to bed at night feeling a lot better if we know we've done all we can to tackle them head on rather than turning a blind eye.
At the end of the day, I deal with a lot of thoroughly decent people. I meet mums and dads who love their sons and want us to look after them and I meet young men with dreams and ambitions. I don't want to see those things destroyed by alcohol or drugs.
Wayne Bennett's column appears in The Courier-Mail every Saturday