'Blackest day in Australian sport'

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Darkest day in Australian sport ... former ASADA chairman Richard Ings. Source: Kym Smith / News Limited

As Australian sport plunged into an integrity crisis over links to drug use and criminal activities, the former chief of Australia's anti-doping agency said professional athletes have shamed their codes on the "the blackest day in Australian sport."

What It Examined

• The market for Performance and Image Enhancing Drugs (PIEDs)
• The involvement of organised criminal identities and groups in the distribution of new generation PIEDs
• The use of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited substances by professional athletes in Australia 
• Current threats to the integrity of professional sport in Australia.

What It Found

• The investigation identified widespread use of prohibited substances including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs in professional sport. 
• It also found that this use has been facilitated by sports scientists, high-performance coaches and sports staff. 
• In some cases, players are being administered with substances that have not yet been approved for human use.
• The ACC also identified organised crime identities and groups that are involved in the distribution of PIEDs to athletes and professional sports staff. 
• The report concluded that some coaches, sports scientists and support staff of elite athletes have orchestrated and/or condoned the use of prohibited substances.

National sports leaders reacted to an Australian Crime Commission report released on Thursday that lifted the lid on the widespread use of drugs in sport and links to organised crime.

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Federal Justice Minister Jason Clare highlighted a frightening link between the prevalence of banned drugs in Australian professional sport, which was uncovered in ACC findings, and the other major finding of the report - fraudulent manipulation of matches and betting markets.

He suggested athletes are risking being coerced into match fixing by criminal organisations supplying them with performance-enhancing drugs.

"Wherever criminals are involved in influencing players, there is the risk that they will use that influence over players to fix matches," Clare said.

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But Ings, the chief executive and chairman of ASADA from its creation in 2006 until 2010, told foxsports.com.au that he was troubled by the behaviour of athletes, adding: "this is not a black day in Australian sport, this is the blackest day in Australian sport."

"The most troubling part is athletes, who would appear successful and highly paid, have abused the trust of the Australian public.

"They have brought themselves, their club, and their sport into disrepute, which is unfair and unwarranted, because their sports are great institutions with long histories and deserve better than this."

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David Garnsey, CEO of the Rugby league Players Association, said that corruption was not starting with players.
 
"Whether it be match-fixing or the use of performance enhancing drugs it doesn't start with the athletes themselves, there's either some organised crime element involved or it's a result of trusting officials of clubs who they would feel entitled to trust," Garnsey said.

Coates welcomed the inquiry by the ACC and the government, although he clearly felt it had not happened soon enough.

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"As far as cheating in sport goes the "gloves are now off" -  we now have the powers to properly investigate doping and match fixing," said Coates in a statement.

Coates said new powers would help information of illegalities to emerge from behind the dressing shed doors.

"The introduction of the new powers allows the flow of information from athletes who hear things in gyms and in locker-rooms. There is definitely a need for more investigative work off the field of play.

"To those involved in illegal activities in sport, now is the time to put your hand up and tell ASADA what you know. As of today you will get caught."

Coates said members of the Australian Olympic team have been banned from betting since before the Sydney 2000 Games.

"Anyone in our team caught betting on Olympic events, or even providing information to family or friends, faces automatic expulsion from the team. When it comes to illegal betting in our team, we name, shame and put them on a plane home."

Australian cyclist Brad McGee said the issues facing sport were not merely in elite ranks but stretched back to grassroots involvement.

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"If [parents] are willing to give a kid a Mother drink or a Red Bull to win a cycling race then we have a problem, and that's happening out there," McGee said.

"[Doping] is s a global problem. It's a human problem. We can fight it. This problem has to be criminalised."

The announcement of the ACC findings was a baptism of fire for new ARL Commission CEO Dave Smith, who started the job Monday.

Smith confirmed that specific players and clubs had been identified by the investigation – an admission that could cost the code as much as $100 million after naming rights sponsor Telstra revealed it would be reviewing its association with the code.

"We've worked with the crime commission in the last week or so and information has come forward for NRL specifically that affects more than one player and more than one club," Smith revealed.

"We need to be strong, the sport deserves it, our fans deserve it, the majority of our athletes deserve us to be strong."

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Telstra boss David Thodey said his company would be monitoring the story. "Our brand image is very tightly tied up with those who we sponsor so if there is untoward behaviour that we don't agree with we make our position very clear, so we'll always do that," Thodey said.

ARU chief Bill Pulver, himself new to the job, said he was proud of rugby's track record in the fight against drugs.

"While being quite proud of our record it would be naive of the ARU to think this is not an issue that spans all Australian sports," Pulver said.

"I think we were aware for some time about issues relating to performance-enhancing drugs but less aware of connections to organised crime and potential match-fixing.

"In the case of the Australian Rugby Union, in April 2010 we put in place an integrity office … and I can tell you quite openly that over the last two years – over 2011 and 2012 – that office has actually prosecuted four cases in relation to our anti-doping code."

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Cricket Australia says it will immediately review its systems to deal with "heightened integrity risks" uncovered by the ACC, but chief executive James Sutherland insists there is no evidence or links related to cricket in the ACC's report.

Australia national team coach Mickey Arthur added: "Luckily with cricket we have a whole integrity committee who are very vigilant in the way they patrol our sport. We sit quite comfortably at the moment."

The ACC findings came just a day after world football was rocked by a giant match-fixing saga.

As Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Graham Ashton noted a recent A-League football match in Melbourne attracted $40 million in bets from a single Asian-based bookmaker, FFA CEO David Gallop said his organisation was being vigilant.

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"You'd be aware that we've recently engaged an overseas agency to assist us with surveillance over football matches," said Gallop.

"It's simple to make the point but it's a good one. Where things are difficult to detect, the level of deterrents must be high.

"That's what we're dealing with here both in relationship to the doping issues and match fixing.

"We are vigilant about it. We have internal and external resources in place and we don't specifically have evidence at this stage. But we join the general concern and we're all too happy to be here supporting the government and the ACC."

Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou said it was the responsibility of football to remain on high alert – because human nature can be vulnerable to temptation.

"We're talking about money and it can corrupt the most stable of environments," Postecoglou said.

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"It's about vigilance, it's about making sure you don't get complacent, it's about constant education and understanding that even in the best environments and with the best intentions, if you get complacent or don't educate people there is potential there.

"And that's where they (crime figures) prey on. All we can do is try and maintain our standards and keep a constant eye on what going on."

Veteran NRL coach Wayne Bennett says he's hoping the scandal is limited to individuals and not whole teams.
He said some young athletes in all sports were not strong enough to say 'no'.

"The people who advance this type of stuff are pretty good at manipulation," Bennett said. "The older you are, the better chance you have of standing up for yourself.

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"When you are a young player trying to make it, you think 'this is what I have to do'."

Former Olympic long jump finalist David Culbert told Fox Sports News that some athletes would go to any lengths to win.

"Any time there's a big prize, whether it's the Olympics or there's a premiership, we saw with the Melbourne Storm, people go to extraordinary lengths to win the big prize," said Culbert.

"And you know in the AFL whether it's a player trying to get on the list, trying to stay on the list or it's the coaches trying to keep their job or a staff member that's trying to be part of the premiership team, people will do stupid things and it's happened from the ancient Olympic games: athletes will cheat to try and win."

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