THE CANADIAN PRESS
CALGARY — The commissioner of the Canadian Football League says the league once lagged behind but is now a leader in catching drug cheats.
Two CFL players were caught with illegal drugs this off-season but commissioner Mark Cohon says the fact players are subject to drug testing this year for the first time proves the league is serious about tackling the issue.
Yonus Davis, the B.C. Lions star returner last season, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats long-snapper Jordan Matechuk were released by their respective clubs and face charges in separate drug-related incidents.
Cohon says players, coaches and team doctors were educated on the league’s new drug policy last season before testing began in January.
"We were behind and now I think we’re leaders because we’re doing off-season testing and we are doing human growth hormone testing and we’re the first professional sports league in North America to do that," Cohon said Wednesday. "I’m proud of that."
Matechuk, from Yorkton, Sask., was arrested May 31 after U.S. customs officials seized steroids and marijuana from him at an international border crossing. Matechuk was en route to the Ticats’ training camp.
Davis, an import receiver and returner, was arrested in California in April after more than 27 kilograms of ecstasy was delivered to a home he was renting. He was charged with one felony count of attempting to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Cohon was in Calgary for a pre-season game involving the Lions and Stampeders. Drug testing was one of the first three questions posed to him when he took office five years ago, he said.
The league and the CFL Players’ Association finally hammered out a policy in the most recent collective bargaining agreement.
The CFL intends to test 25 per cent of players under contract this year, 30 per cent in 2012 and 35 per cent in 2013 and 2014. The league also tested the 80 university players invited to its prospect evaluation camp in March.
Human growth hormone can only be detected by a blood test, so CFL players must give blood as well as urine samples to officials with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.
For a first offence, a player becomes subject to mandatory testing, is assessed for underlying issues and given the option of counselling. The CFL won’t publicly reveal the player’s identity for a first positive drug test, but will do so on the second offence. The player will also be suspended for three games if guilty a second time.
A third-time offence will result in a year-long suspension while the penalty for a fourth offence is a lifetime ban.
"Now players are clearly not just on notice, they understand we have a policy in place and if there are any players that have had a problem, we’ll work with them and try and identify it and clean it up if there is," Cohon said.
Under the CFL’s new drug policy, both Davis and Matechuk would be considered first-time offenders and subject to mandatory testing if they want to play in the league again.
"If there is an offence in the courts for drugs that are banned under the policy, they go automatically to mandatory testing if they come back to the league," Cohon said.
Under the terms of the CBA, the league won’t reveal if any players have tested positive so far this season. A player who recorded a positive test in the NFL, NCAA or CIS for a prohibited substance is considered a first-time offender when he arrives in the CFL and is subject to mandatory testing.
Veteran defensive tackle Doug Brown of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers recently told the Winnipeg Free Press it has been fairly easy to identify steroid users on the field based on the "reddish-purple" colour a player’s skin and "hair-trigger tempers." Brown is also the Bombers’ player rep.
But Cohon doesn’t believe drug use is a widespread problem in the CFL. He points out there are now serious consequences for those who take banned substances.
"After a game, you can be pulled aside and tested," he said. "I think that’s enough of a deterrent."
Calgary Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris says he hasn’t been tested yet but will be ready when he’s approached by CCES officials.
"You could be called at any time," Burris said. "They’ll let us know and the guy has to be ready to go within that hour."
Burris, for one, supports the CFL’s new drug-testing policy.
"I’m all for having testing because for guys to work and earn their stripes in this game, you want to make sure guys are doing it the way everybody should be doing it," he said. "It’s not only about the game, it’s about being able to live a long healthy life once you’re done.
"If you’re cheating it will catch up to you in the end and we’ve seen what happened to a number of guys across different sports."
