Drug Testers Defend Procedures

The Age

Thursday August 28, 2008

Nick Sheridan

THE Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority has defended its drug testing procedures following criticism from Western Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis yesterday.

Akermanis questioned ASADA's drug-testing practices in his newspaper column, saying a select few of his teammates have been tested repeatedly this year, while other players have not been tested at all.

ASADA spokesman Simon Tidy defended the testing patterns, saying it was consistent with the authority's commitment to targeted testing.

"The WADA (World Anti-Doping Authority) code requires targeted testing and the AFL conducts targeted testing as they are WADA code compliant," Tidy said yesterday.

The drug testing authority also released a statement yesterday defending its testing practices.

"The methodology we use in testing AFL players is no different to that used in Olympic sports and other professional sports," the statement said. "The combination of comprehensive testing, longitudinal studies, ASADA's powers of information sharing with other government agencies and investigative capability ensures that the AFL has some of the most robust anti-doping measures in place for any Australian sport."

The chairman of the AFL Players Association, Brendon Gale, also voiced his support for the testing regime. "We all have a strong interest in ensuring that our players compete on a level playing field," Gale said.

The AFL's football operations manager, Adrian Anderson, yesterday said the league would not seek any explanation from Akermanis about his comments in his newspaper article.

© 2008 The Age

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