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Cameron Mooney and Mathew Stokes of Geelong. Slattery Images
Geelong premiership forward Mathew Stokes faces a lifetime AFL ban if found guilty of trafficking cocaine. Under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code, the penalty for trafficking a prohibited substance ranges from four years to a lifetime suspension.
The AFL pointed out the severe penalty, emphasising how seriously they view the Stokes case.
Stokes was charged in Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday with trafficking and possessing cocaine and released on bail.
It is alleged Stokes told police he bought one gram of cocaine for a friend, but there is no allegation he used the drug himself.
The Cats have stood Stokes down from all club activities.
“The charge of trafficking is a very serious matter and one that the club and the AFL are treating extremely seriously,” said AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson.
“The AFL supports Geelong’s decision to stand down Stokes until further notice.
“Under the WADA Code, standard penalties for those found guilty of trafficking range from a four-year suspension to a lifetime ban.”
The allegations against Stokes are a massive setback for the Cats as they prepare to defend their second premiership in three years.
Geelong have prided themselves on their player discipline and off-field behaviour over the last three years.
In the wake of their disastrous 2006 season, the club underwent an extensive review and one important element was the team’s culture.
The club suspended forward Steve Johnson at the start of the 2007 season for off-field misbehaviour.
By the end of that season, Johnson had won the Norm Smith Medal as the Cats won their first premiership in 44 years.
Stokes was a significant part of Geelong’s 2007 premiership team, but the forward was unlucky to miss last year’s grand final win over St Kilda after withdrawing from the preliminary final against Collingwood with a groin injury.
Stokes earned great respect for how he dealt with last year’s grand final omission.
As a prank, he dressed up in the club mascot suit for the celebrations on grand final night.
In his four years at Geelong, Stokes has been a favourite with supporters, playing 71 games and kicking 108 goals.
He was also named the club’s 2009 community champion and last November signed a new two-year contract with the Cats.
“This is not a rush to judgement but a reflection on the seriousness of the situation,” Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said of Stokes’ club suspension.
“It is important for Mathew that he deals with legal issues at hand as his first priority.
“As we have in the past, the club will not rush to formulate a long term determination of any penalty.”
Stokes will reappear in Geelong Magistrates Court for a committal mention on March 12.
In December, Newcastle Knights forward Danny Wicks resigned from the NRL club after being charged with eight drug offences.
Police allege Wicks was part of a drugs supply network and he plans to fight the charges.
© AAP 2012Recommend this story.
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- AFL, Geelong Cats, Mathew Stokes
February 4th 2010 @ 10:06am
Mick said | February 4th 2010 @ 10:06am | Report comment
Police probably would not say how many times he ordered & how much.
They probably just laid the charge for 1 gram because they know they will get a guilty verdict & info on suppliers etc…
In the past 9 or 10 years players have been on phone intercepts & not been charged
WHat goes through these blokes heads, they would have to see what has happened in the past to cyclists, olympians etc & they get involved with this $%^& and stuff up a professional sporting career
February 4th 2010 @ 10:25am
Michael C said | February 4th 2010 @ 10:25am | Report comment
as reported in Fairfax press:
Senior Constable Matthew Plunkett told the court police had intercepted phone calls and text messages between Randall and Stokes on January 19 during which Stokes discussed buying a gram of cocaine and the price.
Randall is alleged to have told him ”it would be 500 for straight up [high-quality cocaine] or 350 for not so high quality but still good”. Stokes allegedly responded that he would have ”some of each” and would contact Randall when he was finished at the football club.
Police alleged that on January 20, Randall sent Stokes a text asking if he had ”had a go” and Stokes responded two days later in a text message that a mate ”had tested it and it was very good shit”.
The court heard that Stokes told investigators he had never consumed the drugs himself but instead collected them and dropped them off to friends.
Senior Constable Plunkett said Stokes had again contacted Randall to buy more drugs for friends, but the transaction never took place because his mates could not come up with the money.
so, it looks like one transaction,
that all indications are that it was for his friends,
and that it was using their money and that he was the intermediary,
The good news is that no other Geelong players are caught up in it – there’s no indication of any usage by Stokes or any other players,
however, I guess – the question is, how did Stokes know to contact this fellow?
and the bigger issue for the community is that bouncers at nightclubs are dealing drugs!!! (shock horror!!, but, seriously – that’s not good and is a far bigger issue you’d think than Stokes’ stupidity – and, agreed, if Stokes were to get off relatively speaking in the judicial system, the AFL should give him a (deregister) year ban for bringing the game into disrepute – as per Cousins.)
February 4th 2010 @ 10:17am
tommy said | February 4th 2010 @ 10:17am | Report comment
underbelly season 21
February 4th 2010 @ 11:03am
Redb said | February 4th 2010 @ 11:03am | Report comment
Also on a less serious note: I wonder if GC17 are ‘stoked’ by this situation – Yaaaaaaabbbblettttt ! (err Gary Ablett Jnr)
February 4th 2010 @ 3:31pm
Moonface said | February 4th 2010 @ 3:31pm | Report comment
Sheedie will have him if he is sacked from the Cats.
Another one gets through the AFL drug testing net.
Wonder how much the AFL knew about it and if the police told them, they have been investigating for months – means he played in the Finals while under suspicion of being involved with drug dealers.
Was that why he was dropped for the GF?
February 4th 2010 @ 8:15pm
Michael C said | February 4th 2010 @ 8:15pm | Report comment
mate – check the reported facts that this pertains to calls only a matter of weeks ago –
“police had intercepted phone calls and text messages between Randall and Stokes on January 19 ”
Next theory.
the AFL drug testing net works a bit better than the WADA ‘net’ that missed Ben Cousins and Andrew Johns.
February 4th 2010 @ 11:05pm
Moonface said | February 4th 2010 @ 11:05pm | Report comment
Mate- the police investigations have been going on for four months or more and you are referring to one specific piece of evidence.
If the police were investigating an AFL player they would have had to tell the AFL, just like the West Coast players investigations and Ben Cousins.
The AFL itself is responsible for catching AFL players using illegal drugs, not WADA,
Mate, don’t just blindly stick up for the AFL all the time – there is room for improvement, and the AFL should listen to the criticism and not just keep denying things and pretending it knew nothing about it.
February 5th 2010 @ 12:43pm
Michael C said | February 5th 2010 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
Mate – read the reports -
“Geelong Magistrates Court heard yesterday that Stokes was caught communicating with Randall, the alleged ringleader of a drug syndicate, among 2880 phone intercepts on Randall’s phone between January 6 and 29. The court heard 70 per cent of the intercepts related to drugs.”
Randall – the bouncer – 2880 phone intercepts b/w Jan 6 and 29. Where are you inventing an investigation into Stokes dating back 4 months from??
Stokes got caught up in it. And would’ve been better off had he simply claimed personal use!!!
This isn’t a case of sticking up for the AFL or not.
WADA is all that most other codes have – and WADA is what caught Wendall Sailor. It targets the top 3 place getters (i.e. in club B&Fs) and SHOULD’ve got A.Johns and B.Cousins. It failed.
The AFL runs it’s illicit drug policy as a health focussed program rather than primarily punitive.
However, if Stokes is NOT a user – then, niether program would be expected to identify him.
The police do as the police will. The AFL has no jurisdiction over the police. There’s no need for ‘protecting’ the AFL in this case, nor for attacking the AFL, in this case.
February 4th 2010 @ 12:10pm
Gibbo said | February 4th 2010 @ 12:10pm | Report comment
Shannon Byrnes might be smiling on the inside – they’ve been fighting for that same forward pocket role for years!
but seriously, one gram, first offence – if he wasnt a football player he’d be hard pressed to get even a slap on the wrist. But unfortunately for Matt, we force these sportspeople into the role of moral barometers of society while the anonymous masses continue to party as hard as we like… Gotta feel for the guy.
(should i have put inverted comma’s on each use of the word ‘we’ in that last sentence?)
February 4th 2010 @ 4:55pm
Hansie said | February 4th 2010 @ 4:55pm | Report comment
If the apparent facts prove to be true then Stokes was a fool and deserves a lengthy suspension. But a mandatory 4 years out for ‘trafficking’? The facts appear to suggest one transaction with no personal gain. An automatic suspension of 4 years seems way over the top. Of course, we cannot assume what facts may be proved in court.
February 4th 2010 @ 5:14pm
AndyS said | February 4th 2010 @ 5:14pm | Report comment
No gain perhaps, and I would have thought the trafficking clause in the WADA code would have been targetted at players supplying players rather than the general, non-sporsts playing public. But what, he looked up “gear” in the yellow pages or phoned numbers at random asking if they were suppliers – just how did his mates know he was the bloke to talk to?
February 4th 2010 @ 8:21pm
Michael C said | February 4th 2010 @ 8:21pm | Report comment
remember – it wasn’t his ‘local’ mates – it was his Northern Territory mates from back home – - so, probably they had no one else to talk to.
How did Stokes find out who to contact?? dunno.
February 4th 2010 @ 8:49pm
Hansie said | February 4th 2010 @ 8:49pm | Report comment
That is a fair question!
February 4th 2010 @ 6:27pm
Dirk said | February 4th 2010 @ 6:27pm | Report comment
Let him play, he is guilty of being stupid. It is only a gram. Surely more than a gram was consumed by many players in the off season but were not caught by the police only the AFL so they will get to play.
As the AFL is an Australian sport and don’t play our game internationally do we really have to go by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code?
We are the Australian football code so surely we can play by OUR rules and let this slide. Like the ones who get get 2 strikes and get to go about business as usual for the AFL. AFL is stressful so protecting our players from scrutiny from the media and public is paramount.
February 4th 2010 @ 7:45pm
drewster said | February 4th 2010 @ 7:45pm | Report comment
Well Stokesy! I’d be asking Ben Cousins for the number of his lawyer. Good luck you Clown!