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The NRL must do what it can to help players break the habit

29th May, 2017
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Shaun Kenny-Dowall. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
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29th May, 2017
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I was saddened to learn about Cronulla Sharks chairman Damian Keogh’s recent arrest for alleged possession of cocaine.

When I covered the NBL in the 1980s and 1990s I got to know Keogh reasonably well. A point guard with the Sydney Kings and Australian Boomers, he was an intelligent, articulate and well-presented player.

He was a great role model for the thousands of kids who were bouncing basketballs around the country.

I am not going to make any comment about Keogh’s arrest because I do not know the details and I’m certainly not going to pass judgement.

But as a student of the game, basketball that is, Keogh would have been familiar with the story of former NBA commissioner David Stern, who turned around the troubled league in the mid-1980s to become one of the most successful sporting competitions in the world.

The son of a New York deli owner, Stern was appointed NBA commissioner in 1984. He inherited a league that was riddled with drug problems, particularly cocaine, which hurt the image of the sport.

When Boston Celtics draft pick Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose in 1986 it was clear that something needed to be done to clean up the game.

(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

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Stern imposed a strict anti-drugs policy, which included banning repeat offenders from playing, and the NBA became a relatively clean – and highly marketable – form of family entertainment.

Is the NRL facing the same challenge that Stern encountered?

On the same weekend in early May that Keogh was arrested three NRL players – Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor – were also embroiled in drug scandals of their own.

The NRL has to ask itself whether it has a drug problem. Was this just a series of freak incidents or the tip of the iceberg? If it is the latter, what should be done about it?

It has been estimated that one in three people in the western world have taken cocaine at some point in their lives, an alarming statistic given the drug’s harmful, even deadly, effects.

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive drug which can lead to malnourishment, movement disorders, irritability, paranoia and overdose.

So why is cocaine so popular? Well, in the short-term a coke high can give extreme feelings of happiness, energy and alertness. It has apparently become the recreational drug of choice for sports stars because it is easier to avoid detection through drug-testing.

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If cocaine use is widespread, the NRL must act. The abuse of cocaine is not only detrimental to a player’s health, it is also potentially harmful to the health of the game.

There is the risk concerned parents will discourage their kids from playing and supporting rugby league, while sponsors may not want to be associated with a sport which is perceived to have a drug problem.

At present the NRL is reviewing their three strikes policy. Sharks captain Paul Gallen has called for a zero tolerance approach with players receiving automatic two-year bans for positive illicit drugs tests.

Maybe zero tolerance is the only deterrent strong enough to rid the game of illicit drugs, but that does not mean there is no room for compassion.

An automatic two-year ban could be accompanied by treatment for addiction. If a banned player underwent voluntary behavioural therapy and became substance free, then the penalty could be reduced accordingly.

Why not introduce a penalty which includes an incentive to beat dependence and return to play sooner? In other words, a stick and carrot approach.

The NRL must protect the image of the game, but it also has a duty of care to players, who may turn to drugs for all sorts of reasons, not just to get high, but to cope with the pressures of life and sport.

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