UKAD: AJ Roberts banned for two years for anti-doping violation
Via UKAD: Basketball player Alfredie (AJ) Roberts has been suspended from all sport for a period of two years following an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV).
Mr Roberts provided a Sample In-Competition on 19 May 2019, following the British Basketball League Final between the London City Royals and Leicester Riders.
Analysis of Mr Roberts’ Sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for carboxy-THC, a metabolite of cannabis. Carboxy-THC is prohibited under section S8 of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2019 Prohibited List. It is a Specified substance and is prohibited In-Competition only.
Mr Roberts was charged with violating Anti-Doping Rule Article 2.1 – “Presence of a Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers”. Mr Roberts accepted the presence of carboxy-THC in his A Sample, stating that he ingested it Out-of-Competition between 13 – 17 May 2019.
The Head of the Drug Control Centre at King’s College London, having considered Mr Roberts’ account, accepted that it was entirely possible that his ingestion of cannabis took place Out-of-Competition. Accordingly, as set out in Anti-Doping Rule Article 10.2.2, the period of Ineligibility is two years.
UKAD’s Director of Operations, Pat Myhill, said: “While some recreational drugs may not particularly enhance sporting performance, there are still significant and valid reasons why they are named on WADA’s Prohibited List.
“Cannabis is banned In-Competition and Athletes are solely responsible for what is in their system, regardless of whether there is an intention to cheat or not. Sportspeople must be aware that using cannabis, even Out-of-Competition, will put them at risk of breaking the Anti-Doping Rules and receiving a ban.”
The period of ineligibility commenced on 19 May 2019 and will expire on 18 May 2021 inclusive.
Joint BBF and BBL statement
The British Basketball Federation and the British Basketball League take a united and unequivocal stance against the use of all prohibited substances.
We work, and will continue to work, closely with UK Anti-Doping in enforcing our zero-tolerance position on these matters.
Further advice
Players must be fully aware of the risks to their career if they chose to use a supplement product.
The US Antidoping Council (and UKAD) has found that enobosarm, also known as ostarine, is often contained within dietary supplements despite the fact it is not approved for human use or consumption in the UK, US or in any other country. Its use is illegal and therefore will not be listed as an ingredient.
We would like to remind all players there are no guarantees any supplement product is free from banned substances.
See here for UKAD’s guidance on how you can reduce doping risks from supplement use.
Comprehensive information and anti-doping advice is also available from FIBA here.
If a player has concerns, they should contact their home country association for assistance.