Wendell Sailor's troubled rugby career took a turn for the worse yesterday.
The Australian Rugby Union said test winger Sailor had been suspended for two years after testing positive for cocaine and that his contract had been terminated.
"Wendell Sailor's behavior has been extremely disappointing and we have no hesitation in terminating his contract," the ARU said in a statement. "Australian rugby condemns the use of performance enhancing drugs and doping practices in sport."
PHOTO: AP
Sailor's contract was due to expire at the end of next year. He tested positive following a Super 14 match between his New South Wales Waratahs and the ACT Brumbies on April 16.
The ARU said an independent judicial committee had found the 32-year-old Sailor guilty of taking a prohibited substance -- benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine -- and had informed the union of its decision yesterday.
Sailor was notified of his positive test on May 12 and the New South Wales Rugby Union placed the 37-test veteran on provisional suspension.
He requested that his "B" sample be tested on May 22. On June 1, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency informed him that the second sample was also positive for cocaine.
A judicial committee hearing took place on Tuesday in Sydney, and the committee found Sailor guilty of taking the prohibited substance yesterday.
The ARU, as part of the International Rugby Board, is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency. The Australian government and its Australian Sports Commission have also adopted the WADA code.
In August 1997, Sailor was charged with assaulting a man in a Brisbane nightclub, but he was acquitted in September 1999 when the jury accepted he did not throw the first punch.
In October, 2000, he was arrested in a street in Townsville in north Queensland state at 5am for being drunk in a public place, while with the Kangaroos rugby league squad preparing for a World Cup match in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
In May 2001, he was fined and ordered to pay compensation for spitting in a woman's face. No conviction was recorded, despite the magistrate saying Sailor had demonstrated "unlawfully contemptuous and degrading behavior" to the woman.
A month later, Sailor smashed a truck window and admitted being the aggressor in road rage incident in Brisbane. He apologized and paid for the damage, and no charges were laid.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS