Carabins football: Player receives two-year suspension by CCES

Montreal, October 26, 2011 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) has informed Université de Montréal’s Carabins Sports Program that one of its football players has been suspended for two years after having tested positive for a substance that appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2011 Prohibited List.

A urine test conducted by the CCES on August 23 during training camp revealed the presence of 19-norandrosterone in the system of running back Olivier Renière. Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) notified the administration of the Carabins of an abnormal test result on September 9, on the eve of a game with Université Laval. Carabins management immediately retired the player from the team, informed him of the various stages he would have to go through with the CCES and confirmed that he would have the support and guidance needed.

The CCES confirmed the infraction on October 19 and imposed the standard two-year suspension at the conclusion of the CCES process, during which the athlete waived his right to a hearing.

“This is the first case of a positive test result in any Université de Montréal sport since the re-launch of our sports program in 1995,” said UdeM Athletics director Manon Simard. “We are aware of the problems that exist in football, and from day one we have supported enforcement of the joint measures that the CCES, the CIS and the Canadian Football League (CFL) introduced in August 2010.”

A lesson for all football players
The suspension period imposed by the CCES for Olivier Renière officially started on August 23, 2011 and will end on August 23, 2013.

“I admit to having consumed dietary supplements purchased on the internet from the United States in an attempt to save money, and I was well aware of the risk of contamination associated with purchases of this sort and that the Carabins medical team was opposed to players taking dietary supplements,” Olivier Renière said. “The substance detected by the CCES did not appear on the list of ingredients indicated on these supplements. I deeply regret my decision, and I’m now paying a much higher price by being deprived of playing a sport that has been my passion for years.”

“I sincerely hope my situation will make university and junior level football players think,” he continued. “This ordeal goes to show me how extremely careful we need to be, and we should trust the qualified people more, before making a decision of this sort.

“I’m sorry to have involved my teammates, my coaches and the Carabins organization, all who have supported me all through the CCES process. I assume responsibility for my actions and the resulting consequences.”

Support and guidance
“This is an unfortunate incident, and our team remains united in view of this situation,” said Carabins head football coach Danny Maciocia, for whom this is the first positive case of doping on a team he has led in nearly 20 years. “The members of our football program will work together on educating our players more. Although we have some very good tools in place, we should continue in our efforts to make them better.”

“It also has to be understood that even though Olivier, the player in question, committed an error of judgement, we’re not going to abandon Olivier as an individual,” Danny Maciocia continued. “He’ll have access to all the resources he needs to get through this challenge. He remains a student in our university and we will continue to support him throughout his studies, which are the main reason he’s here.”

A second abnormal finding
The administration of the Carabins also confirmed that the CCES has informed it of another football player’s abnormal result, following a test that was administrated on September 10. This player has been retired from the team and is undergoing the normal process with the CCES, which will announce in due course whether he will be sanctioned or not.

“As the CCES inquiry is still proceeding, it is not appropriate to comment on this new case for the time being, or to disclose the identity of the player under investigation,” Manon Simard said.

Since the start of the 2011 season, including training camp, 27 tests have been administered to various Carabins football players. All the other tests were reported negative.

A proactive approach to player awareness
“We have a zero tolerance policy on doping and we recommend, among other things, that our athletes not take dietary supplements,” Simard said. “They can get everything they need in the way of nutrition from their regular diet. The health of our athletes remains a priority for all the specialists who work with them.

“Besides information sessions for the team and mandatory CCES education for every player, the administration of the Carabins has taken the lead in recent years to raise awareness and educate its football players, and is constantly seeking ways of doing a better job on this.”

“Every player has met one on one with a member of our medical team. All players have been informed and individualized recommendations have been made,” Simard said. “Every player has also signed a contract confirming that he is aware of current anti-doping rules and that they will respect them. Our head coach has had three veteran CFL players come to the training camp and this issue was discussed with our student athletes.”

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