OTTAWA – Former Bishop’s Gaiters football player Jonathan Fortin tested positive for the banned substance Methandienone, at the Regional CFL Combine in Montreal on Mar. 9, 2016.
Fortin, a Sherbrooke native, played three years for Bishop’s University. His career at Bishop’s ended after the Fall 2015 season.
“This was a terrible decision I made,” said Fortin. “I wanted to impress at the CFL combine but this was not the way I should have gone about it. I purchased a supplement online that I knew was not certified. I accept full responsibility for what I did and for the consequences of my decision.”
“We make significant efforts to educate our student-athletes about the dangers of performance enhancing drugs,” said Kevin Mackey, head football coach at Bishop’s University. “Jonathan made this decision after his playing career at Bishop’s was over. It is totally at odds with the values of our football program. There is a lot of pressure on these young men to perform at the CFL Combine however we do not condone this type of behaviour. I’m confident that all of our current players understand that using performing enhancing drugs is unacceptable. We will continue to do all we can to educate them.
“I am pleased that he acknowledged his action- rather than denying it or blaming someone else. Jonathan continues to be a member of our Gaiter family and we will provide support to him throughout this difficult time,” Mackey added.
Jean-Benoit Jubinville, Director of Athletics and Recreation at Bishop’s echoed Mackey’s thoughts.
“I have known Jonathan for several years. He is a good person who made a bad decision. I hope that he will learn from this. Our student athletes know that we do not condone the use of performance enhancing drugs. All of our student-athletes are required to take part in an annual Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) online seminar in order to be eligible. We continue to support this terrific online education tool and will consider what more we can do to ensure that our student-athletes act accordingly while at Bishop’s and once they leave here.”
Source: Martin Rourke, Bishop’s Gaiters Sports Information
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