LONDON – Brandon Staples,20, a South African playing second-tier rugby union for Yorkshire Carnegie in England has been banned from all sport for four years by British anti-doping authorities after testing positive for three banned steroids, it was announced on Wednesday 18 April 2018.
Staples failed tests for metandienone, dehydrochloromethyl-Testosterone and stanozolol which was the substance that saw Canada sprinter Ben Johnston stripped of his 100 metres gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
In his defence Staples gave evidence that some seven weeks before he was tested, he was in Durban when he purchased a protein shake from a local supplement shop, which he claims must have been the source of the prohibited substances found in his system.
His original ban was imposed in November 2017 but details were only revealed after the player’s appeal failed.
Back in 2013 Staples, who was considered to be a star player with the potential to become a successful pro one day, was a student at Glenwood High and represented KwaZulu-Natal at the under-16 Grant Khomo Week. By the end of the same year while over in England as an exchange student, he decided to further his rugby career in that country and did not return to play school rugby in SA again. (more details here : http://schoolboyrugby.co.za/?p=6077).
Staples first became part of a ongoing topic of discussion/disagreement in 2012 when he along with a few other sportsmen followed in the footsteps of an aquatics coach that had move from Maritzburg College to Glenwood.
No matter what the motivation this cannot be allowed. I believe it should be stamped out at school level with random testing as happens at Craven Week. I agree a coach will know when this is happening and should receive the same treatment.
@dammetjie: The telltale signs are not difficult to identify, particularly if there is significant short term transformation. The honest athlete would need to be putting in triple the gym work with strict diet regimen over an extended period to try achieve similar results.
It’s an extreme form of cheating & needs to be stamped out. The specialists are doing nowhere enough to curb this scourge in sport. Being results orientated some coaches will conveniently turn a blind eye and schools claim ignorance, sweep it under the carpet with minimal sanction.
It’s up to parents to be aware. Teammates often know which boys are juicing. For some it’s considered acceptable, for others the environment is not conducive to whistle blowing and so it goes on…
I think we should steer clear of predicting what a steroid junkie looks like. It is a specialist field.
@Kattes-Strofes: i beg to differ. my son is 14 and has skin problem and his veins on his arms show prominant. But i can a sure you he has never used Steriods.
@beet: Yes with racehorse type muscle features except the schlong.
Brings to mind the bumper sticker “Hung like Einstein and clever as a horse”
@Kattes-Strofes: square jaw?
Tell tale signs of doping includes the following : Person picks up a lot of weight and muscle within a short time span.He is prone to excessive sweating; Veins , especially on the arms become more prominant; Sudden skin problems.
@tzavosky: Thanks Tzavosky, your idea gets my ??♀️??.
@tzavosky: 100% agree.It shouldn’t be the only criteria but it’s a telltale sign.
@BoishaaiPa: when you come out of Christmas looking like a Mr Olympia contestant we will be concerned
@tzavosky: I also gain around 10 Kg’s during December holidays..I can assure you it is not because of any magic sauce…or perhaps you can call beer and wine magic sauce..in that case I will test positive!
@Bush: The problem with screening is, it can’t be done at any old lab, it has to be done through http://www.drugfreesport.org.za/. There’s only one accredited lab that does testing and it’s hell of expensive.
I had to investigate it for the local school a few years back and I spoke to the guys at drugfreesport – it was about R2 000 per test at the time. The big question then is who will pay for the test, the player or the school?
What I have noticed is that a kid around 16-17 years old suddenly gains 20+ kilo’s over the December holidays. That should raise a concern and those guys should be targeted for testing by the school – if you’re positive, you pay for the test; if negative, the school pays. That’s the best solution in my mind.
@Hooit: Hooit, I thought you had a brain not a mielie kop. Affies are the real deal Wit Bulle. Monnas have a big game this weekend. Are you going to watch?
your besy gym is the chemist
@Hooit: Yes that’s the Union’s doing the testing not schools. Screening should be at schools. As they all pledge to No Drugs In Sport, then turn a blind eye.
@Bush: No Monnas is not n Pretoria as the REAL WITBULLE are from Krugersdorp.
@BoishaaiPa: They do. My son was tested two years in a row. They randomly pick about 4-6 players after each game
@Bush: They do random tests at Craven Week after every game as far as I know.
@Hooit: Is Monnas in Pretoria????
@Bush: Yes but the english kids in Glenwood were under pressure to look like the Afrikaans boys from Pretoria in Glenwood.
@McCulleys Workshop: None, it’s too expensive. Maybe Staples was singled out with a bit of history and he was monitored. My older son was one of about 15 kids involved in that scandal. He was in Matric at the time and there were kids in Grade 10 involved. He was never tested.
@Bush: You got emphysema Bush? Or a Polony cough. It would be interesting to know the stats. There was a bit of rattling of sabres around roids in 2012/13 and since then it’s been quiet. I’m not sure which events they test at currently.
Whahahahshsgsgshshshs just rolled my polony small hops wors. Maybe it was the water that was used for mixing the protein shake. I think SBR in SA would lose 50% of it’s players to the “Protein Shake” if tested.