Why Are The Newcastle Knights Not In More Trouble?
November 4th 2007 05:39
Andrew Johns
I was musing about the Andrew Johns drug scandal last night; I wondered how it was possible for him to dodge so many drug tests. The conclusion I came to? Well, it seems likely that the Newcastle club covered for him.
There have been rumours for years that Johns' "neck injuries" were in fact suspensions for drug use, but no one was able to prove it. I heard about them but always thought, "Andrew Johns using drugs? No way" And then he was arrested for possession of an ecstasy tablet. My mind was thrown into turmoil, everything I thought I knew about Australia's best rugby player ever turned out to be a lie. Ok, so I may be exaggerating because I wasn't really that devastated. But I was surprised. How could someone fluke so many drug tests? And then it came to me, he didn't. It is not possible that the Knights didn't know about the drugs, I think the team doctor even came out and said he was aware of it.
It also made me think that the Australian Team must have known and also covered it up, because they do random testing as well. This reflects so badly on the game and it was such a stupid thing to do. I think it is so weird that there has not been more emphasis on this and that the Knights got away with a blatant violation of the rules. So why is this? Am I looking too much into this? Or has everyone overlooked a massive point in this case?
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Comment by Anonymous
Living in Newcastle, their were always rumours, but thats all they were, rumours. No one ever had proof that he was taking. Your Average pundits, the fans, the media, the coaching staff - no one had ther actual hard proof, and you can't condem a man on suspicions alone...
Matt Johns may have known there was a problem, but even he had been shut out of the total extent of the problem...
Johns admitted he was playing russian roulette with testers... the problem is that these random tests are only ever conducted on match day... therefore there are 6 other days of the week that he can be 'on the wagon' without fear of consequences...
Newcastle covering? Well without doubt there were massive rumours in Newy... but to actualy know and cover it up? I doubt it- there is to much at stake even for a player of Joey's stature to be untouchable...
Imagine if they had known and he had died? That would bring down a club.
Comment by Ranting Rebecca
Thanks for the sharing your thoughts. I just think that it is too unbelievable to be tested as frequently as he was to never come back with anything at all. I just think some one had to be covering somewhere. I just found the article I read about the Newcastle doctor. This is what it said,
Halpin admitted to knowing of Andrew Johns' drug use for five years.
In a stunning admission, the first from a Newcastle official since Johns claimed the club knew of his behaviour last night, Halpin said he had been helping treat the player for some time over his alcohol, drug and health issues.
Andrew Johns admitted on television last night to longstanding drug and alcohol use,'' Halpin said in a statement.
"I have been aware of this since 2002.
"I have treated Andrew for many years not only for his football injuries but I have coordinated the management of his drug and alcohol abuse."
See this leads me to think that the club knew and covered up for him. It seems to be a pretty well known fact in the NRL community that he was a user.