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.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS