Australian pitcher Tim Atherton’s World Baseball Classic withdrawal due to cocaine ban

Australia made history at the World Baseball Classic, despite co-captain Tim Atherton’s shock withdrawal. Manager and Aussie baseball legend Dave Nilsson reveals how they did it.

Tim Atherton withdrew from the World Baseball Classic in March. Picture: AFP

A failed drug test was behind the shock late withdrawal of Team Australia co-captain and starting pitcher Tim Atherton on the eve of the Aussies’ history-making World Baseball Classic campaign.

Baseball Australia, twice on March 10 — the day of Team Australia’s opening game at the Classic — publicly stated the Brisbane Bandits ABL star’s absence was due to “personal reasons”.

But Code Sports can reveal the 33-year-old tested positive to a ‘substance of abuse’ and was handed a one-month ban from the sport.

In a decision made public last week by Sport Integrity Australia, analysis of a sample of Atherton’s blood, taken in a January 8 doping test, detected the presence of Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.

Atherton was banned from competing from March 8-April 8 and replaced in Australia’s 30-man squad by pitcher Coen Wynne.

Tim Atherton withdrew from the World Baseball Classic in March. Picture: AFP

Without Atherton, Aussie baseball legend Dave Nilsson’s squad regrouped to shock World No. 4 South Korea, smack China, and defeat Czech Republic on its way to its first ever appearance in the quarterfinals of the Classic. The Aussies just fell short in the quarters, dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker to powerhouse Cuba.

Nilsson said he was told of Atherton’s positive drug sample the day before Team Australia beat Korea and he immediately focused on rallying his team, despite the shock news.

“It was an extremely tough situation with someone who was one of the team captains and held a pretty high standing within the sport,” Nilsson, who said he was bound by confidentiality at the time and could not tell his players the reason for Atherton’s departure, said.

“We were playing Korea in less than 24 hours. As a coach, I had to make sure four years of preparation wasn’t derailed.

“I called a meeting and told the players our captain was out for personal reasons, we need to get on with it, we don’t have time to process this, we don’t have time to talk about it, we just need to get on with it we need to move forward.

“I could see confusion on the players’ faces and no doubt there was some eye contact made from them and there were some tears in players’ eyes as we crossed paths during the course of that day but there wasn’t one word mentioned to me.

“I’m extremely proud of the players, they were locked in.”

Team Australia made its way to the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals for the first time. Picture: AFP

Nilsson, who coaches Atherton at the Bandits, said his star pitcher was “in a good head space” since the SIA decision was made public.

“I spoke to Tim last week and he’s handling it really well and I guess he’s had some time to digest it all,” Nilsson said.

Despite concerns in the baseball fraternity around Baseball Australia’s handling of Atherton’s case, chief executive Glenn Williams told Code Sports the sport’s governing body was bound by confidentiality under SIA’s National Integrity Framework and could not reveal the reason for Atherton’s departure.

“BA has met their obligations under the policy and the process from SIA,” Williams said.

“At the time, we were obligated to remove him from the team.

“We had an athlete who returned an abnormal sample. That athlete had the right to be able to go through a process and there’s confidentiality in and around that process.

“We suggested it was ‘personal reasons’ because the athlete had to be able to go through a process and an investigation through Sport Integrity Australia.

“We acknowledge that people make mistakes, we also acknowledge there’s a sanction in place and the athlete has served that sanction.”

Team Australia manager Dave Nilsson hailed his players’ resilience after the shock withdrawal of the respected Atherton. Picture: Getty Images

Despite competing the day before the sample was taken and again a week later, Atherton’s suspension was reduced after he was able to satisfy SIA that he used the substance out-of-competition and it did not enhance his performance on the field.

The New South Welshman, on January 7, pitched seven scoreless innings as the Bandits hammered Adelaide 8-1. He was not in the line-up the next day when Brisbane defeated the Giants 9-7 but remained on the team sheet in uniform as an active player who could pitch, bat or field if required. He was back on the mound on January 14 when the Bandits beat Sydney 5-4.

SIA looked favourably on Atherton after he completed an approved drug rehabilitation program. An SIA spokesperson could not answer how Atherton met the requirements, citing “various secrecy provisions” in the The Sport Integrity Australia Act but confirmed he was able to prove he used the substance outside of what the World Anti-Doping Authority considers an in-competition period.

Atherton is among the ABL’s most-decorated players, claiming back-to-back championship series MVP awards in the Bandits’ triumphant 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. In 2022-23 he became the first pitcher in league history to eclipse 400 strikeouts.

Originally published as Australian pitcher Tim Atherton’s World Baseball Classic withdrawal due to cocaine ban