Delay in Bronson Xerri’s doping case is damaging for all | Locker Room
The protracted doping case against Cronulla Sharks youngster Bronson Xerri needs to be resolved soon — for the sake of the game, the player, and his club, writes DAVID RICCIO.
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“The clock is ticking.“
These are the four words a high-level source used to explain why after eight months and 29 days, the curious case of rising NRL star Bronson Xerri is closer than ever before to reaching an end date.
While the rest of the NRL competition continues to roll on, Xerri‘s career – and life – have been flapping in the winter wind.
Who is the cause for the excruciatingly slow timeline, I’ll come to in a moment.
The young Cronulla Sharks centre was target tested by ASADA agents in November last year.
On May 26, 2020, he was served with a provisional suspension by the NRL for returning a positive sample to anabolic steroids.
The fact the results took six months to surface is a major issue that has been – and continues to be – addressed in the halls of ASADA.
On June 9, Xerri received the results of his B-sample.
That was more than two months ago. The result of ‘B’ is yet to be made public.
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However, let’s all concede that if the ‘B’ didn’t match the ‘A’ of one of the game’s hottest young talents, we’d certainly know about it.
If you put the ‘why’ and ‘how’ the drugs were discovered in Xerri’s system momentarily to the side, let’s all remember we’re talking about a 19-year-old here.
One can’t judge what extreme pressure and immense expectation, both in the mind of the athlete or from external forces, can do to a 19-year-old – particularly one who before being suspended had a $1 million contract offer sitting in his email and who was being discussed as a NSW State of Origin contender this year.
However, as even Xerri would know from the mountain of anti-doping pamphlets, slides and information he was provided by the NRL, ASADA and the Sharks in the past five years, there‘s no ‘sympathy bay’ when it comes to keeping sport clean.
He’s facing a four-year ban from all sports.
Any ban will be backdated to his original provisional suspension date in May.
Other than keeping his bank balance healthy, with the Sharks legally bound to continue paying the teenager his $240,000 salary until the case is closed, the drawn-out saga has few positives, if any at all.
From the moment Xerri was handed an anti-doping violation, he was suspended and isolated from his Cronulla teammates and unable to train.
I’ve written previously about the lack of consistency from all sporting codes in Australia in allowing athletes who are facing serious criminal charges to continue to train in a team environment where daily support and welfare exists, but not those who are facing an anti-doping charge.
Without that face-to-face contact, every now and then Xerri has messaged his footy mates before a match this year, evidently missing the daily routine and process of tempering his emotion until game day.
The NRL are acutely aware of how the delay in reaching an outcome in Xerri’s case is damaging for all.
For the Sharks, it’s the fact they have lost a key member of their 2020 season campaign and continue to pay a player that is no longer contributing to the club.
The monthly payment to Xerri of around $20,000 also eliminates the Sharks’ chances of using the money to buy another player.
They’re effectively paying for 30 players inside their NRL salary cap, when they only have 29.
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This is all part of the reason why ARLC chairman Peter V’landys and acting NRL CEO Andrew Abdo called a meeting with Sports Integrity Australia – the new boss of ASADA – to discuss the drawn-out Xerri case.
The meeting, held on August 4, was reported as “positive” by V’landys.
And while there’s still no outcome, “the clock is ticking” and it isn’t far away.
It‘s understood SIA, the NRL and Cronulla aren’t responsible for the lengthy process of which the case has run.
There’s something else, “another factor”, is how my source explained.
The suggestion being perpetuated throughout the game is that Xerri’s lawyer is content with the delay, so long as the Sharks continue to pay the fleet-footed centre.
Xerri’s lawyer, Ramy Qutami, failed to respond to my chat request.
There is also the assertion that SIA had originally investigated the possibility that “facilitators” were involved in providing Xerri with the steroids, prolonging the case.
There is also the process every athlete facing an anti-doping violation receives.
The process is legislated and according to ASADA “at its heart is the notion of procedural fairness”.
I spoke with SIA on Friday about the amount of time an athlete receives under “procedural fairness”.
“While not commenting on a specific case, Sport Integrity Australia’s process ensures that an athlete facing possible anti-doping rule violations is afforded procedural fairness,” the statement in reply read.
“This includes being able to respond to notices issued under the National Anti-Doping Scheme and asking for additional time to make any such response.”
That time is almost up.