Why cocaine is the drug of choice for some top Aussie athletes
From snorting to selling, these are the elite Aussie sporting stars who’ve been put out of a job or behind bars by making cocaine their drug of choice.
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Cocaine is the drug of choice for Australian athletes who have been caught up in numerous high-profile scandals.
Sports stars all over the country have been busted snorting and selling the high-society drug.
For some it has put them out of a job, others in front of a court and some even behind bars.
Deakin University lecturer and Olympic gold medallist Dr Matthew Dunn said it “boggles the mind.”
“They get a lot of education around this, what is and isn’t allowed,” Dr Dunn said.
“They forget they are still members of society and I think they forget despite no matter how many medals you’ve won, how many premierships you’ve won, when a drug tester knocks on your door, they don’t care about that.”
Cocaine is not only tested by sporting codes for health reasons but is tested by Sports Integrity Australia formerly ASADA and considered a performance enhancing drug by the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA).
AFL players Ben Cousins, Brad Crouch, Tyson Stengle and Sam Murray are among a significant handful of elite stars left red-faced by cocaine scandals over the years.
One of Australia’s best known sportsmen has been suspected of being a major cocaine distributor for the past decade.
The player has ‘popped’’ up on police intelligence reports from Sydney for some time but has so far avoided arrest.
“There are people in the drug trade that would shock the general public,” a police source said.
In April former Olympic kayaker Nathan Baggaley was found guilty of attempting to import more than 200 kilograms of cocaine in 2018.
Associate Professor at the University of Technology Sydney Daryl Adair said cocaine is generally seen as a “safer” option for athletes because it’s in the system for only 24-48 hours.
“Anecdotally, cocaine is a drug of choice for elite athletes. Equally, though, it’s also a drug of choice for white-collar professionals in business,” Mr Adair said.
“After all, Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of cocaine consumption in the world.”
Both academics agreed the testing methods around cocaine in sport could be improved.
“The current policies by the EPL, AFL, and NRL are preferable to WADA’s lack of interest in illicit drugs outside of match day,” Mr Adair said.
“They could be improved, such as with routine hair testing – which gives information about drug use for around 3 months.”
SPORTS STARS IN COKE SCANDALS
BEN COUSINS
The former Richmond and West Coast star has spent years battling addiction.
The AFL legend has admitted to being a big-time user of cocaine, which he referred to as his “drug of choice” during his controversial career.
He was with premiership player Chris Mainwaring in the hours before he overdosed on cocaine and died in 2007.
SHANE MUMFORD
The former Geelong ruckman found himself in strife after footage of him snorting drugs went viral.
The incident took place in 2015 after Mumford suffered a season-ending injury with the GWS.
But the footage didn’t get out until 2018, resulting in him getting a $25,000 fine and voluntary strike under the AFL’s illicit drugs policy.
BRAD CROUCH
The St Kilda player had a dark history when he joined the club.
In 2020 he was caught with cocaine during a massive bender at the end of his term with the Adelaide Crows.
He was given a two-week suspension, but it didn’t hurt his chances in the move to St Kilda.
He later declared “I’ve taken responsibility for what I’ve done”.
TYSON STENGLE
The former Richmond forward was caught up in the same drug scandal while playing for the Crows in 2020.
He received a four-game suspension and was eventually stood down by the club following a series of troubling behaviours, including a drink driving incident.
Collingwood has reportedly expressed interest in Stengle in the lead up to 2021 mid-season draft.
SAM MURRAY
The former Collingwood player was found to have cocaine in his system during a game-day test in 2018.
He was investigated by ASADA and faced a potential four-year ban for the breach.
Murray’s legal team managed to reduce the ban to 18 months, but the player has not been picked up by any club since.
JESSE BROMWICH
The Melbourne Storm player was busted doing lines of cocaine outside a Canberra nightclub in 2017.
The scandal occurred hours after the then New Zealand captain lost to the Kangaroos in an Anzac rugby league Test match.
Crowther was charged with cocaine and MDMA possession and convicted and fined $5,250.
Following the scandal, Bromwich admitted to his partyboy ways, but declared he was a changed man.
“To see how much I hurt them when I went through that period just showed me how much they meant to me,” he told Foxsports.
“I’m just hanging around them all the time now and just being more family-oriented is probably how I’ve changed.”
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