Marin Cilic Suspension for Doping

[Liberal Icon]

I almost thew up when I read this.

"Former top-10 player Marin Cilic has been suspended nine months for a doping violation.
The ban was backdated to May 1, so Cilic can return to competition Jan. 31, the International Tennis Federation said Monday.
Cilic tested positive for nikethamide, a stimulant, at a tournament in Munich last spring. The ITF said it accepted the player's contention that he ingested the substance inadvertently in glucose tablets and was not trying to cheat.
As a result, the ITF gave him a reduced penalty rather than a ban of up to two years"

What the fuck is going on here? I do not like Cilic, but if you accept his explanation why continue with the suspension? ITF is full of shit. Here is the full article:
Marin Cilic suspended 9 months for doping violation - ESPN

 

[cezero]

Every tennis player is given an exhaustive list of chemicals they're not all owed to ingest. Furthermore, for any pill or substance they put in their body, they have 24 hour phone number to call where they can find out if it's allowed. They're expected to call the number if they're not 100% positive about what is in the pill.

Cilic admitted he took a pill even though he didn't know what was in it. That's his problem, and he could have prevented it.

I like him as a player and person just fine, by the way.

 

[Liberal Icon]

Every tennis player is given an exhaustive list of chemicals they're not all owed to ingest. Furthermore, for any pill or substance they put in their body, they have 24 hour phone number to call where they can find out if it's allowed. They're expected to call the number if they're not 100% positive about what is in the pill.

Cilic admitted he took a pill even though he didn't know what was in it. That's his problem, and he could have prevented it.

I like him as a player and person just fine, by the way.

If we accept what you just said then ITF's reaction and explanaition is very curious indeed.
"The ITF said it accepted the player's contention that he ingested the substance inadvertently in glucose tablets and was not trying to cheat."

Why will ITF accept Cilic's explanation if they have given a list and phone numbers and warned if you are not sure ask before you ingest anything into your system?

 

[cezero]

If we accept what you just said then ITF's reaction and explanaition is very curious indeed.
"The ITF said it accepted the player's contention that he ingested the substance inadvertently in glucose tablets and was not trying to cheat."

Why will ITF accept Cilic's explanation if they have given a list and phone numbers and warned if you are not sure ask before you ingest anything into your system?

They accepted he didn't know the pill contained a banned substance. I believe him, too.

Yes, he made a mistake, but he's still 100% responsible for making sure he doesn't put pills in his body that contain banned substances, and he had many, many, many avenues available to him to make sure. He chose not to.

I'm thankful there's some integrity in the ITF anti-doping system. There's precious little in any US team sport.