Former NBL basketball player gets 4-year ban for doping

Former NBL basketball player handed 4-year ban for second doping offence

Basketball player Gareth Dawson has been banned from all sport for four years after testing positive for the prohibited substance Higenamine, in what is his second anti-doping rule violation.

Mr Dawson, who currently resides in Western Australia, admitted to taking the supplement ‘Oxyshred’ which contained the prohibited substance. Mr Dawson was selected for doping control following an NBL basketball match at Cowles Stadium in Christchurch in May.

In 2014, the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand banned Mr Dawson for 12 months after he tested positive for the prohibited substance tamoxifen.

Higenamine is a Beta-2 Agonist which is prohibited in- and out-of-competition as it allows the lungs to take in more oxygen. It is found in many popular supplements in New Zealand and overseas and is not always listed on the label of supplement ingredients.

Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ) chief executive Nick Paterson says athletes cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to using supplements.

“We can’t reiterate enough how important it is for athletes to check and double check every supplement which they are thinking of taking. Manufacturers do not always list all ingredients on the label.

“And even if the ingredients are listed, it is the athletes’ responsibility to check that they are permitted in sport,” Mr Paterson says.

“This is especially important with the new Prohibited List coming out on 1 January 2018.”

Mr Dawson’s four-year ban has been backdated to 31 July 2017, for promptly admitting the violation. The ban is recognised worldwide, meaning that he cannot participate in organised sport until 30 July 2021.

To read the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand decision, please click here.

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