Troicki banned for 18 months....

First topic message reminder :

BBC Sport Twitter:

Serbian tennis player Viktor Troicki banned for 18 months by ITF for refusing to provide a blood sample at a drugs test.

Interesting.

Djoko has a point, but I think he's still overall wrong:
 
a. According to the CAS (see this Troicki Decision Link) on the bad side he was told that there would be sanctions, he signed something saying that there would be sanctions, he was told by the Doctor that only the ITF could excuse a failure and she could not; on the mitigating side the Doctor was more relaxed than she should have been and failed to ram the point home when she should have done more.  He therefore got the standard minimum and they declined to reduce it further.  They also declined to decide who was telling the truth as to whether the Doctor unequivocally assured him he'd be OK because they did not think it was necessary and they found both the witnesses to be essentially honest.
 
b. For me Djoko is denigrating the notion that the tennis player must take absolute responsibility for his own conduct.  Troicki knew that he faced an uncertain sanction and decided to risk it taking solace from the relatively relaxed approach of the Doctor without any authoritative clearance - that was a huge misjudgement and I don't think it merits a rant from Djoko, particularly when the central importance to the regime of taking a test when requested should be clear as a bell to an adult who makes his money playing tennis.
 
It's unfortunate for Troicki - no doubt if a different Doctor had been present and been more forceful Troicki would not be in the hole he's in, but he would also not be in the hole he's in had he taken a bit more care over his responsibilities.
 
One of Djoko's points is that if they both made a mistake it's a shame that Troicki has to pay so much more for it - but one might expect that with the stakes being so high he'd do his homework before refusing a test.

In the BBC studio Tim Henman commented on this case. He said that as a professional athlete he would have realized that to refuse a drug test it would have carried a penalty. I agree. I can't imagine thinking that a random drug test could be refused. I find it difficult to imagine how any player could think it would be OK.

Well, if (as Troicki claims) he was told there would not be a problem then I can quite understand why he would think it was ok.

Cheers for posting the link Barry. Interesting read. Seems something of a fudge by CAS. They put a bit too much onus on what the DCO could have done for my liking.

With this plus Cilic's punishment being reduced by CAS, it does feel like the ITF's initial ruling is just the opening gambit like when haggling over price of a new car - ITF start high, CAS move somewhere towards what the recipient wants. It's not really ideal for such an important process.

I can't say I really understood why Cilic's ban was reduced.

I have more sympathy for Troicki but maybe because I'm not good with needles myself. If he has a genuine phobia, the involuntary reaction to the needle can be a real risk to health - should the doctor even proceed with taking blood if it presents a significant risk to the patient with no benefit to him whatsoever (perhaps some can clarify if this is against a doctors' code of ethics). Should WADA be looking at alternatives to drawing blood for athletes with needle phobia? If he agreed to give blood and then his heart rate reached dangerous levels and they abandoned the process, would he still have been sanctioned by the ITF?      

I do appreciate that Troicki's aim may have been to avoid the test because he had indeed taken a prohibited substance, but if his story is genuine, even regardless of what the DCO told him, it's a tough thing to lose a good chunk of your career over.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/24872914

Murray summing up my own position pretty much, particularly these paragraphs:

Murray says players need to know the rules, and that there can be "no excuses" for accidentally taking a substance on the banned list.

"I personally myself would never go and buy something over the counter in a pharmacy - it's just unprofessional," he said.

"I think 10 or 15 years ago, when people didn't think drug taking happened in sport, people might have thought 'yeah, we can just buy stuff over the counter in any old pharmacy'. Look, we can't do that, you have to accept it."

It's nice when your favourite player agrees with you

Djokovic's stance on the Troicki case has been fairly disgraceful IMO, I get that Troicki is a very good friend of his, but his comments were very much out of line.

I pretty much thought Murray was spot on. Sums up my feelings on it too

I have less sympathy for Troicki than Cilic but both were, as Murray quite rightly says, unprofessional.

I have mixed feeling about Djokovic's actions. I don't agree with much of what he said. But he's tried being a nice guy and a good ambassador and gets sod all respect for it, so I kind of like the fact he appears to have thought "stuff it, I'll stick up for my mate".

@HMM… there was big furore when Nadal tried to stick up for Contador.

Djokovic could learn something from that incident and provide support to Troicki, but avoid public commentary about it.

what about a certain UK athlete who missed THREE drug tests if my memory is correct and yet still competes and wins medals. Disgraceful.

That was 7 years ago. She got a 12 month ban which she served. So it's not as if she got away with it. Pretty sure she will have been available for any tests since then.

sirfredperry wrote:what about a certain UK athlete who missed THREE drug tests if my memory is correct and yet still competes and wins medals. Disgraceful.

My feeling is that she went through the process and was doled out the punishment by the CAS so she's entitled to be there legally. However, I think that they set aside a perfectly decent BOC rule to let her compete for Britain in the Olympics and whilst acknowledging that there's no allegation that she cheated, I do not particularly rejoice in her successes for Britain. Missing three tests in the space of 12 months like that was very shabby in my view. I also think it was very shabby and hopelessly unprofessional of Troicki and, whilst the Doctor should have been more insistent, he's got to take the lion's share for his own decision about his career.

Thank heavens for Federer and Murray introducing some calm disinterested support for the drug testing programme. Tennis will miss Federer on so many levels when he stops playing - first Nadal and now Djoko have shown themselves incapable of rising above the fray and saying calmly and clearly what their sport needs. A shame.

sirfredperry wrote:what about a certain UK athlete who missed THREE drug tests if my memory is correct and yet still competes and wins medals. Disgraceful.

She didn't refuse to take any tests though. It's a completely different situation.

Refusing point blank to take a test has to carry as harsh a punishment as failing the test. Otherwise anyone with something to hide would just refuse the test (for one reason or another) and take the shorter ban and not have to face the stigma of failing.

Christine should have been banned for longer than she was, what a joke that was!

With Tipsarevic injured, and Troicki suspension, Serbia are currently having to resort to their no 4 Lajovic, ranked 117, who I've never even heard of.

Still, for their 4th ranked player to be ranked 117 is not bad for a nation the size of Serbia, but unless Lajokic can surprise Stepanek (as well as Djokovic needing to beat Berdych first to level the tie at 2-2), Troicki's suspension could cost his country the Davis Cup.

Well HB that along with friendship is probably the main reasons Novak chose to speak out. The serbs need the doubles win if they are to have any chance in this I am assuming that Novak will have to play doubles as well. I think he will take Berdych at home, but the doubles against Stepanek will be a tough ask.

Whoops they rested Djokovic and already lost the doubles. Looks like serbia is done and dusted unless Lajokic can win against Stepanek.

@SoCal… Djokovic-Berdych on court. Where did you see Djokovic being rested?

I think socal thought djoko would be rested for the doubles?

LuvSports! wrote:I think socal thought djoko would be rested for the doubles?

Ah, I need my tea.