South Sydney Rabbitohs fine Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray over prescription drug overdose
Tom Decent
An investigation by the South Sydney Rabbitohs into players Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray found the pair sourced additional pain-killing medication from their own GPs
on the day they overdosed on prescription drugs and as a result they have been fined five per cent of their contracts for bringing the club and NRL into "serious disrepute".
Souths released a statement saying they had finalised their investigation into the pair, who were rushed to hospital in the early hours of September 22 after their former teammate Jake O'Sullivan called triple-0 when he heard Walker vomiting in his sleep.
The board determined that:
- There was no evidence that either player had illicit substances or alcohol in their bodies;
- Both players had nonetheless sourced additional pain-killing medication from their own GPs on the day of the incident, clearly beyond that which was prescribed by their specialists following their respective surgeries;
- By their actions and their consequent hospitalisation, the players had brought the club and the NRL into serious disrepute.
Souths announced the players would suffer the following punishment:
- Attend educational sessions to better understand how to correctly use medicines;
- Undertake a minimum of 20 hours of community service (in addition to normal club obligations) including speaking to groups about their experiences and learnings;
- Make themselves available for ongoing regular testing for drugs including prescription drugs;
- Each be penalised 5 per cent of their 2015 contract value, with a further 5 per cent to be suspended pending successful completion of points 1 and 2 and their co-operation with point 3 above.
The club has decided to give the players' fines to charities including St Vincent's Hospital's Alcohol and Drug Service.
Walker and Gray were released from hospital three days after overdosing on what is believed to be an combination of tramadol and oxycodone and there are fears the pair could have died if their friend was not there to save them.
Rabbitohs CEO John Lee said there were new procedures in place to make sure there was no repeat.
"We will work closely with all of our players to ensure an incident like this doesn't happen again," Lee said. "It was harrowing for the players' families, friends and club mates; and it impacted the reputation of our club which does so much good work. The review was comprehensive and a proactive step to modernise our medications policy."
The board has also made a commitment to: "increase its level of education to players of all levels around the correct use of prescription medication, and the consequences of their misuse".
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...g-overdose-20151126-gl8m0n.html#ixzz3sZWMttUZ
Follow us:
@smh on Twitter |
sydneymorningherald on Facebook