Ben Barker positive drug test

[Lord Skid]

5 minutes ago, mc131 said:

cheating, do you know what he tested positive for? 

Doesn't matter, failing a drug or alcohol test is cheating, it's not a grey area. He has a list of all banned substances, should have read it 

Edited August 13, 2022 by Lord Skid
Spelling

[mc131]

49 minutes ago, Lord Skid said:

Doesn't matter, failing a drug or alcohol test is cheating, it's not a grey area. He has a list of all banned substances, should have read it 

In my eyes performance enhancing is cheating 

[chunky]

1 hour ago, mc131 said:

In my eyes performance enhancing is cheating 

Absolutely. If it's NOT performance enhancing, it is NOT being used to gain an unfair undvantage, so it cannot be considered cheating. It's just f*cking stupidity!

[HGould]

No one knows exactly what he has taken, either in excess from off a banned list of legal prescription drugs (e.g painkiller overdose) or something that is illegal and not pain relief  but something classed as a social drug (soft or hard) or even alcohol related, other than Ben himself.

It would seem very unlikely to be a steroid or performance enhaning in terms of muscle / strength building, more likely to be either a social drug (in which case he deserves 2 years minimum ban) or an over-dose in terms of amount of a prescription or off the shelf drug that is on a list of medicines he should not have taken OR and probably most importantly, have self-decared he had taken.

If you were to test and ban every rider who in extreme pain and under pressure to ride has taken a prescription drug he shouldn't then there would be very few left. That doesn't excuse what he's done , it means he got caught and has to deal with the consequences. May the first person who in pain has not swallowed may be more than they should for relief cast the first stone (accepting there are degrees of difficulty or risk you are then putting workmates under - a bus driver may put 60 lives at risk, a train driver hundreds, a Speedway rider you have to balance against that kind of risk factor)

Past reputation, good or bad counts for a lot and on that score it's about as bad as it gets. 

Had he been someone with a better reputation no doubt many would be calling a different tune. It's Ben Barker so in many eyes its hard to have any degree of compassion.

Until the actual results are published (if there are ever published) and a hearing takes place, no one knows do they?

The Hearing btw is standard practice and is his chase to explain with representation if he wants it what his side of the story is. His CL Club have been very clear to set out the defence from day 1, not excusing it but in mitigation. IF the findings back what they are saying the punishment may be relatively short, possibly to 31 October, if what was found refutes and contradicts  that defence then I think it'll be 2 years  at least and he will have fooled them and all the rest of us.

Whatever the outcome the Sport needs MORE tests and more education and not just gloat that they have caught one and then sit back and do naff all for another 3-4 years.

 

[Gordon Pairman]

On 8/14/2022 at 7:32 AM, HGould said:

No one knows exactly what he has taken, either in excess from off a banned list of legal prescription drugs (e.g painkiller overdose) or something that is illegal and not pain relief  but something classed as a social drug (soft or hard) or even alcohol related, other than Ben himself.

It would seem very unlikely to be a steroid or performance enhaning in terms of muscle / strength building, more likely to be either a social drug (in which case he deserves 2 years minimum ban) or an over-dose in terms of amount of a prescription or off the shelf drug that is on a list of medicines he should not have taken OR and probably most importantly, have self-decared he had taken.

If you were to test and ban every rider who in extreme pain and under pressure to ride has taken a prescription drug he shouldn't then there would be very few left. That doesn't excuse what he's done , it means he got caught and has to deal with the consequences. May the first person who in pain has not swallowed may be more than they should for relief cast the first stone (accepting there are degrees of difficulty or risk you are then putting workmates under - a bus driver may put 60 lives at risk, a train driver hundreds, a Speedway rider you have to balance against that kind of risk factor)

Past reputation, good or bad counts for a lot and on that score it's about as bad as it gets. 

Had he been someone with a better reputation no doubt many would be calling a different tune. It's Ben Barker so in many eyes its hard to have any degree of compassion.

Until the actual results are published (if there are ever published) and a hearing takes place, no one knows do they?

The Hearing btw is standard practice and is his chase to explain with representation if he wants it what his side of the story is. His CL Club have been very clear to set out the defence from day 1, not excusing it but in mitigation. IF the findings back what they are saying the punishment may be relatively short, possibly to 31 October, if what was found refutes and contradicts  that defence then I think it'll be 2 years  at least and he will have fooled them and all the rest of us.

Whatever the outcome the Sport needs MORE tests and more education and not just gloat that they have caught one and then sit back and do naff all for another 3-4 years.

 

Every rider is given a list of banned drugs when they are issued with their licences and few cannot be aware of what is and is not permitted. Very few prescription drugs are banned, only those that are believed to affect performance, often through making riders fearless or indeed reckless.

I very much doubt that there are many riders “who in extreme pain and under pressure to ride have taken a prescription drug” that would be in breach of the rules. Indeed, I recall Shane Parker back in 2005 riding with a recently broken collar bone saying he was unwilling to take any pain killers for fear of breaching the anti-doping rules.

Drug testing at UK speedway meetings is carried out regularly and independently and it is testimony to the “clean” nature of the sport, possibly fuelled by a fear of being banned, that few are caught. I would expect that the same systems operate in other countries which have caught very few over the years either. Your comment that “Whatever the outcome the Sport needs MORE tests and more education and not just gloat that they have caught one and then sit back and do naff all for another 3-4 years.” is, in my view, very wide of what happens. Riders ARE educated and tests are already frequent.
 

I have no inside knowledge about the current case but am aware that there are clear procedures for the hearing that will take place and these are laid down in section 018.5 of the 2022 SCB Regulations. Until that takes place and a decision made, it would be pointless to speculate further. 

[chunky]

2 hours ago, Gordon Pairman said:

Very few prescription drugs are banned, only those that are believed to affect performance, often through making riders fearless or indeed reckless.

Beta blockers are, and so are most diuretics, as they can be used as a masking agent.

[Lord Skid]

It's very black and white, a Rider has a list of items that are banned, all he has to do is be capable of reading, if a test is positive, it's goodbye Speedway career, pretty simple,  if you choose to take banned substances, you deserve everything that comes your way.

[Diamondboy]

2 hours ago, Lord Skid said:

It's very black and white, a Rider has a list of items that are banned, all he has to do is be capable of reading, if a test is positive, it's goodbye Speedway career, pretty simple,  if you choose to take banned substances, you deserve everything that comes your way.

Seeing who it is the reading bit might be his defence.

[DazS]

you cant beat having a few pints to increase performance.

[Odds On]

The banned list is there for all riders to see, if you use anything on that said list you are then cheating.  I wouldn't want to be racing against someone who is using something on the said banned list

I wonder just how many riders are tested over the course of a season or career, you'd like to think all riders are tested at least once a season!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[steve roberts]

I recall Hans Nielsen commenting that it was long overdue that random drug testing was introduced to the sport and was in full favour of the practice back in the late eighties early nineties when it was well known that many riders were taking drugs.

[The Dog]

If I took drugs I'd have a job even finding my bike let alone riding it.... ! 

[Christine Hawes]

On 8/22/2022 at 3:24 PM, steve roberts said:

I recall Hans Nielsen commenting that it was long overdue that random drug testing was introduced to the sport and was in full favour of the practice back in the late eighties early nineties when it was well known that many riders were taking drugs.

Niels Kristian Iversen said pretty much the same a few years back.

[lbw]

On 8/13/2022 at 7:33 PM, Lord Skid said:

Doesn't matter, failing a drug or alcohol test is cheating, it's not a grey area. He has a list of all banned substances, should have read it 

Cheating and blinking dangerous for himself & those he raced against as I'm sure there would be an far higher chance of causing a crash when yer brain is wobbly!

Edited August 27, 2022 by Turnip

[steve roberts]

4 hours ago, Turnip said:

Cheating and blinking dangerous for himself & those he raced against as I'm sure there would be an far higher chance of causing a crash when yer brain is wobbly!

I was at Eastbourne the afternoon that Kelly Moran turned up worse for wear and in his two rides didn't get further than the first bend falling off on both occasions before being quickly withdrawn by the "Eagles" management.

[cinderfella]

On 8/22/2022 at 3:17 PM, Odds On said:

 

I wonder just how many riders are tested over the course of a season or career, you'd like to think all riders are tested at least once a season!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.....and their machinery too!!

[mc131]

On 8/28/2022 at 3:01 AM, cinderfella said:

.....and their machinery too!!

Not as regular as you would think mayb more common in gps 

[Fromafar]

What is the hold up regarding Barkers hearing.Does he need Legal representation.
 

 

 

[LisaColette]

They just said it was in September, might be at the end. Though assuming it will be in first half of the month.

[SpeedwayTShirts]

Can't see why it's taken more than a week to work out what's in his sample