Really...who really cares? It's not like he ran a dog fighting ring! The guy just smoked some weed and went sailing - how is that different they any other sailor out there? It's not like sailors are prefect athletes...we usually go sailing and come in and drink a bunch of beer! Plus, I think that whole team is smoking it! - SKHere is what the New Zealand papers are saying:
Alinghi sailor New Zealander Simon Daubney will have to wait to see if the International Sailing Federation bans him from the sport after his positive drugs test.
Daubney failed a doping test during this year's America's Cup and has resigned from Alinghi but intends to prove his innocence.
The 48-year-old was tested on June 23, race one of the America's Cup match against Emirates Team New Zealand. The urine sample returned a positive test for a recreational drug, believed to be cannabis, on July 13. The B sample returned a positive result on August 8. He is the first sailor in cup history to return a positive test.
The America's Cup Jury, whose members were selected by Alinghi and the challenger commission, heard the case on Wednesday and found that there was no fault or negligence on Daubney's behalf.
But the length of time it took for the case to be heard and the fact the failed test came to light only after Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport revealed it, has led to speculation of a cover-up.
While it is not uncommon for results of drug tests to take three or four weeks - in big events, like the Olympics, results can be obtained within 24 hours and the athletes automatically disqualified.
If such a system was used in the last cup, Daubney would been unable to compete in the remainder of the match.
While his absence probably wouldn't have cost Alinghi the cup, Daubney is regarded as one of the best sail trimmers in the world and it would have had some effect on the Swiss.
Under the cup rules, Alinghi could not have lost the cup as they stipulate crew members are individually responsible for doping.
Daubney said yesterday that he had "done everything in my power to prove that I have never knowingly taken a banned substance of any type and to this end underwent and passed a polygraph test conducted by the UK and European Polygraph Association".
He said he was heartened and relieved that the jury agreed with his assertion that he was a victim of contamination and/or drink-spiking. - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Daubney failed a doping test during this year's America's Cup and has resigned from Alinghi but intends to prove his innocence.
The 48-year-old was tested on June 23, race one of the America's Cup match against Emirates Team New Zealand. The urine sample returned a positive test for a recreational drug, believed to be cannabis, on July 13. The B sample returned a positive result on August 8. He is the first sailor in cup history to return a positive test.
The America's Cup Jury, whose members were selected by Alinghi and the challenger commission, heard the case on Wednesday and found that there was no fault or negligence on Daubney's behalf.
But the length of time it took for the case to be heard and the fact the failed test came to light only after Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport revealed it, has led to speculation of a cover-up.
While it is not uncommon for results of drug tests to take three or four weeks - in big events, like the Olympics, results can be obtained within 24 hours and the athletes automatically disqualified.
If such a system was used in the last cup, Daubney would been unable to compete in the remainder of the match.
While his absence probably wouldn't have cost Alinghi the cup, Daubney is regarded as one of the best sail trimmers in the world and it would have had some effect on the Swiss.
Under the cup rules, Alinghi could not have lost the cup as they stipulate crew members are individually responsible for doping.
Daubney said yesterday that he had "done everything in my power to prove that I have never knowingly taken a banned substance of any type and to this end underwent and passed a polygraph test conducted by the UK and European Polygraph Association".
He said he was heartened and relieved that the jury agreed with his assertion that he was a victim of contamination and/or drink-spiking. - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
