Amateur golfer caught with PED

So much for the argument, golfers never cheat. Australian Daniel Nisbet , the 13th ranked amateur according to Golfweek.com, was suspended for 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for possessing a banned substance.

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ASADA) stopped Nisbet at Brisbane airport on Aug. 10, 2009, and seized a product in his possession listed as containing Norandrostene, an anabolic steroid. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency tested the substance and confirmed the presence of dehydroepiandrosterone, a steroid also known as DHEA. DHEA is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The interesting note of this suspension was that CAS lowered his suspension to 18 months because Nisbet’s conduct “was not aimed at cheating in his chosen sport.”
“Among factors that the CAS took into consideration were that Nisbet was of good character, that there is no evidence he ever consumed a prohibited substance and that he fully cooperated with the investigating authorities,” ASADA said.

After their investigation and with Nisbet’s cooperation, his sentence was reduced after it was determined that he was not trying to cheat his sport. Is this the right message to send? By cooperating and being liked will reduce a sentence? What was not explained is what Nisbet was doing with the substance. If he was not using to cheat his sport, what was he using the substance for?

Nisbet should use this as a learning experience, but until these questions are answered, the public won’t know what he was doing with a performance enhancing drug.
 

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