Hawthorn’s Travis Tuck has become the first player to record a third strike under the AFL’s illicit-drugs rules and has been banned from playing AFL for 3 months.
After receiving his first strike Travis Tuck was fined $5000, after receiving his second strike he was banned for six games. Both strikes were awarded to him after he returned positive results in the AFL’s drug testing scheme.
His third strike was received after Victoria Police found him unconscious in his car in Lyall Road Berwick late last Friday evening where Police also found a jar, which is suspected of containing the illicit ‘party’ drug GHB – gamma hydroxybutyrate.
After a three and a half hour AFL Tribunal hearing, the Tribunal banned Tuck from AFL for 12 weeks (the first 3 months of AFL in 2011). This penalty is the minimum penalty that can be awarded after three strikes; he was also fined $5000. He will be permitted to return to the VFL after 8 weeks of his ban.
When making their decision the AFL Tribunal took in account the fact that Tuck was suffering from depression, hence the minimum penalty he received..
On Hawthorn’s official website, Travis Tuck stated that he completely accepted the consequences of his actions. “I have been dealing with personal and medical issues for the past 12 months”. He added that the incident on Friday evening was a major setback for him and that he is “truly sorry” for the anxiety his actions have caused his family, friends and the Hawthorn Football Club.
Tags: Travis Tuck
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This decision flys in the face of Demetriou’s own policy, & WADA’s, that says preformance enhancers in & out of competiton is the full penalty. GHB is a growth hormone, not a party drug, & Tuck should have got 2 years as stated in the rules.
what a joke, the guys a drug cheat and everyone wants to go easy on him because he’s ‘going through a rough time’
when i first heard this, i thought “shit, maybe his GF died, or his brother committed suicide… fair enough, its the guys prerogative to get a little sideways…”
but no… whats the rough time the guy is going through? depression… him and the other 50% of the population…
wonder if the ‘ive got clinical depression’ sympathy card holds up in court?
wonder what else it could get you off?
a high tackle? “sorry ump, im clinically depressed”
a punch up? “sorry tribunal, im clinically depressed”
cheating on your girl friend “sorry babe, im clinically depressed”
stole a car “sorry judge, i got no money and im clinically depressed”
murdering your kids? “sorry court, im clinically depressed”
when are people going to learn that depression doesnt exist? its a made up word that is used to articulate lazyness and inappropriate behavior…