WELLINGTON: A New Zealand rugby drugs cheat has refused to name star players on steroids despite being offered a reduction on his six-year playing ban if he did, according to a report Sunday.
A number of professional players including one New Zealand representative are believed to be involved, but Andrew Burne told Fairfax Media he was not interested in destroying the careers of others.
In 2013, when Burne was a senior rugby player in Wellington, police found bottles of the anabolic steroid Dianabol during a search of his house.
He was discharged without conviction in court, but Drugfree Sport New Zealand, which enforces World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) codes, then took the case to New Zealand Rugby which last year imposed a six-year ban.
Burne bought the steroids for himself and rugby-playing friends, and contact names and messages found on his phone by police were handed over to Drugfree Sport.
When he approached Drugfree Sport offering to help with education campaigns about the dangers of drugs in sport, he was instead asked to discuss a deal requiring him to identify the players he had supplied.
Fairfax cited a recent email to Burne in which Drugfree Sport investigations director Jude Ellis detailed how they could ask to have his ban reduced if he provided “substantial assistance” under a rule which allows for rewards in return for evidence that leads to another person being found guilty of doping.
“We have not previously dealt with this rule directly and it is a little complex, so if you are serious about this we will need to chat some more so you are clear on what would be required,” Ellis advised. AFP
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