It has almost been six months since Jarrod Mullen received the news that he tested positive to the anabolic-androgenic steroid Drostanolone, and then subsequently received a four year ban from rugby league on the 3rd of May, back-dated to the 17th of January, when he tested positive to the banned substance, after his B-sample came back positive on the 7th of March.
Mullen in June spoke exclusively with Seven News about his drugs suspension, and explained during the interview that he received an injection from an unnamed physiotherapist had he had known and trusted for a decade, and explained that he did not intentionally take a banned substance to help repair a long-standing left hamstring injury, which he originally injured at the National Rugby League (NRL) Auckland Nines in February 2014.
Mullen continued to re-injure his left hamstring, which only allowed him to play 41 top-level matches (40 matches in the NRL for the Newcastle Knights, plus a game for Country up against City) between the start of 2014 and the end of 2016.
However, Mullen explained in the exclusive interview with Seven News back in June that he wanted to take full responsibility for what had happened, and didn’t want to blame anyone else, despite having the opportunity to tell the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) the unnamed physiotherapist who gave him the banned substance to have his drugs suspension cut in half.
A month since Jarrod Mullen did that exclusive interview with Seven News, his mother Leeann Mullen has sat down for an exclusive interview with 1233 ABC Newcastle’s Craig Hamilton, talking about the impact that his suspension has had on their family.
The major things to come out of the interview is the emotional toll the positive drugs test has had on the Mullen family, including Jarrod Mullen himself, the severity of the punishment, the lack of a response from Newcastle Knights Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Matthew Gidley to a letter from Leeann Mullen, and the lack of payment to Jarrod Mullen after his B-sample came back positive, despite most media organisations reporting that Mullen was still being paid by the Newcastle Knights.
Leeann explained that her son’s drugs suspension had taken a great toll on them as a family, although that Mullen has remained strong and brave until recently in regards to dealing with his new reality. Leeann also mentioned that she hasn’t attended an NRL match this year because it has not been the same, although Jarrod’s father Steve Mullen, who played 22 first grade games in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) between 1981 and 1985, playing both for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Western Suburbs Magpies, has attended two matches this year.
Leeann was also frustrated that ASADA and the NRL had not taken into account her son’s good behaviour, and image as a good citizen within the game of rugby league, especially taking into account his considerable charity work, in determining the penalty Jarrod Mullen would receive for taking the anabolic-androgenic steroid Drostanolone, after Jarrod thought he was being injected with a drug that was an amino acid.
Leeann also said in the exclusive interview with 1233 ABC Newcastle that she was disappointed that Newcastle Knights CEO Matthew Gidley had not responded to the letter she had sent to him, or stated a reason why he has not responded to Leeann’s letter, although NRL CEO Todd Greenberg had responded promptly to the letter she had sent to him.
Leeann was also angry that most of the media reported that Jarrod Mullen was still being paid after the B-sample came back positive when that was simply not the case, and she also mentioned that her son wasn’t paid for the exclusive interview that he did with Seven News.
Looking at the issue of drugs in sport on a whole, many people have come up to this writer, including members of this writer’s family and said that it is impossible to understand the World Anti-Doping Code from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), saying that you need to be a pharmacist or a chemist to understand what drugs contain what substances, and whether these drugs are on the official prohibited list or not, even though I have said to these people that it is the responsibility of the athlete to know what he or she is taking, and this is stated clearly throughout the World Anti-Doping Code.
However, these people are right, and even people who are involved in sport are struggling to understand what drugs and substances are on the banned list.
For someone like myself, someone who is trying to break into the media industry, wanting to become a sports commentator, sports journalist, and/or a sports writer, you would expect me to know, as a prerequisite, what is, and isn’t on the prohibited list, and I, among most other people, most of them more experienced than I am, would struggle just to name and pronounce many of the substances listed on the prohibited list.
If the athletes themselves, the organisations that they are employed to, as well as the medical professionals and physiotherapists who are treating the athletes do not know what is banned, and what isn’t banned, then what chance do we have?
Luckily, there is a website that can help all of us determine what is prohibited and what isn’t prohibited. It is called Global DRO, and there are links to where you are playing your sport, whether it is in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland, Japan, or somewhere else in the world.
You check what drugs are or aren’t allowed through these links, depending on who is using the drug, whether it is an athlete, coach, pharmacist, medical professional, parent, sports administrator, and/or other parties who may be involved in sport, the sport that you are participating in, and the nation you have purchased the drug from.
After this, all you have to do is type in the drug or substance that you are taking, and then press the search button. It will then give you some options to look at. Make sure it is the drug or substance that you are looking for, click on that particular link, and it will then tell you if it is prohibited or not in and out of competition, and any additional information as to what methods the drug or substance can or cannot be taken.
However, if you are competing in a sport, and you need to take a drug to treat a medical condition, or illness that falls on the prohibited list, you may apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), and if granted, may use that particular drug without penalty.
However, going back to Jarrod Mullen, we all feel sorry for his plight, and what him and his family are going through, and even though we all accept that he broke the rules of the World Ant-Doping Code, we can all understand how tough it is for all people involved to know what is or isn’t a banned substance, and when these substances can or cannot be taken.
However, no one can accept the fact that Newcastle Knights CEO Matthew Gidley, or even Newcastle Knights chairman Brian McGuigan haven’t responded to Deeann Mullen’s letter, and it shows how poor the management is within the struggling NRL club.
As we all know, success starts from the front office, and given the Knights have won only seven of their last 60 matches (one draw, 52 losses), you can judge for yourself how well the front office at the Newcastle Knights is tracking.
In my view, not very well at all, and no wonder the coach in Nathan Brown, and the players are struggling to deal with the pressure that experts and fans are placing on the club.
Both Gidley and McGuigan have got to have a long hard look at themselves, and understand that they aren’t doing a good enough job of running the club.
If they can’t do that, I think they should step aside, and let someone else who knows what they are doing run this beleaguered sporting organisation.
Please note that the digital edition of the Prohibited List is for easy reference only; in the event of any conflict between the digital version and the official version, the official version shall prevail.
Ryan Eckford Sports 