CIS Football Player Receives Two Year Sanction for Steroid Use

(Ottawa, Ontario – October 26, 2011) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport announced today that Olivier Renière, a running back with the Université of Montreal Carabins football team, has received a two-year sanction for the use of 19-norandrosterone, a banned substance on the 2011 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

On August 23, during an out-of-competition test, Renière’s urine sample returned an adverse analytical finding for the presence of 19-norandrosterone. Renière waived his right to a hearing and acknowledged the commission of an anti-doping rule violation. He received a sanction of a two-year period of ineligibility from sport commencing August 23, 2011 and concluding on August 23, 2013.

Since March 31, 2010, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has conducted more than 600 doping control tests on CIS football players. A total of 16 anti-doping rule violations have been asserted with sanctions ranging from a warning to four years for a variety of infractions such as: admitting to the use of performance enhancing substances; refusing testing; trafficking and presence of a banned substance in an athlete’s sample. Substances detetected were: cannabis, tamoxifen, testosterone, stanozolol, winstrol, methyl-1-testosterone, clomiphene, 19-norandrosterone, methandienone, and the first finding of human Growth Hormone (hGH) in a sample in North America.

“We continue to be concerned with the number of football players testing positive for performance enhancing drugs,” said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “The Task Force on the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Tackle Football concluded that this is a serious health risk that is threatening the lives of our children and youth – and we agree.

“This problem is not going to go away on its own – we are working with all of the stakeholders in an effort to implement the recommendations of the Task Force.”

In the past, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has tested between 150 and 250 student-athletes annually as part of the 2,800 anti-doping tests allocated to Canada’s domestic testing program. The increase in tests in this past year was made possible by Sport Canada’s supplementary funding and the Canadian Football League who assisted with the funding of 80 tests conducted on their prospect players.

“This is the first case of a positive test result in any Université de Montréal sport since the re-launch of our sports program in 1995,” said UdeM Athletics Director Manon Simard. “We are aware of the problems that exist in football, and from day one we have supported enforcement of the joint measures that the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, the CIS and the Canadian Football League (CFL) introduced in August 2010.”

“We have a zero tolerance policy on doping and the health of our athletes remains a priority,” Simard said. “Besides information sessions for the team and mandatory Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport education for every player, the administration of the Carabins has taken the lead in recent years to raise awareness and educate its football players, and is constantly seeking ways of doing a better job on this.” 

 “We are pleased that in the past year the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has increased the volume of testing of university athletes,” said Marg McGregor, Chief Executive Officer, CIS. “Although extremely disappointed with today's announcement, we are cautiously encouraged that during the high-risk out-of-competition period since the November 2010 Vanier Cup, and the opening of training camps for the 2011 CIS football season, 408 tests were conducted on university football players, and with an additional 82 tests since the start of the current season, less than one per cent tested positive, which is within the world average. We are also encouraged that the entire football teams from the University of Calgary and Wilfrid Laurier University tested clean during that time, along with all the CIS players who have been identified as CFL prospects and were tested as part of the CFL drug education and prevention program.  We must remain vigilant in our efforts to promote fair play and drug-free sport, however, our renewed efforts and collaboration with CCES and the CFL in this regard appear to be making a difference."

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is an independent, national, not-for profit organization. We recognize that true sport can make a great difference for individuals, communities and our country. We are committed to working collaboratively to activate a values-based and principle-driven sport system; protecting the integrity of sport from the negative forces of doping and other unethical threats; and advocating for sport that is fair, safe and open to everyone. 

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