CJFL Ottawa Sooner Receives Two-Year Sanction for Testosterone and Clomiphene Use

(Ottawa, Ontario – November 16, 2011) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport announced today that Mazen (Mazin) Awada,  a defensive back with the Ottawa Sooners junior football team, has received a two-year sanction for the use of testosterone and clomiphene, banned substances on the 2011 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

On September 15, during an out-of-competition test, Awada’s urine sample returned an adverse analytical finding for the presence of both testosterone and clomiphene. Awada 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 September 15, 2011 and concluding on September 15, 2013.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has conducted more than 600 doping control tests on football players in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), CÉJEP and junior football leagues since March 31, 2010. Excluding anti-doping rule violations for cannabis, a total of 18 anti-doping rule violations have been asserted against football players 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 detected were: tamoxifen, testosterone, stanozolol, winstrol, methyl-1-testosterone, clomiphene, 19-norandrosterone, methandienone, pseudoephedrine and the first finding of human Growth Hormone (hGH) in a sample in North America.

“It is very disconcerting that we continue to find football players using steroids and other harmful drugs,” said Paul Melia, President and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. “These young men have chosen to take a short cut that will affect them for the rest of their lives, not only in terms of the loss of their playing career, but in terms of the heath consequences that may result. They are also casting a dark shadow over the vast majority of football players who compete clean.

“Implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on the Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Football becomes more urgent for the health and well-being of our children and youth to protect the rights of clean athletes to compete in fair sport.”

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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