Rugby Player Ryan Bailey Escapes Drug Ban For Refusing To Submit Test Sample

Former Great Britain rugby player Ryan Bailey escaped a drug ban for "refusing to submit a test sample" after a "landmark" case against UK Anti-Doping, according to Andrew Aloia of the BBC. Bailey, who plays for Championship rugby club Toronto Wolfpack, was charged with "evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection" at the club's Lamport Stadium in May. He "was worried water from the doping officer may have been contaminated." The National Anti-Doping Panel ruled Bailey "bears no fault or negligence" on the basis of psychiatric evidence. The tribunal added that he had committed an anti-doping rule violation, but because of the "truly exceptional circumstances," the "applicable period of ineligibility was eliminated." It "is understood to be the first time that a player has escaped punishment after refusing to take a drugs test." The legal team that represented Bailey argued that testing was a "shambles" (BBC, 1/3).