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Drugs: these athletes who cross the white line of cocaine
Some Australian athletes are accused of having taken cocaine. A practice also existing in swimming.
(France 2)
Some Australian athletes are accused of having taken cocaine. A practice also existing in swimming.
Their names are Paige Sheppard and Alexia Hamilton, they play Australian rules football, which is more like rugby. They made headlines in Australia for being arrested by police for possession of cocaine. Both athletes were suspended for two matches. Their case would not be isolated. And it causes a lot of noise. Australian rules football is one of the most popular sports in this country. Every year, 100,000 people attend the grand final and behind this event, there is a federation which is in the sights of an independent MP, Andrew Wilkie.
“A highway covered in white powder”
According to him, the widespread consumption of cocaine among players would be camouflaged and covered up by the authorities. This is what he declared before the Australian Parliament on Wednesday March 27. In Australian football, cocaine only concerns a small handful of players, according to the president of the federation. A not isolated situation. “Some of us don’t spit on a little rail from time to time. For others, it’s no longer a rail, it’s downright a highway covered in white powder”, confided the swimmer Amaury Leveaux, in a book published by Fayard (Sex, drugs and swimming). Cocaine makes it easier to tolerate pain and intense training, but it is not without health risks.
