Report Blows Lid Off Crime, Drugs in Aussie Sports

'Blackest day in Australian sport,' says one official
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2013 10:14 AM CST
Report Blows Lid Off Crime, Drugs in Aussie Sports
Australia's David Pocock, center, is tackled by Wales' Toby Faletau, right, during the international rugby union match between Wales and Australia at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Dec. 1, 2012.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Australian sports are besieged by performance-enhancing drugs and organized crime, according to a year-long government investigation, reports the Wall Street Journal. The report didn't name names, but it indicated illegal hormones and other performance enhancers are widespread in Australian sports, facilitated by coaches and trainers. "The findings are shocking and will disgust Australian sports fans," said Australia's Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare. "It's cheating, but it's worse than that. It's cheating with the help of criminals."

The probe also found criminal networks growing increasingly involved in Australian sports, partially because of the PEDs and partially because of the growing popularity of betting, especially in rugby and Australian rules football, with at least "one occasion" of match fixing. "This is not a black day in Australian sport, this is the blackest day in Australian sport," the former head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority told USA Today. (More Australia stories.)

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