{"id":2831759,"date":"2016-05-18T20:06:16","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T00:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/?post_type=sn-article&p=2831759"},"modified":"2016-05-19T11:29:47","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T15:29:47","slug":"cbn-colabello-suspension-deterrent-others","status":"publish","type":"sn-article","link":"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/baseball\/mlb\/cbn-colabello-suspension-deterrent-others\/","title":{"rendered":"CBN: Colabello suspension could be a deterrent for others"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Danny Gallagher<\/strong><\/p>\n

After travelling the world for a few weeks on business, Richard Pound took the time back on Canadian soil to praise Major League Baseball for stepping up its fight to clamp down on drug users in the game.<\/p>\n

The comments by the former chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency and reputable International Olympic Committee official from Montreal came in light of the 80-game suspension handed down recently to Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello<\/a><\/a> and seven others this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s interesting to finally see that baseball with cooperation from the players\u2019 union is taking the drug problem seriously,” the lawyer told this reporter in a phone interview on his way to Montreal from Ottawa. \u201cI think it has been ignored in the past but it has improved under the new commissioner Rob Manfred.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe suspension (to Colabello) is an example of a significant penalty for drug use. It might help deter other people from using drugs.”<\/p>\n

What some people might not know is that the little known Laboratoire de Controle du Dopage in suburban Montreal played a big role in Colabello\u2019s fall from grace last month.<\/p>\n

Colabello\u2019s urine and blood samples were transported from Dunedin, Fla. to the Laval lab, one of about 30 around the world accredited by WADA, which has headquarters at Place Victoria in downtown Montreal.<\/p>\n

Tests results at the Laval facility discovered that the Blue Jays\u2019 first baseman tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance dehydrochlormethyltestostorone.<\/p>\n

The anabolic steroid is No. 17 on a list of 74 PES banned by MLB. Also banned under the joint drug program are 56 stimulants and eight “drugs of abuses,” including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and morphine.<\/p>\n

World-renowned scientist Dr. Christiane Ayotte is a major player at the Laval facility but phone and email messages left with her went unanswered.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ayotte has been responsible for the lab for the last 15 years, she has been a member of the IAAF doping commission for over 10 years and along the way, has given evidence at several baseball-arbitration hearings. Dr. Ayotte\u2019s main area of expertise has centered on the urinary metabolites of anabolic steroids and she helped developed a gas chromatographic process designed to detect and identify anabolic agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Ayotte is one of the foremost scientists in the world,” said Pound, who is currently the chairman of Olympic Broadcasting Services. \u201cWe\u2019re lucky to have her in Canada, in Montreal. In the terms of her reputation and in terms of the quality of the lab, it\u2019s all first-class. It works pretty good for Major League Baseball.”<\/p>\n

Jenrry Mejia<\/a> of the New York Mets<\/a> received a permanent ban earlier this year and also receiving 80-game suspensions were Dee Gordon<\/a> of the Miami Marlins<\/a>, Juan Duran of the Cincinnati Reds<\/a>, Abraham Almonte<\/a> of the Cleveland Indians<\/a>, Daniel Stumpf<\/a> of the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a>, Josh Ravin<\/a> of the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> and free-agent Taylor Teagarden.<\/p>\n

You may remember that Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman<\/a> was suspended for 50 games in 2012 when he was a minor-league player. He tested positive for use of the stimulant methylhexaneamine, which contains oxyElite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is generally agreed that MLB today has a very thorough and effective drug or substance testing program. So do some other sports, and yet a number of athletes continue to seek an advantage despite the risk of getting caught,” said another man close to the baseball scene, a person who spoke on a \u201cnon-attribution basis” off the record.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the reputation of the Montreal lab and how thorough it is, they are very good and highly respected. They are overly cautious with so much experience. They are so careful in what they do. I find it highly unlikely they would ever be challenged on a test. The player and the agent don\u2019t typically challenge the lab results, they try to challenge them on other issues.”<\/p>\n

Like all major-league players, Colabello was asked to produce a mandatory sample of urine and blood once he reported for spring training in Dunedin on a date believed to be Feb. 26, the reporting date for Jays\u2019 position players. It was a date that coincidentally was the last day he tweeted from his Twitter handle cc20rake.<\/p>\n\n

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