‘Blackest Day For Australian Sport’ - Overdramatic Says PM Abbott
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has slammed Labor saying it blackened the reputation of the Australian sport during an "overdramatic" media conference.
Back in Feb 7, 2013, Former Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency (ASADA) Chief Richard Ings declared that "This is not a black day Australian sport, this is the blackest day for Australian sport."
The declaration was made after Kate Lundy and Justice Minister Jason Clare's media conference where they presented report from the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) alledging that athletes were using banned drug and had links to organized crimes.
Highlights Of the ACC Report
- Use of prohibited substances, including peptides, hormones and illicit drugs, is widespread among professional athletes.
- ACC said no code is immune from the scandal.
- Players are being administered with drugs not yet approved for human use.
- Doping is being run by sports scientists, coaches, support staff, doctors and pharmacists.
- Organized crime is involved in distributing drugs and, in one possible case, match-fixing.
- ASADA will get new powers to conduct a "full and unhindered investigation."
On March 3, Abbott said the media conference was "overdramatic" and that the day has blackened the reputation of Australian sport.
He was asked if a speedy resolution should be made for those athletes whose reputation remained questionable after the anti-doping investigations into the NRL and AFL.
The prime minister did not give a clear response to the question. Instead, he attacked Labor for putting Australian sports in a bad light.
"I think it is unfortunate that the reputation of Australian sport has been blackened as a result of that rather overdramatic announcement here in Canberra about a year ago. Australian sport by and large is clean and fair. I think it is unfortunate that the reputation of Australian sports people generally was impacted," Abbott said.