What exactly did ASADA do when it reopened the Bock investigation? Not much, according to FOI doc.
Philip Nelson
Australia- MAR 21, 2017
On April 14, 2016, Chip LeGrand, The Australian, reported:
“The Australian Sports and Anti Doping Authority will re-examine four year old doping allegations against Nathan Bock after sports scientist Stephen Dank publicly admitted to supplying the retired All Australian defender with a banned peptide whilst working with the Gold Coast Suns”.
“ASADA Chief executive Ben McDevitt, having spent five days defending his organisation over it failure to pursue a prima facie case against Bock and former Gold Coast and Essendon high performance manager Dean Robinson, yesterday instructed his investigations team to assess Dank’s claims”.
“The case against Bock was formally abandoned in 2015 after the AFL Tribunal handed Dank a life ban for multiple doping offences but cleared the sport scientist of trafficking the growth-hormone releasing peptide CJC-1295 to Robinson and assisting the use or attempted use of it by Bock”.
So…
What did ASADA do after 14 April 2016 when it said it had reopened the case?
Not much, it seems.
On 8 June 2016, three months after ASADA said they were re-opening the Bock investigation, an FOI request on the status of the Bock investigation indicates ASADA had not generated one addition document in relation the Bock investigation.
Not one.
See case file picture:
The Final Report on Operation Cobia into the Gold Coast Suns Football Club (AFL) was dated 29 October 2013 is a document comprising 104 pages.
ASADA has refused an FOI request to provide a copy of this document.
The CEO recommendation (possibly the decision to abandon the case) dated 19 May 2015, some 18 months later, comprises 34 pages.
ASADA has again refused an FOI request to provide a copy of this document.
Justice fo the 34 comments:
The anti-doping framework has to be a proper regulatory framework and not based on backroom deals.
ASADA do not appear to be accountable to the Australian Government.
Further, both the US Senate and UK Parliament have started inquiries, so should Australia, particularly because we have had the worst possible case.