Sharks player Ben Barba released from contract, banned by NRL after positive drug test
Updated
Cronulla Sharks player Ben Barba has been released from his contract and banned for 12 NRL games after returning a positive test for cocaine following the club's grand final victory.
Key points:
- Barba has been banned for 12 NRL games after a second positive drug test
- The sample was recorded after the Sharks' NRL grand final win
- Cronulla have granted the player an immediate release from his contract
Sharks chief executive Lyall Gorman said Barba was tested four days after the Sharks' grand final victory and returned a positive test for cocaine.
"Last Friday we were approached by the player and his management, advising us that Ben wished to seek a release from his contract to step outside the game," Mr Gorman said.
"The player is currently offshore with our head of welfare, in a centre undergoing an intensive program that … will hopefully help him start to address the personal issues that are so relevant to him and his ongoing future.
"[I am] not sure how long that program will take, at all, but we will continue as a club to fully support him in every way that we can."
Mr Gorman said the club's highest priority was Barba's welfare and that of his family.
"He has massive issues to confront on a personal basis, he's put his hand up and acknowledged those.
"He feels he needs to get out of the environment … to fully focus on himself."
Mr Gorman said Barba had made "a poor choice".
"Whether he's got carried away with the celebrations, [I] don't know the exact circumstances of when this occurred," he said.
"There's no-one more disappointed than me.
"I've spent a lot of time with Benny, I've become very close to him and to say that I'm personally distressed by this outcome would be an understatement."
Barba banned for 12 NRL games
In a statement, the NRL said Barba had been suspended for 12 matches under the code's illicit drug testing program.
NRL head of integrity Nick Weeks said it was Barba's second positive sample — the first was in 2015 — and was not related to performance-enhancing drugs.
Given Barba has been released from his current contract, the suspension will apply if he returns to the NRL in the future.
Gorman said Barba's management had approached the NRL integrity unit and asked that the player have until 5:00pm tonight to appeal.
Weeks said the NRL was working with the Sharks.
"The league will continue to extend support to Ben Barba but this should serve as a warning to all players of one of the potential consequences of using illicit drugs," he said.
It is not the first time the former Dally M winner has struggled with off-field issues.
In 2013, Barba was stood down by his then club, Canterbury Bulldogs, over behavioural issues.
In a statement released by the Sharks, Barba said the decision was made in the interests of his career and his family.
"I am accountable for myself and my actions and if I don't address them now I will certainly ruin my career and more importantly my life and that of my family," he said.
"As footballers we often find it hard to speak up about having problems, but this decision has lifted so much pressure off myself that I cannot start to explain just how much better I feel by taking this action."
Topics: nrl, rugby-league, sport, drug-use, cronulla-2230, sydney-2000, nsw
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