Kiwi player Jesse Ryder gets 6-months doping ban
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The New Zealand Sports Disputes tribunal said cricketer Jesse Ryder has been suspended for six months after testing positive for two banned stimulants.
The tribunal said in a statement on Tuesday that Ryder returned a positive test after a domestic Twenty20 match for Wellington against Northern Districts on March 24.
He was provisionally suspended April 19 pending a hearing that took place Aug. 9. The ban has been backdated to April 19, leaving Ryder free to play from Oct. 19.
Ryder admitted the violation. The batsman told the hearing he used a dietary supplement to lose weight and had taken two capsules five days before being tested in the belief that it conformed with New Zealand doping protocols, arguing that the product may have been contaminated or mislabeled.
Doping violations carry a maximum penalty of a two-year suspension. But a lesser ban can be imposed if an athlete establishes how the banned substance got into his system and can prove the substance was not being used to improve performance.
Ryder has battled weight and fitness problems throughout his career.
The troubled batsman hasn't played for New Zealand since he was censured after a one-day international against South Africa in February 2012 for breaking team rules by drinking alcohol while injured. The incident was the latest in a series of disciplinary infractions thats have dogged his international career.
Ryder later declined a New Zealand contract and hired a clinical psychologist to help him tackle alcohol and other personal issues. He has recently quit playing for the Wellington province and will take up a contract with Otago from Oct. 1.
Ryder learned of the positive test a week after leaving a Christchurch hospital, where he was treated for serious head injuries received in a late-night assault outside a bar. Two men have been charged for the incident.
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