Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Investigation - Case Study Example

Case study 1 Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Case study 1 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Football Club - Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) investigation (Feb 2013) Company background Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Football Club is a professional rugby league team founded in 1963. Following the addition of this team into the competition by the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) in 1967, the team has registered mixed fortunes over the years including a major financial trouble in 1983. In February, 2013, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Football Club was involve in detrimental doping allegations by ASADA with investigations revealing that as many as 14 Sharks players had been using prohibited, culminating in them being offered bans of six month for admitting to this offense. This was a critical incident as outlined below. Justification of critical incident According to Bejou, Edvardsson and Rakowski (1996, p. 36), a critical incident can be perceived as one which can be explained in detail and that which has significant deviation, either positively or negatively from what is normal or expected. The first rationale of the critical nature of this incident is based on its unexpectedness. This is whereby in the backdrop of a drop in performance of this team, year 2012 started in a promising stride, most notably with the leadership of Chairman Damien Irvine, general manager football Darren Mooney and Coach Shane Flanagan. Subsequently, this club impressively won 6 matches in a row, the first time in over a decade and when 8 rounds were over, they were sitting third on the table being the highest placed franchise in Sydney. This had extensive impact on the fun base and the funs exhibited increased optimism in regard to the performance of this team both in the short and in the long-term. Thus, the doping incident was unforeseen by both the fans as well as other stakeholders in this organization and the revelation of as many as 14 players being engaged in the doping scandal was extremely unexpected. Additionally, the disclosure by Fairfax Media that Sharks players were allegedly given Thymosin Beta 4 and CJC-1295 peptides to boost their performance in the 2011 season (Telegraph Sport, 2013, p. 1) and claimed that they were told that the substance was legal was also an extremely unexpected phenomenon. The other rationale which qualifies this incident as being critical is based on its disruptive nature. This is whereby this incident culminated in the axing of couch Shane Flanagan as well as four members of the backroom staff. Additionally, it resulted in the players who were alleged to have used the substance being urged to accept a six-month suspension over an ASADA investigation of NRL clubs (AAP, 2013, p. 1). Both of these developments were bound to pose disruptive implications, not only to the management of this organization but also to the performance of the club. The last justification which places this incident as being critical is whereby it entails elements of emotional or physical loss or risk of loss. This is best epitomized by the fact that with the players facing at least six months in suspension based on using performance enhancing substances which they had initially been told were legal by their superiors, they are bound to feel extensive emotional and physical loss. Company response The first response after this incident by Cronnula hiring a lawyer, Richard Redman, who was a former ASADA senior council to persuade the players to voluntarily stand down for six months or otherwise risk a maximum ban of two years by ASADA (AAP, 2013, p. 1). The second action was to dismiss the coach of the club as well as other for members of the backroom staff who included the football manager Darren Mooney as well as the long standing team doctor David Givney despite their continued insistence on being innocent (World News Australia, 2013, p. 1). The third action related to the above was to proceed with the investigations without the input of the involved players as well as staff members of interest who would have been central in informing this process. This is based on the disclosures in the preceding actions that the management of this club not only succeeded in convincing the players to accept six-months suspension and drop any legal charges but also discharged the head coach and four backroom members. The last action by the team’s management was the move to issue a reassurance statement to the fans in the official website of the club. Evaluation and position statement In regard to the first action, this can be perceived to be ill informed based on several reasons. Firstly, based on the fact that the players were considering legal action having been told that the substances were legal, the management ought to have supported their bid to get legal redress to their case against the suppliers of these substances as well as the personnel who had deceived them into taking the drugs, the management opted to persuade them to accept the six months ban aimed at saving the image of the club rather than ensuring justice for the deceived players. This was bound to have extensive impacts not only to the performance of the club but also to the psychological wellbeing of the players. Additionally, the conditions of standing down proposed by the management of this institution to the players, most notably the condition that they will continue to be paid for the six months (AAP, 2013, p. 1) can be perceived as a short-term solution to the doping problem which has heightened in the recent past. This is founded on the fact this would not have the desired impact of curtailing the doping trends in the future of this company which is bound to affect not only the reputation of this club but also its performance in the long-term. Moreover, the management of this company ought to have considered the views of the players in regard to the subsequent actions which ought to have been taken aimed at addressing this problem in the long-term. This would have been imperative in ensuring the sustainability of such actions in the club rather than the management seeking short-term solutions to save the reputation of the club. In regard to the second action, the management organ of this club ought to have investigated the sources of this doping menace and make all the responsible parties accountable, including the players and their managers as well as the entire medical team who might have been cognizant to the effects of these drugs. On the contrary, the management proceeded to dismiss the head coach and a few staff members who might not have had any connection with this doping menace. This can be viewed as an extensive conspiracy to cover-up the source of this vice in the club which makes the probability of it happening in the future more likely. Additionally, the fact that the management just dismissed the aforementioned individuals and failed to institute comprehensive investigations into this incident and proceed to implement the findings of this investigation in terms of imposing fines on the responsible culprits or banning them from participating in the sporting events of this club makes this incident likely to reoccur in the future, mostly with the advent of new doping substances. In this case, this decision can be perceived as not being aimed at curbing the spread of this trend not only in Cronnulla but also in other clubs in Australia and thus sets the wrong precedence. This is against the backdrop that Cronnulla, along with Canberra, Manly, Penrith, North Queensland and Newcastle were all regions which had been mentioned in the ACC report, which sent shockwaves throughout Australia (Telegraph Sport, 2013, p. 1). This will mean that these incidents are bound to continue in different regions based on the lack of strictness in addressing this case by the Cronnulla’s management. The third action meant that the agency mandated with undertaking these investigations (ASADA) had to proceed and finalize on the investigations without integral testimonies of the staff members of interest and the players. This has been perceived as being a major blow to the chances of this agency to obtain enough and credible evidence which would have been central in warranting the issue of infraction notices (Fairfax media, 2013, p. 1). Therefore, the action by the board of this institution to discharge crucial staff members of interest as well as convincing the players to accept and stand down for six months with the enticement of continued payment during this time can be viewed as a strategy by the management organ of this institution to frustrate the investigation efforts by ASADA which would have had the probability of implicating many members of the management team, trainers and players’ managers among other parties who would have been involved in expediting this trend. This strategic action by Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Football Club geared towards frustrating the investigation efforts by ASADA which would have earthed extensive information about the doping phenomenon in Australia has the potential of being assumed by other clubs in the region who are incriminated with doping allegations in the future. This is in the effort to safeguard their public reputation as well as avoiding attracting hefty penalties if found liable of participating in the doping incidents. In the long-run, this fuels the entrenchment of doping in the Australian sporting arena as the teams find ways to frustrate investigations and achieve the aforementioned objectives. This is damaging to the operations of the anti-doping organizations in Australia as well as the implementation of various anti-doping rules, regulations and policies by diverse agencies aimed at curtailing this trend in Australia. Additionally, this is a major threat to the continuity of competitive sporting activities in Australia both in the present as well as in the future. The last action was meant to reassure the Sharks supporters as well as the larger rugby league supporters that the club was very proactive and totally cooperative with ASADA. It also stated that it was assuming other measures which would be central in prioritizing the integrity of the club as well as the welfare of the playing group (AAP, 2013, p. 1). Nonetheless, this reassurance statement can be perceived as being hypocritical based on several reasons. Firstly, the preceding analysis has shown that this club had engaged in deliberate actions to frustrate the investigations of ASADA through dismissing staff of interest as well as convincing the players to stand down for six months. This meant the limitations of ASADA’s capacity to gain enough evidence to permit the issuance of violations notices. In this regard, the club can be perceived of being insincere in its statement that it was fully cooperating with ASADA in the investigation processes. On the other hand, the assertion in this statement that this club was taking other measures which would be integral in prioritizing welfare of the playing group can be perceived to be misleading based on the fact that this club had earlier frustrated the efforts by the players to seek legal redress which can be viewed as a violation of their welfare. References AAP, 2013, ‘Cronulla hold talks on doping suspensions’, retrieved 28th May, 2013, < http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/03/07/cronulla-hold-talks-on-doping-suspensions/>. Bejou, D., Edvardsson, B., & Rakowski, JP.1996, ‘A critical incident approach to examining the effects of service failures on customer relationships: The case of Swedish and U.S. airlines’, Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 35-40. Fairfax media, 2013, ‘ASADA drops interviews with league coaches, staff’, retrieved 28th May, 2013, < http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/asada-drops-interviews-with-league-coaches-staff-20130516-2jpbr.html>. Telegraph Sport, 2013, ‘NRL club Cronulla Sharks could have 14 players suspended after investigation into use of banned drugs’, retrieved 28th May, 2013, < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyleague/9914740/NRL-club-Cronulla-Sharks-could-have-14-players-suspended-after-investigation-into-use-of-banned-drugs.html>. World News Australia, 2013, ‘Cronulla Sharks chairman stands down’, retrieved 28th May, 2013, < http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1746060/Cronulla-Sharks-chairman-stands-down>. Read More