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Ted Saskin Responds to USADA's Suspension of Bryan Berard
Friday, Jan. 20th, 2006
TORONTO – NHLPA Executive Director Ted Saskin issued the following statement regarding today’s USADA announcement:
"It is disappointing to learn that Bryan Berard has tested positive for a banned substance during the USADA’s random testing of potential Olympic athletes that has been taking place the last few months. I have spoken with Bryan and he expressed great remorse.
While today’s announcement is regrettable, it is important to remember that hundreds of NHL players have been tested over the years as part of their participation in the Nagano, Salt Lake City and the upcoming Turin Olympics, in addition to many other International hockey competitions, and this is the first positive test for a banned substance.
Despite this being a rare occurrence, it highlights the importance of having a strong educational and testing program in place, something that the League and the Players’ Association jointly agreed to last summer. The program, which began testing on January 15, 2006, continues our past efforts to educate players on performance enhancing substances while introducing no-notice testing and suspensions without pay for violations of the program.
I remain confident that this is an isolated occurrence in our sport, and our new NHL/NHLPA testing program will demonstrate to our fans that the Players’ Association and the League are focused on ensuring that our sport is free of performance enhancing substances."
"It is disappointing to learn that Bryan Berard has tested positive for a banned substance during the USADA’s random testing of potential Olympic athletes that has been taking place the last few months. I have spoken with Bryan and he expressed great remorse.
While today’s announcement is regrettable, it is important to remember that hundreds of NHL players have been tested over the years as part of their participation in the Nagano, Salt Lake City and the upcoming Turin Olympics, in addition to many other International hockey competitions, and this is the first positive test for a banned substance.
Despite this being a rare occurrence, it highlights the importance of having a strong educational and testing program in place, something that the League and the Players’ Association jointly agreed to last summer. The program, which began testing on January 15, 2006, continues our past efforts to educate players on performance enhancing substances while introducing no-notice testing and suspensions without pay for violations of the program.
I remain confident that this is an isolated occurrence in our sport, and our new NHL/NHLPA testing program will demonstrate to our fans that the Players’ Association and the League are focused on ensuring that our sport is free of performance enhancing substances."
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