20 join rugby club drug protest
A bizarre protest in support of a group of former Bath Rugby players has taken place at the club's ground.
The pressure group West Country Respect demonstrated at the Recreation Ground yesterday - although there was no home game at the time.
Twenty Respect campaigners held placards which spelt out the words 'Nice People Take Drugs' - the theme of a campaign launched earlier this year by a separate group, the national organisation Release.
They say the rugby world is "hypocritical" for cracking down on drugs while heavy drinking remains part of the sport's culture.
Five Bath Rugby players have left the club in recent months as concern over drug-taking in the sport increases.
The most high profile case was that of England star prop Matt Stevens, who quit the club in March after admitting a cocaine habit, while Australian Justin Harrison left at the end of May after admitting he took the drug at an end-of-season celebration.
Three other players - Michael Lipman, Alex Crockett and Andrew Higgins - ended their contracts after being accused of refusing to take drugs test following the same party in London. All three denied taking banned substances.
West Country Respect was set up to "protect the health and defend the rights" of people who take drugs, and says the rugby club has been unfair to the players involved.
The national Release campaign aims to get over the message that all sorts of people get involved in drug-taking and to challenge stereotypes and stigmatisation.
In a statement, Respect said: "Fed up of hearing that drugs are bad and that by extension people who take them are bad too, Respect have invited people who use drugs, their friends and families to speak out against the unfair treatment of people who use drugs.
"We want our rugby players to play well, we don't care whether they use drugs or not. Bath Rugby is being hypocritical telling us that drugs are bad when heavy drinking is so much part of rugby culture."
"Matt Stevens' experience indicates that if someone is found to have a problem with drugs then they will face a ban that could end their career. This is no way to help young sportsmen deal with the pressures of operating in the modern professional era."
Spokesman Mat Southwell added: "It's wrong to equate drugs like cocaine or cannabis with performance enhancing drugs. We don't support Bath Rugby's decision to hound good quality rugby players away from our team for taking drugs."
He said after the protest: “We think that the way Bath Rugby Club have acted towards players like Matt Stevens is wrong.
“He has been punished for his drug problem, instead of helped.
“His career has been ruined, when all he needed was some help and advice on how to overcome his addiction."
Bath Rugby has not commented on the protest.
24 Comments
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by David, Perthshire
Monday, September 28 2009, 6:20PM
“"The taking of drugs is against the law. Get over it."
Spike, would that have been your response to homosexuals prior to 1967? Or to women seeking the vote in the early 20th century? Sometimes the law gets it wrong, and when it does, telling those who campaign for change to "get over it" does nothing to address their criticisms. And anyway, the taking of many drugs isn't against the law: alcohol, tobacco, fly agaric mushrooms, caffeine, salvia divinorum for example. If you support the prohibition of some drugs but not others, the onus is upon you to show that the ones you would permit are all less dangerous than the ones you'd prohibit...and I challenge you to do that with respect to alcohol. And, Jamie, you cannot get around this by saying that legal drugs like alcohol are part of our culture and other drugs aren't, because this fails to identify a sufficient reason for making users of one drug a criminal and not others - our criminal laws should not be arbitrary, because arbitrary infliction of punishment is just about as good a definition of 'injustice' as you could hope for. And besides, I wouldn't be at all surprised if more people in England have used cocaine than have gone morris dancing - the culture argument cuts no ice.
PW - while you are right that if everyone voluntarily stopped using drugs then their negative effects would disappear, you come up against the wall of human nature. Whether you like it or not, there are always some people attracted to drug use; there always have been and it's reasonable to assume there always will be. The negative effects of cars would also disappear if only everybody would stop driving, but that's not to say it's remotely likely. Drug use is a public health concern that must be managed rationally, not swept under the carpet. And not all drug use is problem drug use (just try substituting the word 'alcohol' there to see what I mean), so making criminals of the many to prevent harms to the few is a grossly cruel, counterproductive and inefficient way of going about things.”
by PW, Bath
Thursday, September 24 2009, 9:29AM
“One only has to watch Jeremy Kyle to see what long term cannabis and alcohol abuse have on the so called 'underclass'
It's a tough one though - making anything illegal make it attractive and therefore profitable (think prohibition in 1920s USA). However, the only real way to stamp out the negative efects of illegal drugs in a sensible socitety is for everyone to oppose it an stop using. THAT would be worth working towards, Not 'helping' overpaid and overprivileged users with 'problems' (and before the rants start - I'm in the media and have seen many 'bright young things' lose everything through recreational drug use)”
by jon, Bath
Monday, September 21 2009, 6:36PM
“"Nice people rape".........? Bad point made terribly. Go back to bed.”
by yestishimagain, iamlost
Monday, September 21 2009, 4:49PM
“Yes! I agree that 'nice people take drugs'!
Nice people also steal, murder, rape, drink & drive, damage property etc.; BUT! It's against the law of the land. There is no 'lope hole' for 'nice' people you fools!”
by Joner, Bath
Monday, September 21 2009, 3:08PM
“don't support this protest for this reason - If any player or players want to take drugs it's up to them, they are fully aware of the consequences should they get caught. What annoyed me was when all this came up, one particular player bragging, singing and coming up with limericks during a Bath youth team outing, he might as well of stood at a school gate”