Former Hull KR star Thomas Minns, who tested positive for cocaine in March last year, has been handed a 16-month ban from the game.
The 24-year-old failed the test after Rovers had beaten Huddersfield 38-6 and was released by the Super League club in July.
The centre admitted taking the drug, which came at a time shortly after his mother had died, but Anti Doping have still come down hard on him. “All athletes must adhere to the principle of strict liability,” UK Anti Doping’s chief executive Nicole Sapstead said.
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“Regardless of whether or not they are deliberately seeking to gain an unfair sporting advantage. “It is an athlete’s responsibility to know what substances are in their system, and they must be aware that even if a substance is not banned out-of-competition, there is always the possibility of it remaining in their body for a period of time and it being detected in-competition.”
Minns, who also had spells at Leeds and London, is without a club at the moment and free to return on 14 July.
