What is he supposed to do? He wanted something for his allergies and it was cleared by the medical staff.
The substance found in NB's test is a LEGAL one. NB's level of it was just a tad too high!
He's been taking the same medicine for 7 years, gotten tested ~4 times/yr in the NHL and never been warned about it. It's a really common allergy-medicine sold by most pharmacies in the US.
The Medicine was cleared as OK by the IOC as long as the level didn't pass 150, NB's level was 190. The substance at that level isn't more performance enhancing then a cup of coffee. It's a ridiculous move by the IOC, because the same thing happened in Vancouver to Visnovsky (IIRC) pre-bronze game but has was just given a warning.
The test was also performed after the QF (wed) and should've at the most have been reported back at the most 48 hrs later, but NB was given notice two and a half hour before the final, which is two days later then promised.
A travesty for NB as a person, being painted out as a cheater because of a meaningless error.
By who? It certainly wasn't a meaningless error but to say he's trying to cheat is dumb IMO. It was a huge blunder to piss away (to date the biggest game of his career).
Alright Neil.
The issue to me is minor A. Its happened before and he got a slap on the wrist, but massively B. You tell the dude when he's probably in the middle of warming up/suiting up for the game. They waited till the last possible second to rip something out of his hands, and you don't think he'd be salty?
If it was a day or 2 before hand that's one thing, within hours of the game? Stupidest thing I've ever seen.
The substance found in NB's test is a LEGAL one. NB's level of it was just a tad too high!
He's been taking the same medicine for 7 years, gotten tested ~4 times/yr in the NHL and never been warned about it. It's a really common allergy-medicine sold by most pharmacies in the US.
The Medicine was cleared as OK by the IOC as long as the level didn't pass 150, NB's level was 190. The substance at that level isn't more performance enhancing then a cup of coffee. It's a ridiculous move by the IOC, because the same thing happened in Vancouver to Visnovsky (IIRC) pre-bronze game but has was just given a warning.
The test was also performed after the QF (wed) and should've at the most have been reported back at the most 48 hrs later, but NB was given notice two and a half hour before the final, which is two days later then promised.
A travesty for NB as a person, being painted out as a cheater because of a meaningless error.
Hmm....just saw this post on the main boards thread. If accurate, how would you respond? Did he really just decide, "meh, let me take 3 times the amount (to get better quicker)"?
"According to the head of the Finnish Antidoping Agency that was quoted earlier in the thread, you'd have to take 3-4 times the recommended dosage to get that kind of test results. He also said that because the drug also contain antihistamine, you'd get drowsy after taking that many pills, which would negatively affect the athlete."
Wait, people are actually criticizing Backstrom for taking too much of a legal allergy medicine?
They're criticizing him for taking an amount of a substance that would put him over the limit allowed by the IOC
And to top it off MoJo has visa issues.
They're criticizing him for taking an amount of a substance that would put him over the limit allowed by the IOC (which is a fact that he and the Swedish doctors should know), and then complaining about the IOC not allowing him to play.
IMO, sucks for him, but he should have known (or maybe did know).
I personally take that **** as well. We have drug tests at work but they don't ban me because of it. This is a mess and a rather sad story. The Swedish medical staff obviously screw up big time and Bäckström is taking the hit.Majority of professional leagues in the world don't even ban it.
What is he supposed to do? He wanted something for his allergies and it was cleared by the medical staff.
WTF is this in Finnish media there saying he could be a 2 year suspension max and that would cover over to NHL too? How the hell can that be possible if the substance isn't even banned in the NHL?