As is the case with any facet of life, being ensconced in the sporting world on an almost constant basis, it very quickly becomes apparent that the day you don’t learn something is a day wasted. That said, one never envisaged having to engage in a crash course of the rudiments of the disciplinary processes within Darts. Though the Darts Regulations Authority surely wasn’t set up in anticipation of having doping case(s) to deal with.
Yet that whole hornet’s nest exploded from a hive at precisely the worst time of year. Not that there’s a good time for such matters to surface, but, even if there were, in the midst of the flagship event for the entire sport would absolutely not be it.
Yet that is exactly the scenario which darting head honcho Barry Hearne et al found themselves dealing with when English competitor Dom Taylor (27) failed a SECOND drug test.
Now, I wasn’t aware drug testing was even a ‘thing’ in darts, nor does one think there’s a need for it. But, having fallen foul of whatever stipulations are there, the onus was surely entirely on the player not to muck up again.
However, where I would be inclined to cut Taylor some slack is as follows – if, as appears to be the case, the player is addicted to some dodgy stuff, those hot airbags calling for lifetime bans etc, need to realise that addiction of any sort is an illness.
Put it like this, if the problem was alcohol or gambling – to name but two – would an organisation/group of which they were part disown and/or shun them? They would in my arse!
What people require in these situations is support and encouragement towards rehabilitation. Not retribution. The same thought process needs to apply to matters of mental health.
You can be sure nobody feels worse about Cameron Menzies’ meltdown than the man himself and, again, what the man needs is support and encouragement, not derision. Especially from those with inflated profiles they’ve do very little to justify.
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