KONI vows to get tough on athletes found using drugs
KONI vows to get tough on athletes found using drugs
JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) has spelled
out its stance concerning athletes who are caught taking illegal
drugs to enhance their performance.
KONI's official in charge of organizational affairs, Putra
Astaman, said the council would not protect athletes who were
proved by law enforcement agents to have consumed illegal drugs.
He said the council did not have a problem with the police
apprehending the users, but they could not raid a training
location or sports school.
"We would be very thankful if the officers arrested athletes
taking illegal drugs in a discotheque or hotel. Still, the police
are not allowed to take action at any training sites," said
Putra, himself a retired police major general.
"If KONI finds out an athlete is a drug user, KONI will take
stern measures and sanction him or her. Promising athletes will
be sent to a drug rehabilitation center. If the athlete becomes
addicted to drugs, we will not hesitate to expel him or her from
the sports community.
"We will also cooperate with the police but we have yet to set
a date to realize this. We will also report to the police if we
have information on athletes who take drugs. We won't protect the
athlete because he or she will become poison in the sports
community."
He recommended harsh punishment. "They are trained people, so
they deserve severe punishment. They are like police officers. An
officer is a trained person, so they must receive sterner
punishment if they are found guilty of something."
Illegal drug use is already prevalent among national athletes.
There also have been instances of athletes taking medication
which contained substances banned by their international sports
organizations.
Others intentionally used banned substances to enhance their
performance and some are addicts. Recent attention has focused on
drug use among soccer players, including Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto,
who was long considered one of the country's best strikers.
Kurniawan faces sanctions from the Soccer Association of
Indonesia (PSSI) if he does not disprove the allegations made
against him by Friday.
Putra said he could not estimate the number of athletes
suspected of taking drugs. "But there is an indication that drug
dealers have targeted the sports community. They thought that
athletes have enough money to buy their goods."
He said that at Ragunan Sports School in South Jakarta, drug
dealers offered their goods to athletes and coaches.
He said KONI would allow sports organizations to sanction
athletes charged with using drugs.
"We respect the freedom of sports organizations in deciding
sanctions imposed on athletes who consume illegal drugs. KONI
will take over the decision-making if the case exceeds the
authority of the organization," he said. (ivy)