A ”shocked” Shane Warne is reconsidering appealing against his 12-month doping ban, reluctant to put his family through further heartache, the star Australian leg spinner said Monday.
Warne, who was handed the sentence on Saturday after a positive drugs test last month, told The Daily Telegraph he had to think seriously about pursuing the matter because of the impact it might have on his family.
”Do I want to go through this all again and put my mum, wife, kids and the rest of the family through another couple of weeks of heartache, anticipation and anxiety?” the 33-year-old father of three wrote for an article published on the front page under the headline ”My Torment”.
”This is something I am giving a lot of thought to because I have seven days to decide. I have a lot of angry and disappointing thoughts at the moment but I do have to start thinking clearly.”
Australia’s leading wicket taker re-iterated his devastation on receiving the ban, imposed on him after he tested positive to banned diuretics, describing it as ”very, very harsh”.
He admitted taking a fluid-reducing pill which contained two diuretics that can be used to mask the use of steroids. ”The fluid tablet had nothing to do with cricket or trying to mask anything — it had simply to do with appearance,” said Warne of the tablet.
He described the past two weeks as the toughest of his life, but said the one positive was that ”hopefully no other athlete makes an innocent and silly misjudgment like I did because such an innocent thing can rock and turn your life upside down.”
Warne said he would take to getting his golf handicap down, watching Aussie Rules side St Kilda and spending time with his family. Another consideration for Warne is also likely to be the fact that an even tougher penalty could be imposed if he appeals.
The Telegraph quoted Tim Frampton, a director of the National Sports Dispute Centre, as saying he had the impression the body could ”confirm or vary it — up or down.” – Sapa-AFP