Blue Jackets player accepts 2-year suspension for

[Junkyard Dog]

Blue Jackets player accepts 2-year suspension for taking steroids

RUSTY MILLER
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An embarrassed Blue Jackets defenseman Bryan Berard apologized Friday for taking a banned steroid last year that led to a two-year suspension from international competition.

Since the test Berard failed wasn't part of NHL testing, he won't be subject to league discipline.

A urine sample taken from Berard on Nov. 12 tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said. The steroid helps athletes add strength and muscle and lose weight. The sample was collected after his name was submitted by USA Hockey as a potential Olympic participant. He did not make the U.S team.

The suspension began Jan. 3, the day Berard accepted a provisional suspension, the agency said.

"He was quick to acknowledge that he made a really dumb mistake," said Travis Tygart, the agency's general counsel.

Berard has agreed to cooperate with the agency and participate in programs to inform athletes and the public about the dangers of taking steroids.

He apologized after practice Friday morning for taking the substance.

"No question, I'm embarrassed about it," Berard said. "There's nothing I can do about it now, other than accepting what I've done. We'll learn from it, it was a mistake and it won't happen again."

Berard said the steroid was a supplement that he took to get ready for the NHL season. He said he asked for and took another test about two weeks ago that came up negative for any banned substances.

He would not answer questions on how long or how much of the substance he took.

His teammates were not permitted to discuss the suspension.

The NHL began testing for performance-enhancing drugs Sunday for the first time after the league and the players' association came up with a plan in the new collective bargaining agreement that ended the season-long lockout. First-time offenders are subject to mandatory 20-game suspensions.

"While today's announcement relating to Bryan Berard certainly is disappointing, it does nothing to change the fact that the use of steroids is not a pervasive problem facing the National Hockey League," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.

Berard is the only player that the league is aware of who has tested positive for steroids out of hundreds of players tested over the last several months because they are potential Olympic candidates, Daly said.

Asked if steroids are a part of the culture of the NHL, Berard said, "All I can speak to is what I did. It's a mistake. I don't know any other players that are using it or anything."

The 28-year-old Berard signed a two-year contract with Columbus in August.

Doug MacLean, Blue Jackets president and general manager, said the test results were a valuable lesson.

"People make mistakes. I make lots of them, we all make lots of them - that's the way I'm approaching it and I'm going to support Bryan 100 percent," he said.

The NHL Players Association called Berard's situation "an isolated occurrence."

"I have spoken with Bryan and he expressed great remorse," Ted Saskin, the players' association executive director, said in a statement. "I remain confident that this is an isolated occurrence in our sport, and our new NHL/NHLPA testing program will demonstrate to our fans that the players' association and the league are focused on ensuring that our sport is free of performance enhancing substances."

After playing over nine seasons for Toronto, the New York Rangers, Boston, Chicago and the New York Islanders. In 550 NHL games, the 28-year-old defenseman has 68 goals and 225 assists.

Berard was the NHL Rookie of the Year in 1997 with the Islanders and won the Masterton Trophy in 2004 for best exemplifying the qualities of hockey. He was severely injured in 2000 when he was hit in the right eye with a stick. He missed the rest of that season and the following one and still has reduced vision in the eye.

In the 2003-04 season, Berard had 13 goals and 34 assists with Chicago, giving him more points than any other Western Conference defenseman.

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