Waikato rugby league player Evaan Reihana banned after testing positive for cocaine

Waikato Mana player Evaan Reihana. Photo / Photosport

A Waikato rugby league player who has been hit with a three-month ban after testing positive for cocaine says the result came after using the drug the night before a game to cope with distressing personal news.

Evaan Reihana, the son of two-test All Black Bruce Reihana, admitted to the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand he used cocaine to help him deal with the news that his mother, who had been battling cancer, was told she only had weeks if not days to live.

A sample was collected from Reihana on October 1 following a match between Waikato and Canterbury in the Rugby League National Premiership. Analysis showed the presence of cocaine, a non-specified substance prohibited in competition.

Drug Free Sport New Zealand accepted that the cocaine was taken out of competition and was not intended to give Reihana a sporting advantage. However, it is prohibited under the substances of abuse category, with rules acknowledging that some substances are abused outside of sport and allowing athletes to serve a reduced ban where it was used out of competition.

The tribunal’s provisional suspension, sanction and public disclosure decision outlined the course of events.

“Mr Reihana admits using cocaine but says that he used it out of competition (before midnight the day before the competition), and that his use was unrelated to sports performance. Mr Reihana says he used cocaine to help him deal with things that were going on his life which were causing him to struggle with his sport and his business; specifically, he had found out that his mother, who had been battling cancer, was told she had only weeks if not days to live.”

The decision also said the tribunal “has sympathy for the difficult situation Mr Reihana was in having heard his mother’s prognosis, but it cannot condone illegal behaviour.”

The tribunal ordered Reihana not to participate in any event or organised, sanctioned or authorised event by New Zealand Rugby League or any other organisation that is a signatory to the Sports Anti-Doping Rules promulgated by Drug Free Sport New Zealand as its anti-doping policy.

Reihana’s three-month sanction will end in March 2024.