Sailor: I'm not a drug cheat

Disgraced Australia winger Wendell Sailor has spoken publicly for the first time since starting his two-year ban from rugby for testing positive for cocaine.

Sailor’s Australian Rugby Union (ARU) central contract was terminated on Friday, but he insisted in a column in Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper that he is not a drug cheat.

He also stated that he does not condone the use of drugs and explained how difficult the affair has been for him and his family.

“Right now, I’m gutted. It’s going to take a couple of days to get my head around this, but I know one thing for certain: I am not a drug cheat,” wrote Sailor.

“I’d be disappointed if people thought of me like that, and I’d be disappointed if people were to put me in the same category as a guy like Ben Johnson (the former Canadian sprinter who was stripped of a gold medal in the 100 metres after testing positive to steroids at the 1988 Seoul Olympics).

“As a husband, father and a role model, I realise I have let plenty of people down, including myself.

"This was stupidity more than anything and I would never condone the use of recreational drugs.

“The hardest thing has been having to deal with the media intrusion on me and my family.

“I’d be trying to put my daughter to sleep and media people were outside, repeatedly ringing my doorbell. That crossed the line for me. How would they like it if I turned up at their place?

“It’s just been like a circus. I didn’t even go out too often. The last thing I needed was people thinking I was living it up and saying: ’Look at him, he doesn’t give a stuff about his career.’

“As for my penalty, I think it’s grossly unfair,” wrote Sailor.

“I’m not playing the victim. I’m the first to admit I’ve made a mistake. but to get two years leaves a bitter taste in my mouth because I am not a drug cheat.”