On the attack
The legal team for cricketer Andre Russell was on the attack yesterday as the cross-examination of Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) witness Nadia Vassell continued in the disciplinary hearing at Jamaica Conference Centre to determine whether the West Indies player violated a whereabouts clause.
The legal team for cricketer Andre Russell was on the attack yesterday as the cross-examination of Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) witness Nadia Vassell continued in the disciplinary hearing at Jamaica Conference Centre to determine whether the West Indies player violated a whereabouts clause.
JADCO, represented by attorney-at-law Lackston Robinson, is presenting a case to the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel that the 28-year-old Russell was negligent for not filing whereabouts for dates January 1, 2015, July 1, 2015 and July 25, 2015.
During yesterday’s session, which lasted about 45 minutes, Queen’s Counsel Patrick Foster, the lead attorney representing Russell, while sharing a few lively exchanges with Vassell, probed possible procedural breaches related to the two alleged filing failures in July.
There were tense moments punctuated by extended periods of pause after questions were posed during the cross-examination.
Foster unrelentingly pitched repeat questions when he deemed Vassell’s replies unsatisfactory. And the JADCO employee made great effort to mount a defence, though at times taking shelter behind seemingly tentative responses.
Continuing from his cross-examination of Vassell, which began September 19, Foster sought to punch holes in her testimony that indicated negligence on Russell’s part.
Foster pointed to e-mail correspondence between Vassell and a person by the name of Will Quinn, who was described as acting on Russell’s behalf as his agent/manager.
Foster noted that in Vassell’s e-mailed response to Quinn on July 20, 2015, regarding an extension request to allow Russell time to file his whereabouts, she copied several recipients including JADCO Executive Director Carey Brown, but not the cricketer.
In-between one of her relatively lengthy pauses under questioning by Foster, she confirmed that Russell was indeed not among the recipients in that particular e-mail.
But Foster posited that Russell should have been among those recipients.
When the lawyer asked the reason for not including Russell in the correspondence, Vassell said the player was already aware of the matter.
But that did not sit well with Foster, who insisted that his question was not answered. The JADCO employee simply repeated her answer and eventually Foster moved on.
Foster later took aim at Vassell for a comment she made about her unwillingness to share “private” material with Quinn regarding Russell’s whereabouts filings.
Asked if private information was provided to Quinn and to Russell, several minutes delay ensued from Vassell; Foster suggested that she was seeking to deflect.
Foster asked the panel’s chairman, Hugh Faulkner, to intervene and have Vassell answer the question at which point Vassell responded with “perhaps” to his question.
This elicited an objection from Robinson, who eventually told the panel that Vassell had already indicated the answer “yes” to that same question earlier in the proceedings.
Soon after, Foster ended his cross-examinatiion of the JADCO witness.
Robinson, who had completed examination-in-chief of Vassell on September 19, took a few moments to peruse documents before advising the panel that he will not re-examine Vassell.
The panel then declared adjournment for the day and announced that the hearing is set to continue October 6, 2016 at the same venue.
Robinson is expected to call Brown and JADCO employee Tajae Smith to provide witness testimony on behalf of the commission.
Thereafter, the respondent’s legal team is set to present his defence. Russell is expected to be the main witness.
“It was just cross-examination of Ms Vassell on the filing failure allegations and whether JADCO followed the procedures as required,” a relaxed-looking Foster told journalists after the adjournment.
“I just explored that with her, particularly in relation to the July to September quarter, where issues arise as to whether or not they have the right to make two filing failures or one,” he continued.
Robinson declined to comment after the hearing.
JADCO is accusing Russell — present at yesterday’s hearing along with his wife Jassym — of failing to file his whereabouts resulting in him missing three doping tests over a 12-month period.
Under World Anti-Doping Agency regulations that constitutes a failed test.
The rules require that athletes make their whereabouts known to local anti-doping agencies to facilitate testing. An athlete may face a ban of up to 24 months if found in violation.
The disciplinary panel comprises Chairman Faulkner, Dr Marjorie Vassell, and former Jamaica cricketer Dixeth Palmer.
Russell, a prominent West Indies all-rounder, has represented Twenty20 (T20) cricket franchises in India, Bangladesh, Australia and England.
He was an integral member of the West Indies team that won the 2016 T20 World Cup in India in April.
Russell played a star role as Jamaica Tallawahs lifted the Caribbean Premier League T20 crown for a second time last month.