Campbell anti-doping hearing bowls off at undisclosed location
The disciplinary hearing to determine whether Jamaica and West Indies cricketer John Campbell refused to provide a testing sample to representatives of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) got underway on Wednesday.
The Jamaica Observer has learnt that the hearing, in front of an independent anti-doping panel comprising Chairman Kent Gammon, Dr Marjorie Vassell and Dean Martin, lasted roughly four hours behind closed doors at an undisclosed location in the Corporate Area.
Attorney Andre Sheckleford is said to have made submissions on behalf of JADCO.
In a recent media release, the West Indies West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) said Campbell, a left-hand opening batsman, was being represented by attorneys-at-law Ayana Thomas and Mark-Paul Cowan of Nunes, Scholefield, DeLeon & Co.
WIPA President Wavell Hinds and JADCO Executive Director June Spence-Jarrett were said to have been at the hearing on Wednesday. The hearing is scheduled to resume on Thursday, beginning at 10:00 am.
The Observer could not confirm what evidence has been presented so far, but the allegation is that the 28-year-old player refused to provide a sample to JADCO Doping Control Officers on April 20.
An athlete could be deemed in violation of the anti-doping rule for “evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection”, and if found guilty, could be banned for up to four years.
The independent anti-doping disciplinary panel had previously set hearing dates for July 19 and August 2, but both times it was adjourned. The preliminary hearing was held on July 6.
Campbell, a standout batsman as a national youth player, transitioned to the senior team, making his first-class début for Jamaica against Guyana in 2014. He averages 30.41 in first-class cricket.
He played his first Test for the West Indies in 2019 and, after 20 matches, he averages 26.11 with three half-centuries. In the two-Test series victory over Bangladesh in June Campbell showed signs of coming to grips with international cricket, averaging 68 with a best of 58 not out.
In six one-day internationals for the West Indies, he averages 49.6 with a best of 179 against Ireland.
— Sanjay Myers
