Stephen Dank

Stephen Dank is an Australian biochemist who worked as a sports scientist with National Rugby League clubs such as the Manly Sea Eagles and Australian rules football clubs such as Essendon Football Club, the Geelong Football Club and the Gold Coast Suns Football Club.

He is known for his unorthodox treatment and diagnostic methods, including using calf blood and profiling players' DNA.^[1] Des Hasler described Dank as 'a great analytical thinker', in particular highlighting his contributions in the area of GPS application, statistical science, and altitude simulation training.^[2]

Australian Football League doping scandal

In February 2013, Essendon announced that they had asked the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) to investigate the supplements program that Dank had overseen at their club during the 2012 season. A former player, Kyle Reimers, had claimed that the players were asked to sign waivers and were injected with supplements that were "pushing the boundaries".^[3] Another former player, Mark McVeigh countered that the injections were only vitamins and all were completely legal and not on any World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned substance list. Dank left Essendon at the end of the 2012 season, and high-performance manager Dean 'The Weapon' Robinson was suspended from the club after the announcement of the investigation.^[4] Stephen Dank controversially admitted to a Fairfax journalist that he had been using thymosin beta 4 on Essendon players. When journalist Nick McKenzie pointed out that that drug was prohibited by WADA under its S2 classification, Dank hesitated and then seemed extremely surprised: "Well, that must have just only come in this year and I will get someone to speak to ASADA about that. That's just mind-blowing." After 24 hours, Dank informed Fairfax media that he was actually really talking about thymomodulin which was a permitted substance.

Following the publication of the Australian Crime Commission report into Organised Crime and Drugs in Sport,^[5] lawyers acting for Dank launched a $10m defamation suit alleging that a subsidiary of News Corporation had falsely accused him of providing illegal drugs to elite athletes and contributing to Jon Mannah's cancer relapse.^[6][7][8] In March 2016, a jury found that most of the accusations were substantially true and that he had acted with "reckless indifference" to the health of players. His claims for defamation were rejected.^[9]

Other Controversies

Other proceedings are active before Australian courts regarding Dank's supply of Thymosin Beta on sportsmen. Findings were made that he supplied the drug to a Mr Earl by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2015; these proceedings are subject to appeal, but were noted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in their findings regarding the Essendon Football Club doping scandal.^[10]

References

1. le Grand, Chip (7 February 2013). "Football's bad medicine". The Australian.
2. Chammas, Michael. "Hasler backs Dank and Manly in the face of ACC findings". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
3. "Bombers to be investigated over supplements". 5 February 2013.
4. "Essendon veteran Mark McVeigh backs the Bombers fitness program". Herald Sun. 6 February 2013.
5. "Organised Crime and Drugs in Sport".
6. "Sports scientist Stephen Dank launches $10m defamation claim". ABC. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
7. "Sports doping claims prompts Dank to sue".
8. Badel, Peter (9 February 2013). "Doctor at centre of Essendon doping allegations Stephen Dank breaks silence". The Courier-Mail.
9. "Stephen Dank: ‘Sports scientist’ gave banned peptides to Cronulla Sharks players that may have accelerated Jon Mannah’s death from cancer". The Daily Telegraph. News Corporation. 16 March 2016.
10. Final Decision, WADA v Essendon Football Club and others, http://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Arbitral_Award_WADA_ESSENDON.pdf