As someone who first thought coke came in sacks and then in bottles, this all beggars belief for me really. However, I Can't understand anyone condoning it or trying to say Hardaker is badly done to. He's an idiot to use it and the fact he got caught is neither here nor there for me. The point is that such players aren't scroates on an inner City estate they are professional sportsmen who are held in high esteem by hundreds of kids and young people on their way up in life who are none the less very impressionable and use such heroes as examples of what they should aspire to. It is a players responsibility to uphold the reputation of his team and the game and indeed set an example to the people who look up to them.

They aint old fashioned unhip values they are what is just common sense when a person has a gift which puts them in a position where impressionable people are in awe of them. They have a responsibility to conform to the accepted principles that go with such a position if your a pop star or a 'celebrity' there are no rule and its down to the individuals social conscience, however if your a sportsman there are rules and as such you go into the game knowing you conform to them or else and if you don't follow them then you get what you deserve. No sympathy from me I'm afraid

Lets hope they don't start testing players after a night out after a game then! Sounds like the naive will be in for a shock

I believe all drugs should be legal and I agree with Wilf. Sport has rules and sportspeople should be encouraged to be positive role models.

Condescending to say the least. To suggest that Cocaine is limited to the not so well off and poorly educated is idiocy. It was the stuff of the rich and famous, that is now readily available and affordable. It IS a widely used recreational drug. I’m not condoning his behaviour, he’s been foolish to say the least and as I stated earlier, deserves his punishment, I’m just trying to inject a little reality.

The thing with coke is that if he'd had a line just before (highly unlikely) the game it'd probably helped his performance, if it was the night before (likely) it would of had a negative effect due to the come down or low. They say coke only stays in your urine for 24 hours so it would more than likely of been the night before but that is stupid in itself as he would of known the after effects would make his performance potentially poorer

He could also be a regular user (daily) which would mean that he doesn't really experience a 'come down'

And in that case , he as serious problem , and banning him for 2 years and hanging him out to dry won't help. Does anyone actually believe Hardakers excellent form is down to cocaine use? Nobody is condoning it, hes an idiot, let his fans and team mates down badly, unforgivable, but imo needs rehabilitating not stringing up

Nobody stringing him up just wanting him to get his fine and punishment. Am sure he will get the necessary help and treatment if he wants to. In the meantime he has to serve whatever ban comes his way . If he doesn't then we open Pandora's box.

Armavinit wrote:Condescending to say the least. To suggest that Cocaine is limited to the not so well off and poorly educated is idiocy. It was the stuff of the rich and famous, that is now readily available and affordable. It IS a widely used recreational drug. I’m not condoning his behaviour, he’s been foolish to say the least and as I stated earlier, deserves his punishment, I’m just trying to inject a little reality. it IS NOT a WIDELY USED RECREATIONAL DRUG 1.2 Key facts •Around 1 in 12 (8.2%) adults had taken an illicit drug (excluding mephedrone) in the last year, a fall compared with 2011/12 (8.9%). This equates to around 2.7 million people; •According to the 2012/13 CSEW, 2.6% of adults aged 16 to 59 had taken a Class A drug in the last year (equivalent to almost 850,000 people); •Cannabis was the most commonly used drug, with 6.4% of adults aged 16 to 59 using it in the last year; •The next most commonly used drugs in the last year were powder cocaine (1.9%) and ecstasy (1.3%). Along with cannabis, these were also the most used drugs in 2011/12; •For all adults, the use of mephedrone in the last year has fallen from 1.1% in 2011/12 to 0.5% in 2012/13; •Young adults (those aged 16 to 24) were more likely to have used drugs in the last year than older adults. However, the proportion of adults aged 16 to 24 taking any drug in the last year was 16.3%, down from 19.3% in 2011/12. from theDrug Misuse Findings 2011/1213 and your "reality" is still faulty!

Armavinit wrote:Condescending to say the least. To suggest that Cocaine is limited to the not so well off and poorly educated is idiocy. It was the stuff of the rich and famous, that is now readily available and affordable. It IS a widely used recreational drug. I’m not condoning his behaviour, he’s been foolish to say the least and as I stated earlier, deserves his punishment, I’m just trying to inject a little reality. it IS NOT a WIDELY USED RECREATIONAL DRUG 1.2 Key facts •Around 1 in 12 (8.2%) adults had taken an illicit drug (excluding mephedrone) in the last year, a fall compared with 2011/12 (8.9%). This equates to around 2.7 million people; •According to the 2012/13 CSEW, 2.6% of adults aged 16 to 59 had taken a Class A drug in the last year (equivalent to almost 850,000 people); •Cannabis was the most commonly used drug, with 6.4% of adults aged 16 to 59 using it in the last year; •The next most commonly used drugs in the last year were powder cocaine (1.9%) and ecstasy (1.3%). Along with cannabis, these were also the most used drugs in 2011/12; •For all adults, the use of mephedrone in the last year has fallen from 1.1% in 2011/12 to 0.5% in 2012/13; •Young adults (those aged 16 to 24) were more likely to have used drugs in the last year than older adults. However, the proportion of adults aged 16 to 24 taking any drug in the last year was 16.3%, down from 19.3% in 2011/12. from theDrug Misuse Findings 2011/1213 and your "reality" is still faulty!