Ratcliff Ban Not Valid Anymore

A few days back reports in the media were suggesting that the will be without one of their leading scorers after the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sports handed down a two-year suspension to Lewis Ratcliff.

The Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport had made an announcement that the 31-year-old tested positive for Oxandrolone and Clenbuterol, two prohibited anabolic agents, as well as Oxycodone, a prohibited narcotic, while playing for Langley in the senior national championship last September. Ratcliff acknowledged the violation and accepted the suspension according to the CCES and in a recent interview, he insisted that everything he put in his body was either prescribed or obtained over the counter to treat an injury.

The player also remarked that the whole process has been a nightmare and completely unfair and was surprised the CCES published a statement naming him and the substances for which he tested positive. The press release stated that Ratcliff waived his right to hearing, acknowledged the anti-doping rule violation, and accepted a two-year sanction ending November 9, 2014 in response to the CCES' notification of the adverse analytical finding. Lewis Ratcliff was rendered ineligible to participate in any capacity with any sport signatory to the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), including training with teammates.

The CCES had banned him till November 9, 2014 that could have meant that he may not be eligible to play in the Western Lacrosse Association during that time and was prohibited from playing in the 2014 world field lacrosse championship.

However, the same is not valid as the NLL, the pro league operating in the U.S. and Canada, says its policy on the use of performance enhancing drugs is governed by the collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Lacrosse Players’ Association that allows for one random test per season. NLL said in a statement any testing conducted by any other entity is outside the scope of the CBA and is not an NLL matter.

The lacrosse player who plays for the in the was drafted 49th overall by the in the 2001 NLL entry draft. A one-time 50-goal scorer with the NLL Calgary Roughnecks in 2007, Ratcliff, is currently the second-leading scorer for the Washington Stealth, who play out of Everett, Washington. The left-handed Ratcliff during the 2012 WLA season finished tied with Athan Iannucci with 57 points each, and topped among Langley's Western Lacrosse Association team's scorers. He also led the Thunder in goals with 30, helping Langley finish at the top the WLA regular season standings with a 12-6 record and was far and away the top WLA scorer in the playoffs, tallying 23 goals and 49 points in just 10 games in leading the Thunder to their second consecutive WLA title, as well as their second Mann Cup appearance in as many years. Ratcliff was acquired by the defending Western Lacrosse Association champion Langley Thunder from the Nanaimo Timbermen last April, in exchange for Langley's first and second round picks in the 2014 WLA draft.