Had the same thing happened to him now, but without the fraudulent conditioner, then yes, it would have been. However, back in 2003, the players did not have the education, information or assumption of personal responsibility that is the case now. There simply was not the procedure or regime in place and so the two can't scenarios can't be compared.

That's a sad attitude to have, to be honest.

You've probably noticed by now that he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and doesn't always make great decisions. But all his indiscretions have been silliness rather than malice and he's never gone out to hurt anyone else.

I think you're within your rights to say he should be banned for X amount of time and I'd agree, I'm not saying he should be let off his punishment, I'm saying that as a naive lad who's never lived in the 'real' world outside the insular universe of professional sport, he now deserves support to help get his life together.

He's served some of our top clubs (including our own) with distinction, as well as his country. To say he doesn't deserve support coming to terms with this is pretty cold.

Come off it.

It was 2003, not 1973.

It's ultimately the players responsibility to watch what medicine, tablets or any form of medication.

I know for fact the players in 2003 was givin lists on what they can't take. The is more to that story than has been told but I'm pretty sure KC was unaware it was a banned substance he was taking.

On the gleeson 18 month ban, why has he got 18 month with another 18 suspended for taking diet pills, when man city player kolo toure only got 6 month for taking diet pills?

exactly, both senarios look virtually indentical, gleeson has been ingnorant, thats all imo

Well, the clueless defence doesn't hold water anywhere. He knew what he was doing in the betting scandal; he knew what he was doing with the drugs. He knew he should have checked and not only that but he lied to cover up what he did, which is a clear indication that he knew what he was doing.


I don't care how good a player he is. Cheating and putting other players at risk should never be condoned. I've no sympathy with anyone wanting to cheat or put other players at risk. Nothing to do with being cold.

As the father of a player,not professional,i find it re assuring the help that is starting to filter through.The state of mind round 27,raising awareness in players mental health and wellbeing being a prime example.We as a sport owe it to the players to help them through the hard times and hopefully avoid another Terry Newton situation.Martin Gleeson needs as much help as possible at this time.If our sport were to turn its back on him,not only would i worry for Gleeson,but i would be ashamed of our sport.After all,we are supposed to be the RL family.

from the evidence, if you have read it its clear he didnt know it was a banned substance, exactly the same as Keirons situation 8 years ago, so do you words apply to him too?
Gleeson has made many errors in his life, from the evidence i think he is as much a victim here though

I wouldn't say he has directly put other people at risk, the biggest worry is that he could be on a journey to self destruction, if this is the case he needs help from outside the sport.
The main concern is the cover up by the sacked Hull staff, Our very own betting scandal and drug situation was handled with a reasonable amount of transparency.
Gleeson may need help, as someone has already mentioned, we don't another Terry Newton on our hands.

It wasn't. It was kept undisclosed(covered up) for 18 months until WADA wanted it out in the open.

Check your pms btw.

Not by the club though, RFL were fully aware.....not exactly a cover up.

Cunninghams name was not disclosed because of the mitigating circumstances ruled by the court. The sports minister was highly critical of the RFL, that's why we have zero tolerance in our sport today.

I've always been a big fan of gleeson and even after he left us,but you have to wonder how many warnings some folk need,not only is his rugby playing career now over,but which club in their right mind would employ him in the coaching department?
I just hope that he is ok within his self after all we don't want another Terry Newton episode.
I personally hope that the RFL will give him some counseling

King Kieron was never banned. Anyway keep off our site; I only posted twice on the pies site and was kicked off. Probably by you.

Gleeson cheated and he lied. He has cheated before (the betting scandal) and so it is nothing to do with his lack of intelligence (if indeed he is so lacking) or with being some poor innocent or with having mental health problems. Some people just want to get away with stuff. Such people exist everywhere. He is a grown man who is also a professional sportsman and will have been well aware that the responsibility for what goes into his system is his and not his conditioner's or Sean Long's or anybody else's. Even fans know that and they are not provided with the education or information that professional players are. So there is no excuse for Gleeson. He cheated, he lied and he received the appropriate punishment, which was halved anyway due to his cooperation. I've no sympathy with him at all.

Nobody knows why Terry Newton committed suicide. It might have had nothing whatsoever to do with his drug use or his ban from the sport. However, even if it did, that should not at any time stop the RFL from being firm and consistent in banning players who use prohibited substances. An employer does have a duty of care to employees but only to a limited degree. They also have a responsibility to uphold the rules and good name of the sport and to protect other players (where appropriate) from any additional risk posed by drug using players (even though in the case of Gleeson he cheated rather than put anyone at physical risk). Neither the RFL nor the clubs should be afraid to punish wrong doing because one player took his own life for reasons unknown to anyone but himself, however unfortunate that was.

i'm glad you've never made a mistake or needed any support from anyone, well done you

You're quite entitlied to your opinion,i agree with some of your comments.(allthough it seems he thought everything was ok with the tablets he recieved from Long,being told so by Rule and Cooper)but i am more concerned for Martin Gleeson as a person,not a player.We should learn from the Terry Newton affair.Players at the end of their careers can become very depressive.

I would suggest you get off your high horse. You know feck all about me.

Work with children in a social care situation for any length of time and see first hand just how drugs destroy their lives and maybe you wouldn't be so high and mighty about my views. As I have said already, I am totally anti drugs. There is a very valid reason for that: they destroy lives.

Gleeson cheated. He has cheated before. He was allowed back in the game previously. He is an adult. He has had his chances. He fluffed them. He should be held accountable for his actions and he has been. End of story.

I agree with all of that, but do you think just leaving him to his fate is wise? I dont think he should play rugby again (professionally) but noone deserves what happened to Newton, and trying to deny that his ban had any influence on his later actions is ridiculous

Agreed,as i said earlier,stop treating him as a player and start treating him as a person

Hull released Gleeson months ago and so neither Hull nor the RFL has any duty of care over Gleeson. It is his own decision how he moves forward in his life now and so yes, he should be left to his own devices. Clubs and the RFL are not parents and nor are they healthcare professionals. They are businesses and once an individual has left their employment then that individual is no longer their responsibility. That is perfectly appropriate.


I am not denying anything. I am stating a patently obvious fact: nobody but the person committing the act of suicide knows why that person is committing suicide. Those closest to the suicide are often the most ignorant of its likelihood and this is statistically more so where male suicides are concerned as males tend not to share their feelings. Women often send out 'help me' signals first.

Aside from that point, tiptoeing around accountability because one player has committed suicide is erroneous. The rules of our sport must be upheld. Everybody is made aware of them and knows them. Gleeson was responsible for his own actions. He is 31 years old for heaven's sake. He's a grown man.

everyone agrees on this, but you seem alone in the idea to leave him to his own devices.
If you really think someone who has not commited a criminal act, but has ruined his own life by hy his own actions doesnt need help just to make sure they're ok, you're deluded.
Its the same for people who run people over, its tragic but another death wont help the first, just adds to more destoyed lives

Being alone in an idea doesn't mean that my idea isn't correct, just that it is unpopular and I have never been afraid of holding unpopular ideas! He is a grown man who has misbehaved on more than one occasion (betting scandal, drink driving conviction, now using a banned substance). He has had more than his fair share of second chances.


Nope. I'm not deluded.

On this occasion he wanted a quick way of losing weight and used a product containing a banned substance towards that aim, and then lied about the circumstances. There is nothing there to suggest he is anything other than ok. He just wanted a quick fix to a problem, something lots of people look for. And he has done other things that have nothing to do with him being ok or otherwise; they are just irresponsible things and he received just punishment for them also.

Some people are just irresponsible, Simon. I meet them every day in my present job. Only they are irresponsible as parents. Sometimes they commit a crime, sometimes they don't, but their children are removed from their care just the same. People young and old have to take responsibility for their own actions. Gleeson has sometimes ducked that and he continues to experience the consequences of doing so. That's his problem, not the RFL's or the club's or mine or yours. I really don't have any sympathy for him and I don't give a damn whether that is the popular view or not.

Its all gone egoistic tit tat this thread.................should be locked.

agreed