Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority chief David Sharpe has called on a raft of major stakeholders to build barriers to protect codes from organised crime.
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Sharpe fears the environment athletes need to be in to purchase illicit drugs could have damning repercussions for entire codes - not just the player involved.
Certain illicit substances such as cocaine or methamphetamines are covered by the ASADA umbrella if they are taken within 12 hours of competition, at which point they are treated as performance-enhancing.
Anything beyond that is the responsibility of sporting codes themselves, but Sharpe refuses to simply wash his hands of the matter.
The ASADA chief executive says sports, government bodies, law enforcement and intelligence "need to come together" to protect the integrity of sport.
"The illicit policies are all run by the codes themselves. The higher-funded codes such as the NRL and AFL are doing a really good job with their policies," Sharpe told The Canberra Times.
"I know they are constantly reviewing two-strike and three-strike policies, they’re very focused on welfare and privacy in the early stages, which is first-use. Those policies are very valid.
"It’s being conscious though of the fact when I talk to the codes, is at some point when you’re taking an illicit drug, you’ve got to buy it from somewhere.
"What concerns me in sport is more so the environment you need to put yourself in as an athlete to purchase illicit drugs. That exposes you to potential infiltration by organised crime."
It comes after a video reportedly recorded by NRL player Corey Norman in 2016, emerged on social media which shows Norman in a house with rugby player Kurtley Beale and publican Stu Laundy, all laughing watching a fourth gentleman appear to snort a substance off a plate.
St George Illawarra recruit Norman is unlikely to receive any further punishment with the NRL Integrity Unit confirming they have previously been made aware of the footage and consider the matter dealt with.
Beale has apologised to Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle, who understands the video was recorded in 2016.
Sharpe has opened ASADA's doors to sporting organisations in a bid to solidify the integrity of all sports across a raft of issues including illicit drug policies following the release of the Wood Review.
The review has paved the way for greater co-operation and engagement between ASADA and individual sporting bodies such as the AFL, with whom relationships were damaged in the midst of the Essendon supplements scandal.
All parties have long moved on, with the AFL playing a key role in strengthening policies across less well-resourced sporting bodies.
"It’s not well-written that some of the major codes go out and are helping other codes develop their policies. That’s critical, that sports that have resources do that," Sharpe said.
"What worries me is, say for the Olympic or Commonwealth Games sports, they don’t have a lot of resources. The government needs to work really closely with ASADA and the sports that don't have the resources to help them, protect them, and put the barrier around them to make sure they have education programs and avoid infiltration by organised crime.
"With the way betting markets run around the world now, illicit betting markets and regulated betting markets, it actually exposes athletes at any level to infiltration. It’s at all levels, and we all need to come together.
"Sports, government, agencies like us, law enforcement and intelligence - need to come together, which is the intent of the Wood Review."
