I said this on the VT but I tend to agree with Sal Paradise somewhat. Whilst I'm all for personal responsibility, how many more headlines like this do we need before the clubs and the governing body get to grips with an issue that seems to be much more rife in our sport than it is in others? We don't see reports of players from other sports taking (or being caught taking) recreational substances with anywhere near the regularity that we seemingly see in RL
If it's simply an issue of the players not thinking that they'll get caught, then we need more frequent and rigorous testing but in fairness to the RFL, we seem to be held in high regard by the relevant authorities on that front.
If it's an issue of education, it's in the interests of the clubs and the sport to grasp the nettle on this and get to the root of why our players are struggling to understand that they can't do this, or that they need to be more careful about who they associate with.
If it's a mental health issue (as Minns seems to claim, and I'm not going to refute that), then there is also a duty of care / vested interest for the clubs in better intervention. We heard a lot about the State of Mind campaign following the death of Terry Newton - that seems to have disappeared without a trace.
If it's a case that the players are just that determined to enjoy something that they shouldn't be enjoying, then the sport and clubs need to distance themselves from these people (because you can bet your life that sponsors will).
Yes, there are costs to all of this. But I'd argue that the costs of not doing it are probably outweighing the costs of more proactive measures to make sure that our players are making the right decisions.
