FORMER Gold Coast ruckman Brayden Crossley has accepted a 12-month anti-doping suspension, having tested positive to a banned substance midway through last season.
Crossley, 20, returned a positive ASADA test for a cocaine metabolite following his participation in a NEAFL match in May 2019 and was immediately made to serve a provisional suspension.
Cocaine, an illicit drug, is viewed as performance-enhancing when detected by in-season ASADA testing.
Crossley was later delisted by the Suns, before nominating for last year's NAB AFL Draft where he was unable to earn a second chance on an AFL list.
He will be ineligible to return to sport until 28 June 2020 as a result of his suspension, but is now permitted to return to training.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the AFL said: "In imposing the 12-month sanction, the AFL accepted that Mr Crossley’s Anti-Doping Rule Violation was not intentional, and that Mr Crossley bore No Significant Fault or Negligence within the meaning of that term under the Code."
A graduate of Gold Coast's Academy system, Crossley – a 198cm, 101kg ruckman – was recruited to the club with pick No.52 in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft.
He played 10 senior matches in his maiden season with Gold Coast, but didn't feature for the Suns in 2019 before being delisted at the end of the campaign.
