Jan 8, 2018
Fritsch suspended for anti-doping violation
Brad Fritsch called a violation on himself last week, but it wasn’t an improperly marked ball or a bad drop. This one took place off the course. In a post on his Facebook page, Fritsch revealed that he has received a three-month suspension retroactive to Nov. 30 for a violation of the PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy.
Brad Fritsch called a violation on himself last week, but it wasn’t an improperly marked ball or a bad drop. This one took place off the course.
In a post on his Facebook page, Fritsch revealed that he has received a three-month suspension retroactive to Nov. 30 for a violation of the PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy.
After missing out at the Web.com Tour qualifying school, Fritsch decided to embark on a weight-loss program, saying that he was heavier than he’d been in his life and it was a good time to shed some pounds. He entered a program and took a number of supplements and pills, never thinking for a moment that any would be on the Tour's banned list.
Fritsch, it should be pointed out, has been a supporter of the Tour’s drug policy and has advocated for expanding its transparency. But after taking the supplements, he suddenly realized that he forgot to check with the Tour to see if any of them were on the banned list. When he did check, the news wasn’t all that good.
“That last supplement ended up containing a substance called DHEA, and it is indeed banned on our Anti-Doping list,” Fritsch wrote on a post on his Facebook page. “But 90 per cent is my dislike of hypocrisy. How could I sit there all those times and say ‘If it happens, it's the truth, and if it's the truth, get it out there," and when it was my turn, just lie about it?’”
And so Fritsch was handed the suspension and will miss the first few opportunities to play on the Web.com Tour. But he will also be able to sleep soundly, knowing he did the right thing. It would have been easy to just not report what he did – he wasn’t playing so there was no chance testing would find the banned substance. But that’s just not Fritsch’s style.
“I couldn't,” Fritsch wrote in his post. “It's not who I am. I believe in the program and if I'm to be suspended, then so be it. It is my own fault that I'm in this position.”
For those who know the Manotick, Ont., golfer and die-hard Ottawa Senators fan, this move isn’t surprising. Fritsch is a man of unquestioned ethics and loyalty. He is very intelligent, exceptionally observant and not afraid to offer an opinion. He’s the kind of guy you can’t help but cheer for and this will only make it easier to do so.
Fritsch will take his place on a short list of golfers who have violated the PGA Tour anti-doping policy, but he will do so knowing it was by his own call.