The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

4- The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 18, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Swim coach in hot water after U. S. court documents unsealed Recently unsealed court documents may provide more ammunition for those who want Cecil Russell banned from coaching the Dolphins Swim Club in Oakville. The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport will ask the adjudicator who reinstated the controversial swim coach to re-open the case because of a Toronto Star report that he may have lied about being exonerated in an ecstasy trafficking case. Paul Melia, chief executive officer of the CCES, said if adjudicator Graeme Mew decides he does not have the power to reopen the case, the centre will look at going to court for an injunction. Boyd declined to comment. Russell convinced Mew at his hearing last fall that he'd been cleared of involvement in a major ecstasy ring planning to ship about $15 million worth of the drugs from Europe through Canada into the U.S. But newly unsealed court documents show that in the U.S. District Court in Arizona, Russell pleaded guilty in September 2003 to conspiracy to possession with intent to distribute ecstasy and was sentenced to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. When news that Russell was claiming he'd been exonerated reached the U.S. Attorney's office in Arizona, officials went before a judge to have the record of his conviction unsealed. Ann Harwood, acting public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, said Wednesday they did not want Russell to be able to use the fact his judgment was sealed to misrepresent what occurred. "We had it unsealed because that's what we heard he was saying," said Harwood. The unsealing of Russell's criminal judgment came as a surprise as several Canadian sporting bodies investigating Russell had attempted to access his records in Arizona -- among them the CCES and Swimming Canada -- but were stymied because they've been under wraps since Oct. 30, 2003. It's believed his co-operation with authorities investigating his co-conspirators in the drug ring helped get them sealed. His case was tried in Arizona because that was the destination of many of the drug shipments. Russell, whose checkered past includes testifying to helping a murderer burn and dispose of his victim's body, took over as head coach of the Dolphins Swim Club shortly after his reinstatement. The club is based in Oakville with 125 swimmers and has a satellite club in Barrie with 50 swimmers, including children as young as 7. One option the CCES will examine is whether the newly unsealed judgment constitutes a new doping offence for Russell. Ecstasy is on the list of drugs banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Russell was originally banned for life from coaching in Canada in 1997 after his conviction for steroid trafficking. He was the kingpin in an international ring that grossed about $1 million per year. "It might be more appropriate for the CCES to see whether or not the new code is applicable and whether a new case should be brought as opposed to the arbitrator reopening the case or getting a court to have an arbitrator review it," said Dr. Peter Vizsolyi, a vice-president of the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association, one of the groups that opposed Russell's reinstatement at his hearing. Complicating matters for the CCES is that this is an unprecedented case, and that Russell was originally suspended for life for steroid trafficking under rules from 1994; the rules have since been revised. "This is something we never anticipated, where an adjudicator could render a decision and following that, new information came to light that may have been material to the decision being made," said Melia. "We're also dealing with a set of rules that existed at the time but no longer exists today." Mew, contacted yesterday at his Toronto office, said he couldn't comment. Under the current Canadian anti-doping rules, athletes, coaches and sport personnel do not have the right to apply for reinstatement any longer. -- Torstar Newswire Cecil Russell "This is evidence that should have been considered by the independent adjudicator when he made his decision last year," said Melia. "I have requested that our lawyer start the application process immediately." Russell's lawyer Gary We've given "survival of the fittest" a whole new meaning. Spot! Since 1952 Save 25% New Balance. Celebrating 100 years of excellence, innovation and performance. Bottle o removerf spot each ordwith er! 5 FREE! 9 LE IDD ST A ER M UPPROAD E The largest selection of New Balance apparel, accessories and footwear in multiple widths. 8 403 TH TH Oakville . E.W Q. E LIN E LIN Upper Middle Rd E & 8th Line 905.337.9393 www.newbalanceoakville.ca