Three Irishmen competed in a tug of war event in July. In the midst of it, they grabbed something to drink.

Turns out the drink included a supplement that had a banned substance.

“We didn’t know,” the athletes said, “but we won’t challenge this case or demand that our B samples be tested.”

“Thanks for your cooperation,” the Irish Sport Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel said. “Because you didn’t know about the supplement and you did everything you were supposed to do after testing positive, we’ll only suspend you for 18 months.”

Seriously?

If they had clearly gained a competitive advantage and won a million dollars, then by all means, invalidate that result. We have precedent for this: Alain Baxter lost a medal for an accidental doping violation but was only suspended for a couple of events.

So does this punishment serve any purpose?

Three Irish Tug Of War Athletes Fail Doping TestsBalls.ie via Trapit.