Former Team Einarson lead Briane Harris weighs in on lost curling season

Gregory Strong · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 6:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

When Briane Harris received an unexpected email from World Curling successful February 2024, she thought it looked rather antithetic and didn't unfastened it close away.

Thinking it was astir apt spam, she alternatively joined her teammates, the four-time nationalist champions skipped by Kerri Einarson, astatine a Calgary Flames crippled connected the eve of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Another email from the federation arrived the adjacent morning. This 1 looked a small different.

"It conscionable looked much legit the 2nd clip and I knew they would email maine again if it was serious," Harris said. "So I was like, 'OK I'll unfastened it.' And past astatine that time, similar everything changed and I was like, 'Holy crap."'

Harris was informed an out-of-competition urine illustration tested affirmative for hint amounts of Ligandrol. It's banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for its anabolic, muscle-building effects.

"I had not seen that coming successful a cardinal years due to the fact that evidently I wasn't doping," she said.

Harris was placed nether provisional suspension, mounting successful question a astir year-long travel that saw the Petersfield, Man., autochthonal entreaty to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which yet recovered she bore "no responsibility oregon negligence" for the violation.

Her prohibition was lifted past January. Shortly thereafter, her seven-year tally with the Einarson squad came to an extremity and she would articulation Team Kate Cameron astatine third.

"I conscionable consciousness similar a value has been lifted disconnected maine and I americium truthful excited for the future," Harris said successful an interview.

'Unknowingly exposed'

Harris would assertion she was unknowingly exposed to Ligandrol done intimate interaction with her husband. But soon aft getting quality of the affirmative test, she was stumped arsenic to however it got successful her system.

"When I got backmost to the edifice room, my hubby said that the sanction [Ligandrol] sounded truly acquainted and truthful helium started looking it up connected his phone," Harris recalled. "And helium was like, 'Oh my God, I deliberation you got it done maine somehow.'

"He was like, 'I didn't adjacent cognize what this worldly was.' He was conscionable taking a supplement you tin buy."

According to the tribunal decision, Harris's hubby had been utilizing a supplement known arsenic the "CrossFit Stack" from November 2023 until January 2024, which helium kept successful his gym container and didn't usage astatine home.

Harris argued she didn't cognize oregon fishy that her hubby had been consuming Ligandrol, oregon that intimate interaction represented a hazard of contamination with prohibited substances.

She referred to the lawsuit of Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, who was suspended successful 2019 aft a akin situation.

The Canadian canoeist, who was capable to link with Harris, was cleared aft persuading a tribunal that a affirmative trial for Ligandrol was caused by bodily fluid contamination from her then-boyfriend.

"It was large to perceive her broadside of things, however it went for her and what she suggested I get done to beryllium my innocence," Harris said from Petersfield, Man.

In the whirlwind of those archetypal fewer days successful Calgary, Harris was told portion nether suspension she couldn't spot her teammates oregon practise connected the ice. She hired ineligible practice and tackled an off-ice process she ne'er saw coming.

Return to play

After a proceeding successful August, it took astir 5 months for CAS to merchandise its decision.

"We got the champion result," Harris said. "The 1 that we wanted with zero responsibility and zero negligence."

Through the fall, Harris trained regularly successful her location gym, desperately wanting to instrumentality to the crystal and resume playing with her team.

"I would beryllium crying [while] working retired conscionable due to the fact that it was conscionable truthful mentally hard to enactment toward something, [to] effort to beryllium acceptable to play erstwhile you don't cognize what the verdict is going to be," she said.

"'[Am I] doing it for nothing?' That would ever transverse my mind."

Five months large erstwhile her suspension was lifted, Harris had acceptable a extremity to beryllium acceptable to play "at immoderate moment."

When she got the bully news, she advised her teammates with a connection successful a radical chat. The squad was playing astatine a Grand Slam successful Guelph, Ont., astatine the clip and offered congratulations, Harris said.

Alternate Krysten Karwacki filled successful during Harris's lack and newcomer Karlee Burgess was playing 2nd for the injured Shannon Birchard.

"I wholly wanted to instrumentality to the team," Harris said. "That's what I wanted to do. I knew I was acceptable and I knew I was able."

The squad said it planned to fig retired adjacent steps aft the bonspiel. Later that month, citing the request for lineup consistency, the Einarson rink decided the existent foursome would proceed on.

Released from Scotties team

In addition, Lauren Lenentine was added arsenic an alternate for the 2025 Scotties. Even though Harris wasn't successful the lineup, she was inactive "very overmuch a part" of Team Einarson, manager Reid Carruthers said astatine the time.

"When I got cleared, I asked that we person a squad treatment to fig retired what we wanted to bash arsenic a squad for the Scotties," Harris said. "And they said that they were going to bash that with me, but past that didn't truly happen.

"When I thought the gathering was happening to speech astir it, [it] was really them conscionable telling maine that I wasn't going to beryllium connected the squad with them for the Scotties."

Her tenure formally ended past week via a squad societal media post. Harris's summation to Cameron's foursome was announced the aforesaid day.

Three members of Team Einarson declined interrogation requests to sermon the change.

"I grew arsenic a subordinate and I'm truly grateful for each of that, the acquisition and everything that I got to instrumentality from it," Harris said of her clip with the team. "And present I get to instrumentality each that and use it to Team Cameron.

"Hopefully I tin beryllium a bully summation to their squad and instrumentality america to that adjacent level."