Team Einarson lead Briane Harris files complaint against CCES with WADA: reports

Gregory Strong · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 03, 2025 12:58 PM EST | Last Updated: March 3

Curler Briane Harris, precocious reinstated aft sitting retired astir a twelvemonth owed to a provisional suspension, has filed a ailment against the Canadian Centre for Ethics successful Sport with the World Anti-Doping Agency, 2 sources with cognition of the concern said.

The ailment was sent to the Montreal-based bureau connected Feb. 7, claiming nonconformity with the WADA Code by the CCES, according to a 10-page papers that has been seen by The Canadian Press.

CBC Sports has confirmed the reports. 

The CCES is an autarkic enactment liable for administering Canada's anti-doping program. The sources spoke connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that the ailment has not been made public.

A four-time nationalist champion arsenic pb with Team Kerri Einarson, Harris had her prohibition lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport past January aft it recovered she bore nary responsibility oregon negligence for an anti-doping regularisation usurpation successful January 2024.

Harris tested affirmative for hint amounts of the substance Ligandrol, which is banned by WADA for its anabolic, muscle-building effects. The Winnipeg autochthonal claimed she was unknowingly exposed to it done bodily contact.

Allegations against CCES

The ailment to WADA was a effect of developments successful the days aft Harris received out-of-competition trial results connected the eve of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the papers said.

Her Toronto-area lawyers, Emir Crowne and Amanda Fowler, informed the CCES and World Curling connected Feb. 19, 2024 of what they claimed was an alarming confidentiality breach, the papers said, stemming from posts made 2 days earlier connected the societal media website Reddit.

In a curling thread connected the online forum, a idiosyncratic claimed to cognize details of the Harris lawsuit and posted them citing "a person that works for the CCES" arsenic the root of the information, according to the complaint.

Email exchanges betwixt the curler's ineligible practice and CCES main enforcement serviceman Jeremy Luke were included successful the ailment on with the Reddit thread and screenshots of deleted posts.

The Ottawa-based CCES, citing results of an interior investigation, said it did not judge anyone from the centre had shared the accusation publicly, according to the complaint.

Messages near with the CCES were not instantly returned.

Harris has asked that the substance beryllium investigated thoroughly and independently, the ailment said, and that she beryllium apprised of the findings of immoderate investigation. Her lawyers claimed that the CCES investigating and exonerating itself is wherefore WADA oversees its signatories, the ailment said.

When asked successful a followup connection whether determination volition beryllium an probe into the Harris complaint, the spokesperson declined comment.

The World Anti-Doping Code, archetypal published successful 2003, is the halfway papers that harmonizes anti-doping policies, rules and regulations wrong athletics organizations and among nationalist authorities astir the world, the agency's website said.

Impact connected Team Einarson

It's unclear erstwhile the 32-year-old Harris, who declined an interrogation request, mightiness instrumentality to competitory play.

Her team, based successful Gimli, Man., is ranked 2nd successful Canada down nationalist champion Rachel Homan of Ottawa. The rink has utilized a fig of substitute players with Harris unavailable and 2nd Shannon Birchard retired with a semipermanent genu issue.

Krysten Karwacki, usually an alternate, has filled successful astatine lead. Karlee Burgess was added to the squad successful mid-season arsenic an wounded replacement for Birchard.

Einarson's squad has already secured a berth astatine the Montana's Canadian Curling Trials successful November. That lawsuit volition find the country's four-player squad representatives astatine the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics successful Italy.