Photo courtesy: CFL.
Three CFL Draft prospects tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs at Combine events, resulting in a one-year ban from signing a CFL contract.
Canadian offensive lineman Mahdi Hazime and defensive lineman Cameron Michaud both tested positive for exogenous testosterone at the Invitational Combine on March 6 in Waterloo, with Hazime’s test also showing traces of four additional anabolic steroids: metandienone, clostebol, drostanolone, and nandrolone. Australian defensive lineman Jack Low was flagged for the use of SARM LGD-4033 (ligandrol) at the CFL Combine in Edmonton on March 27 through 29.
As per the CFL Drug Policy, all three players will have their draft years deferred to 2027 and may not play in the CFL this year. This will also count as a first violation at the CFL level.
Hazime garnered headlines after posting the most bench press reps of any prospect this year, posting 38 in Waterloo. The native of Toronto, Ont., attended New Mexico Highlands University in the NCAA Division II this past season, but played only sparingly. He originally committed to the University of Michigan coming out of high school before making stops at Monroe College and New Mexico Military Institute at the junior college level. He returned to the Division I ranks with Houston Christian University in 2023, where he started five games at centre over two years, before transferring for a fourth time.
The CFL Drug Policy applies to all prospects who participate in the Combine circuit. In total, 85 percent of all participants underwent anti-doping testing before, or on-site during, the Combines.
