Not only is Bernard Dunne disappointed with Michael O’Reilly’s situation at Rio 2016 but he sounds downright perplexed at how the Portlaoise middleweight allowed himself to get into that position to begin with.
Dunne, speaking in his capacity as a pundit on RTÉ, has slammed the slipshod mindset of O’Reilly in taking a supplement when he wasn’t fully sure of the substances contained within.
O’Reilly is returning home to Ireland after deciding against contesting the provisional suspension he received last week when he tested positive for a banned substance.
The 23-year-old released a statement this week in which he admitted that he unintentionally took a supplement that may have contained a prohibited substance.
And former WBA super bantamweight champion Dunne can’t comprehend why O’Reilly would take such a risk.
“Unless you are getting something from your national body, unless you’re getting something out of your association, you shouldn’t be taking it,” Dunne said on Tuesday night.
As a high-performance athlete you are responsible for what’s in your system – RTÉ analysts discuss Michael O’Reilly https://t.co/9aQpDLw31a
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 9, 2016
“Why is he not using the guys that are available to him within the association? Why is he not asking advice from the people in the know? He’s on the national team. He is a carded athlete. He is a sponsored athlete He is supplied with all these things. He has access to all these different individuals – be they nutritionists, be they dietitians, be they doctors. Why is he going outside of that to get stuff?”
O’Reilly was given a bye in the Olympic draw and was slated to take to the ring for the first time on Friday but he will now play no part in these Games.
And Dunne sounds amazed by how O’Reilly was able to work so hard and let himself down by sheer carelessness at the final hurdle.
“That’s the incredible part. He had done the hard part in qualifying for the Games and post-qualification, he goes and probably makes the most idiotic decision he has ever made,” Dunne continued.
“As a high performance athlete, you’re fully responsible for anything that’s in your system.”
