U of R football player suspended 16-months for banned substance violation

A promising running back for the University of Regina Rams will have his athletic career put on hold after failing a doping test.

Kyle Borsa has been given a 16-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance called Higenamine, according to a report from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES).

He was given a urine test on Oct. 16, 2018 and the decision was announced on Wednesday.

Borsa, who was 19-years-old at the time of the violation, admitted to using an over-the-counter pre-workout supplement called Allmax Impact Igniter he bought from a Regina supplement store.

The CCES report confirmed Borsa failed the urine test because of the supplement.

"He had been using supplements due to what he had taken to be recommendations from coaches, nutritionists and successful ex-athletes who had become motivational speakers," the report said.

However, it says there was no evidence of recommendations for any specific supplement.

"The athlete's practice was to check the list of ingredients on supplements by looking at the label to see if he recognized anything, but he never compared those ingredients to the prohibited list," according to the report.

Borsa told CCES the salesperson at the supplement store "gave a 'bit of a sales pitch', describing Allmax Impact Igniter as a good supplement for him," the report says.

He did not ask the salesperson if it contained any banned substances, according to the report, but the salesperson said the store does not sell anything that's banned.

Borsa had passed four previous doping tests.

The now 20-year-old would be entering his third year with the Rams and is one of just 13 players in school history to compile at least 2,000 all-purpose yards.

Borsa, who is also a member of the U of R's track team, is ineligible to participate in any capacity with the Rams or Cougars until Feb. 15, 2020.