Former San Francisco 49ers running back, Jarryd Hayne, has decided to end his tenure in the NFL after only one season, coming out in the media overnight saying he is now pursuing his Olympic dream.
“I am retiring from the NFL because the Fiji Rugby Sevens team reached out to me about the opportunity to join the team for the upcoming Olympics, and I simply could not pass that chance up,” Hayne said in his statement.
“The Olympics has been something I have admired since I was a little boy, and it is an opportunity I feel very similar to me joining the NFL.”
Former ASADA chief Richard Ings has come out publicly on twitter saying that Hayne may not be eligible to compete, due to the NFL not being WADA compliant.
If Jarryd Hayne had been playing in WADA compliant sport he would have grounds to reduce the 6 months
But NFL is PED badlands.
No chance
— Richard Ings : Renewable Energy Beneficiary (@ringsau) May 15, 2016
Ings tweeted to the World Rugby Sevens series official account, calling on the organisation to veto Hayne’s move given he had not undergone the requisite six months of RTP (registered testing pool) testing.
. @WorldRugby7s
Fiji has announced that Jarryd Hayne will joint their Rio squad.
You will veto that? He hasn't had 6 months RTP testing
— Richard Ings : Renewable Energy Beneficiary (@ringsau) May 15, 2016
The 6 month return to competition rule is standard across most sports for athletes returning to international competition
And necessary
— Richard Ings : Renewable Energy Beneficiary (@ringsau) May 15, 2016
If he is banned from competing at the Olympics, Hayne’s manager Wayne Beavis says he has not considered future options.
“This is just a fantastic opportunity we want to grab and then we’ll sit down and dust ourselves off after that and consider the next move” Beavis told Fox Sports.
“Plan B has never been discussed whether its rugby union, marbles, soccer or whatever. This came out of left field and we’re going to run with it” Beavis said.
In 2015 Hayne pursued his NFL dream by attempting to secure an undrafted NFL contract with the 49ers.
Following impressive mini-camp and pre-season performances the 49ers offered Hayne’s a spot on their 53-man roster.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rzQNioLm7vM
After several uninspiring early season performances Hayne was waived and resigned to the practice squad, only to return late in the season due to guard Alex Boone being placed on injured-reserve.
In eight games, Hayne accumulated an unspectacular 52 yards from 17 attempts, six catches for 27 yards and he also returned eight punts for a total of 76 yards.
Hayne paid tribute to the entire 49ers organisation and the support he received from fans in the US and abroad.
“The 49ers organisation has been incredibly supportive throughout my journey and I cannot thank them and the support staff enough” Hayne said.
Incredible journey. Thank god for the courage he gave me. @49ers an the fans for non stop support #4everThankful #38 pic.twitter.com/Ph1loVT1MZ
— Jarryd Hayne Apparel (@JHayneApparel) May 15, 2016
49ers general manager Trent Baalke also released a statement thanking Hayne for his contribution.
“We would like to thank Jarryd for his contributions to the San Francisco 49ers organization and our community over the last year”.
“We fully support Jarryd’s decision to pursue another dream…representing the Fiji Rugby Sevens team in this summer’s Olympic games. We look forward to watching him in Rio and wish him continued success” said Baalke.
Peter Di Stefano is a third year Bachelor of Journalism (sport) student and a staff writer with upstart. You can follow him on twitter @PJD_1990
