Popular sports star pleads guilty to drug charges
Emerging Australian hockey player Matthew Bird has pleaded guilty to three counts of selling prohibited drugs.
The 21-year-old, who made his Kookaburras debut this year, pleaded guilty to the charges in Fremantle Magistrate’s Court this morning.
He did not enter a plea to a charge of possessing a knuckle duster.
Bird, of Coolbellup, was caught selling drugs in Perth on February 18 and in Bateman on March 30 and May 3.
He resigned from the men’s national hockey team after his arrest.
In December, Bird said he was overwhelmed by the news he would be getting a place in the 2018 Kookaburras squad in such a big year for hockey.
He missed the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast but was in the mix for a spot in Australia’s World Cup campaign before his resignation.
Bird’s bail was renewed ahead of his next appearance in the District Court in August.
This article originally appeared on PerthNow.
