11/05/24
December 15, 2006
The L.A. Times runs a two-part investigative report and critique of the anti-doping regime:: The worldwide sports anti-doping program, created to fight performance-enhancing drug use in international athletics, imposes severe punishments for accidental or technical infractions, relies at times on disputed scientific evidence and resists outside scrutiny.
I've always felt Pound hated sports. Everything he does seems to be a personal vendetta against athletes. Last year, he bashed the NHL's drug testing program and Bettman's claim, "We don't have a problem." I think Bettman's fooling himself if he truly thinks there aren't any performance enhancers being taken in hockey, but Pound's response made me think that he believes they're all cheating. He was only given the WADA job because he was passed over as head of the IOC and they felt like they needed to pacify him. Like True Blue said, he's a tyrant and a bully. I'd be willing to bet that he thinks the only reason he didn't win an Olympic medal was that the people who beat him were cheating. And that's my point (yes, I do have one). It's like every athlete is guilty of taking drugs, test results be damned. I think the system needs to be adjusted to be more lenient for obvious errors.
posted by cabuki at 03:10 PM on December 15, 2006
I found that article troubling on so many levels. First, the strict liability coupled with giving the arbitrators no discretion serves no purpose. The people who are obviously innocently caught in this web is ridiculous. Especially the position of WADA that they are not innocent because their test was wrong. Regardless that someone took a sip of his wife's drink, or got his Vick's in the wrong country, or used the wrong cream in between her toes, and that none of these people received any performance-enhancing effect, they are deemed cheaters and subject to the same penalties as someone with test results reflecting obvious steroid usage. Furthermore, the failure of WADA to have any checks and balances in their system is wrong. They prevent any scrutiny by putting rules in place that prevent the review of lab performance, lab workers, or others involved with testing samples. This is another example of when security catches mainly those who didn't realize they had anything to hide. The real cheaters have mastered the system, so WADA looks tough suspending people for using Vicks Inhaler to clear nasal congestion.
posted by bperk at 04:04 PM on December 15, 2006
A very well-done piece. I have little to add. First, the strict liability coupled with giving the arbitrators no discretion serves no purpose. The people who are obviously innocently caught in this web is ridiculous. Does that remind you of the other (mostly forgotten) War On Drugs?
posted by Amateur at 06:20 AM on December 16, 2006
WADA is a clown school and Pound is a tyrant. This is just another case of an empowered idiot forcing simple solutions on a complex problem. WADA's only purpose is to keep competition fair. But they are doing more damage to sport than the "cheaters" ever could. Ask yourself...what irritates you more...Floyd Landis getting DQ'd at TDF? Or Barry Bonds and BALCO-gate? Make no mistake...unreasonable = unfair.