Doping

[RobBob]

To me, the pervasive doping problem in worldwide athletics confirms several beliefs I've had for awhile:

 

1. Until you are 30, you have no common sense.

2. There is no "moral compass" at work in athletics today.

3. Almost nothing is learned from past generations.

 

There are layers of reasons not to do it. First of all, it's cheating. "Everybody does it" is an excuse for a lot of things, and perhaps lifetime suspension from athletics will keep someone from being jailed for tax evasion later on because "everybody does it."

 

The biggest reason I see for not doing it is that you may well be fucking up your body for the long ride. Whether we all like it or not, the condition of your body is part of "who you are." Athletes are being allowed (I'm guessing in some cases even encouraged), by people old enough to know better, to use shit that may haunt them for 2/3rds of their lives. Hell, we all abuse ourselves enough with alcohol, physical trauma, etc.

 

I wonder why there hasn't been a concerted effort on the part of over-40 athletes to influence young people in a positive way. Somebody ought to track down the old East German female athletes from the 70s---I'll bet they've been haunted by some freakish health issues by now.

[EWolfe]

There's a reason they call it "Dope".

 

[TBay]

Doped up athletes only care (at any cost) about fame (attention), chest-beating, fortune, the American bling and not their sport.

 

Ethics Question

 

If drug enhanced athletes are caught using and are then stripped of accomplishments, titles, etc.

 

Then should the "First Ascenionist" status be stripped from those who admit using "mind altering drugs" during a first ascent (specifically Yosemite Big Wall Routes)?

[murraysovereign]

I take it this thread is prompted by the Marion Jones / Tim Montgomery / Jerome Young doping allegations? None of this comes as any surprise at all on this side of the border. We ran Charlie Francis out of the country after the Ben Johnson affair, and he ran straight into the arms of the USATF who were more than happy to send him their brightest prospects. When you knowingly handed your track stars over to the Timothy Leary of track and field for "training," well, what did you expect?

 

RobBob notes that "almost nothing is learned from past generations", but in this case one thing was learned - Charlie Francis never met a steroid he didn't like, and he's really good at both administering them and covering them up. It seems the USATF learned that lesson quite well, and were eager to engage his services.