Track athletes doping for better performance is a result of them not being good enough to make it with or without dope in the big money sports. Tell me otherwise that track athletes in general are skilled enough or tough enough to take the beatings in other sports. They are tough in different ways but not where the money is.
This could also be considered self preservation too but that doesn't make any money either. The money isn't good enough in track so the few that can be good enough with or without drugs will do so while the rest scrape by chasing dreams of being great at their passion. Nothing wrong with that if they can live on less.
The general public looks down on cheating track and cycling athletes but love it when they hit a lot of home runs, grow to gargantuan proportions and smash each other on the football field etc... for their entertainment. The general public doesn't care about track because it's a pure sport that doesn't keep the opponent from advancing toward the main objective of what it takes to win. There is no defense in track or cycling, swimming type sports.
Now if you let guys carry weapons and attack each other on their way to the finish line, the general public would be more entertained and take a greater interest and therefore be willing to pay what it takes to be entertained and therefore the wages would increase.
Sorry but track, cycling and swimming just aren't violent enough for today's society and the only people who care about them are people that long for the old days of fairplay, that are interested in human performance in getting from point A to B the fastest.
So, it's a bad combination of not enough money in the sport for too many millionaires like the major sports. In addition, the general intellect of appreciating what it takes to produce great performances in society is very minimal these days.
Therefore, track and field will be a minor sport for a long time to come and those that don't care about getting the same kind of attention as the major sports are really ok with that. There's just a lot of carry over from people interested in the major sports that want track to be one of the big guys and it never will.
That's why the NCAA sanctions against Penn ST. in the guise of trying to change the culture of college football is such a joke. As long as people are willing to shuck out their hard earned money and drive the system to what it is, there is nothing anyone can do to change that culture. Just shoot the guys that molest kids and jail the rest that knew about it to curb that behavior. But don't try telling us that you are going to change a culture by taking away a few scholarships for awhile and that will fix it.
What does the future hold in sport? What will sate the appetites of the crazy sports fan? Can you say Running Man or Rollerball? How about Gladiators in the Colloseum?
Think about it.