AW Pharmacy wrote:
^^ This x10
teddy_farley wrote:
AW Pharmacy wrote:
^^ This x10
Agreed. I have what I consider to be a relatively simple solution to the doping culture that exists, but for some reason, it will never get implemented. Maybe it isn't good "politically". This might not be the right thread for this, but I'll put it here anyway:
Lifetime bans. No ifs, ands, or buts. Doesn't matter if you "cooperate". You test positive, you are done. You are a professional athlete, and you should know what you are putting in your body. Something in a grey area and it could maybe cause you to test positive? Guess what, don't take it!
Second, if you test positive, your results are retroactively erased going all the way back to when you started competing. As if you never even ran. Almost every time an athlete tests positive, assuming they don't just outright deny it altogether, they say "oh I just started doping right before this one race, all the rest were clean".
Third, repayment of all winnings and appearance fees going back forever. Frankly, if I was a race director today, I would already include that as a clause with any elite athletes at my race, with the stipulation that any winnings clawed back would be transferred to the athletes who moved up in the results due to the DQ. What WMM runner would cheat knowing that at any point in their life, they may be liable for repayment of $500,000+?
Fourth, no statute of limitations on testing. Keep samples frozen for as long as you can, and every time some new test comes out, go back and test everything. Does that cause a beloved gold medalist from 15 years ago to test positive? Too bad. Some guy had to go home in 4th place thinking he just missed a medal.
I know this isn't a perfect plan, but at least to me, it seems like a significant step in the right direction compared to what the sport is doing today. Harsh as it may be, show me one completely clean athlete that would reject this.
Admittedly, there is no way to fix the ultimate theft, which is the experience of standing on the podium with your national anthem playing, but if you put legitimate deterrents in place, and not just a slap on the wrist, it might just be enough of a risk that it isn't worth it to cheat, knowing that at any point you could lose everything.
teddy_farley wrote:
Lifetime bans. No ifs, ands, or buts. Doesn't matter if you "cooperate". You test positive, you are done. You are a professional athlete, and you should know what you are putting in your body. Something in a grey area and it could maybe cause you to test positive? Guess what, don't take it!
Mango wrote:
I do not understand why athletes finishing behind dopers cannot sue them for fraud and lost wages/damages. Can the Court of Arbitration in Sport adjudicate these cases? They should.
runn wrote:
I agree with all the opinions here. Although I DO like the second chance- the test COULD be flawed.
Whiner go home wrote:
I am frankly tired of the Mantanos and Wrights of the world whining on social media about missing their chance. Boo - freakin- hoo.
Guess what Entitled Athlete - life isn't fair. complaining about it on social media makes you look like you are making excuses for failure.
Yes, dopers suck and rob people of their chance, but incessantly posting about it on twitter does nothing. Everyone in the race was affected, every "clean" athlete was cheated. You aren't special.
I know people who cheating on high school tests or college tests and got better grades. That led to more opportunities for them. You don't see me posting about it Twitter at every turn.
This is the whiner generation.
teddy_farley wrote:
Admittedly, there is no way to fix the ultimate theft, which is the experience of standing on the podium with your national anthem playing, but if you put legitimate deterrents in place, and not just a slap on the wrist, it might just be enough of a risk that it isn't worth it to cheat, knowing that at any point you could lose everything.
