Dopes and Doping
Well, I guess those names I listed late last night are now confirmed. I’m flabbergasted by the scope of the suspensions, and I’d like to echo Jason’s thoughts.
It is ridiculous to suspend riders who have not flunked a drug test. These guys are being kicked out of the Tour because they have been accused of doping. Hell, if that’s the standard, no one would be able to start the race. And I know the Tour or the UCI didn’t suspend these riders, it’s being done “voluntarily” by the teams. But the teams are running scared.
No one wants to come out for drug cheats, but I am appalled by the Anti-Doping zealots’ conduct. Guys like Dick Pound are just bullies. Treating every single athlete like a criminal is counter-productive. Flying off half-cocked on every shred of evidence, no matter how unreliable, just demeans the whole process. And it misses the whole point. You can’t compromise with a righteous zealot. You can’t even reason with them. The Anti-Doping forces have moved past the realm of reason and into the realm of a crusade. And I don’t like crusades.
The world is not black and white. It’s far more interesting and complex than that. Doping is bad, but it does not then follow that anything someone does to stop doping is therefore good. It is easy to be disgusted by both the dopers and the anti-doping forces. We’re not going to solve this problem if everyone is busy antagonizing one another.
The cure is worse than the disease. Is the solution to get rid of drug cheats really to destroy the Tour? This is like lopping off a patient’s head in order to cure a migraine. Are we destroying the village in order to save it?
It is ridiculous to suspend riders who have not flunked a drug test. These guys are being kicked out of the Tour because they have been accused of doping. Hell, if that’s the standard, no one would be able to start the race. And I know the Tour or the UCI didn’t suspend these riders, it’s being done “voluntarily” by the teams. But the teams are running scared.
No one wants to come out for drug cheats, but I am appalled by the Anti-Doping zealots’ conduct. Guys like Dick Pound are just bullies. Treating every single athlete like a criminal is counter-productive. Flying off half-cocked on every shred of evidence, no matter how unreliable, just demeans the whole process. And it misses the whole point. You can’t compromise with a righteous zealot. You can’t even reason with them. The Anti-Doping forces have moved past the realm of reason and into the realm of a crusade. And I don’t like crusades.
The world is not black and white. It’s far more interesting and complex than that. Doping is bad, but it does not then follow that anything someone does to stop doping is therefore good. It is easy to be disgusted by both the dopers and the anti-doping forces. We’re not going to solve this problem if everyone is busy antagonizing one another.
The cure is worse than the disease. Is the solution to get rid of drug cheats really to destroy the Tour? This is like lopping off a patient’s head in order to cure a migraine. Are we destroying the village in order to save it?
posted by Poseur at 11:13 AM
1 Comments:
I have a feeling that as Johan Bruyneel digests the departure of several contenders while his team remains intact, he's wondering if Popovych is ready for the big time.
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