Thoughts on drug cheats
Jul 24, 2008
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As previously mentioned I have been lucky enough to be at the Tour de France this year and of course there has been drug problems again. Everybody says they are doing everything they can and that they are catching people so therefore the sport is getting cleaner, and it probably is but I have a proposal to really get sport clean.
I'll start with cycling then apply it to all sports. First if a rider tests positive then the whole team is made to leave the race if it is a stage race or not allowed to start the next race. Once it is proven, with a procedure that would stand up in a normal court of law (yes I am pointing at you, labs that stuff up the procedures), the rider in question gets a two ban and it can't be changed changed at the national level. Further the entire team the rider is from gets a 6 month ban, meaning that no member of the team, including mechanics, sponsors anyone that works with the team is not allowed anywhere near any sporting event.
This might sound a little harsh but cycling is a team sport, if just one member cheats then the whole team has cheated.
How to apply this to other sports. Easy. If a country has two or more athletes positive in any 4 year period, then the entire country is banned from the next Olympics. There are too many countries that turn a blind eye to drugs in sport and give soft sentences to their athletes that do test positive. As with my cycling proposal, if you start punishing the people who have the power to stop the cheaters and don't then they will really start to care about making sure their athletes are clean.
I'll start with cycling then apply it to all sports. First if a rider tests positive then the whole team is made to leave the race if it is a stage race or not allowed to start the next race. Once it is proven, with a procedure that would stand up in a normal court of law (yes I am pointing at you, labs that stuff up the procedures), the rider in question gets a two ban and it can't be changed changed at the national level. Further the entire team the rider is from gets a 6 month ban, meaning that no member of the team, including mechanics, sponsors anyone that works with the team is not allowed anywhere near any sporting event.
This might sound a little harsh but cycling is a team sport, if just one member cheats then the whole team has cheated.
How to apply this to other sports. Easy. If a country has two or more athletes positive in any 4 year period, then the entire country is banned from the next Olympics. There are too many countries that turn a blind eye to drugs in sport and give soft sentences to their athletes that do test positive. As with my cycling proposal, if you start punishing the people who have the power to stop the cheaters and don't then they will really start to care about making sure their athletes are clean.
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