By David Wiseman
May 13th 2009 @ 1:24am
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Players no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt
FIFA President Sepp Blatter answers journalists' questions during a press conference in Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday Oct. 29, 2007. FIFA's executive committee voted unanimously to end its policy of rotating the hosting of World Cups. AP Photo/Keystone, Steffen Schmidt
FIFA President Sepp Blatter needs to wake up and smell the coffee. He is against the ‘whereabouts’ rule, by which players must provide information regarding their location for one hour every day of the year.
He has come out and said it treats everybody as if they are guilty of doping.
“We are in a situation in which all are accused. That doesn’t fit my understanding of law,” he said.
“Every sportsperson is, in the sense of the WADA code, suspected of doping, therefore accused. That’s not right in our society.”
But you should know something Sepp. In the court of public opinion, you are all already guilty.
When the Ben Johnson scandal erupted during the 1988 Olympic Games, it was huge. The shock resulted in it being a massive news story.
No one could comprehend that the winner of the 100 metres had tested positive for steroids.
What we didn’t know then is that four of the top-five place getters were also on the jungle juice. It is now referred to as “the dirtiest race in history.”
Fast forward to a few weeks ago where it was announced that, in a retesting of all the samples, six athletes from the Beijing Games tested positive. Did anyone even flinch?
Let’s be honest. It would be more surprising if the Tour de France came and went without there being a positive drug test.
The whole ‘whereabouts’ issue came into play with Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen, who lied about his whereabouts. He was leading the Tour at the time he withdrew from the 2007 race.
Whether he is clean or not remains to be seen. But Lance Armstrong simply can’t shake the suspicions which follow him wherever he goes.
Baseball is currently digesting the news that Manny Ramirez tested positive. There is a book on Alex Rodriguez about to be released.
Meanwhile, from the beginning, the whole Barry Bonds drugs issue was a circus. But now people just accept it. Regardless of whether he has admitted or not, regardless of whether he has tested positive for anything, people just look at the size of his gargantuan head and accept the fact that he has been a human pin-cushion.
Sepp can cling to his notions of a bygone era, but athletes don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.
That’s if any doubt exists anymore.
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Kurt said | May 13th 2009 @ 2:18am | Report comment
I tend to side with Sepp on this one. This seems like a massive imposition upon athletes – I barely know where I’m going to be this time tomorrow, let alone every day for the rest of the year. And if every athlete is already assumed to be taking drugs, doesn’t it logically follow that we should just accept that they are and let them get on with it? In the court of public opinion they could have every single drop of urine instantly tested by a WADA agent who follows them into every toilet cubicle they enter and still probably be assumed to be on the juice, so let’s save ourselves a lot of time and money and just enjoy watching what a human body can do when injected with cutting edge pharmaceuticals.
Billo said | May 13th 2009 @ 3:11am | Report comment
I sympathise with Blatter on this one.
Surely we should recognise that performance enhancing drugs are appropriate for improving performance in some sports, but not others.
I don’t know whether I am naive or not, but I find it hard to see how soccer players could benefit from steroids or other illegal substances, in the way that sprinters, cyclists, weight lifters and rugby players, who rely on strength or endurance, clearly could.
WADA seems to assume that all sports are the same, whereas what is surely needed is an individual approach for every sport, taking into account its own characteristics.
Michael C said | May 13th 2009 @ 6:25am | Report comment
Whilst this wasn’t in place a few years ago – it’s indicative of the impost upon regular team sports that the IOC’s pet ferrett, the WADA code, has.
It’s quite one thing to attempt to design it (the WADA code) for the requirements of the IOC and the ‘Olympic sports’, but, the whole issue of cyclists and swimmers and the like ‘disappearing’ for months at a time in secret training camps etc…….that’s not an issue for soccer, or AFL.
FIFA was engaged in a years long arm wrestle with WADA – - and around that time so too was the AFL. Sadly, the court of John Howards public opinion voted against the AFL whilst ignorant of the facts.
Perhaps people are now going to understand that one size DOES not fit all. And in recognising that – we are not being ’soft on drugs’.
whiskeymac said | May 13th 2009 @ 9:00am | Report comment
Sepp needs to realise coffee is a stimulant before he smells it. Drugs in sport just won’t go away – sad but true. Billo, in football, and i am sure any of the “codes”, the beenfit of improved performance means they wont tire as much. Players can run mini marathons throughout a game – if they were artificially able to get over “tired legs” that would be a big bonus if they were faster and able to last longer. The downside of course being small willies and spots. or more seriously heart attacks (Flo Jo), psychological issues (i note the wrestler’s doctor got 10 years for supplying steroids).
in my naivety I never understood why marijuana and cocaine, apart from obvious illegality, were tested for though.
Dario Simpatico said | May 13th 2009 @ 9:53am | Report comment
cocaine can boost your mental alertness. marijuana is a bit strange I agree but some studies suggest helps muscles relax post game etc.
If I have a cold and dump a couple of sudafed before a game, I generally play one of the better games of my season.
We all might think that the drug police are overzealous, but they have to be. MLB is a complete joke because of their soft stance on drugs. I don’t want to see a situation in sports that I love where Im spending more time picking out who I think is on the juice rather then enjoying the game.
Part of the problem lies in the overly negative campaign against steroids that distort alot of the facts about what steroids do. As such there is now an equally distorted pro steroid camp that is gaining momentum in some countries. The Drug police need to be more honest about why steroids and other substances are banned rather then creating boogeymen and fake symptoms to dissuade athletes.
David Wiseman said | May 13th 2009 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
You all make very good points.
WADA may not need to know where footballers are like they do cyclists or sprinters – that’s one issue.
But Sepp needs to appreciate that the public are more or less tarring everyone with the same brush. And if a player would have zero qualms about diving and milking a penalty, why would he have any issue with injecting himself with something which would make him feel better?
MVDave said | May 13th 2009 @ 4:53pm | Report comment
Give me a $million per year and l will let you know my whereabouts for 2 hours a day if it pleases!
Mick said | May 13th 2009 @ 5:25pm | Report comment
The blokes go training once and twice every day of the week, surely the clubs could notify WADA
geraus said | May 13th 2009 @ 9:14pm | Report comment
I agree with Blatter, we must allow sportspeople, regardless of their wage or profile ,basic human rights. One of those is the freedom of movement. We also generally allow the presumption of innocence. Unfortunately many people like to dehumanise athletes whether it be from the sidelines or via the tabloid.
As an aside It seems drug testing and WADA have movved from preventing the self harm associated with Performance enhancing, to being a machine that drives its own industry, that is put power and money in the hands of the politicians and bureaucrats in WADA and the drug labs that make money from it.
Midfielder said | May 13th 2009 @ 11:31pm | Report comment
One of the huge problems as some have already pointed out is professional sports that have players in training camps for months on end are a totally different kettle of fish to the Olympic sports where people can be scattered all over the place… Most professional sporting codes have in place internal and code driven policies… TBH if you just drop in on a training secession of a professional club unannounced then you capture everybody at the same time…Me thinks the Olympics are getting a little ahead of themselves … but interestingly the worlds major sports say … tennis, cricket, golf, basketball, Gridiron, baseball, rugby union, football are each within there own right a major code with control over their players so I side with Blatter.
mahony said | May 14th 2009 @ 12:31am | Report comment
I side with WADA – but only because football needs to be beyond repute as the peoples game – it can not have its colors lowered like so many other codes and sports because of illegal drug use.. I am not sure about how many elite football players have been caught using banned substances (if any) – but at the end of the day professionals of all types (not just sports) submit to unannounced testing in order to maintain the integrity/safety of their chosen profession. Having said all of that, I expect FIFA will win this battle as it’s political clout is likely greater than WADA’s if ‘push came to shove’.