Drugs cheats get go-ahead
Rule banning drugs cheats from Olympics
scrapped
Sport stars who have been caught taking drugs will be allowed to
compete in the London 2012 Olympics, a court has said.
Team GB had a rule that serious drugs cheats would be
disqualified from competing in the Olympics for life.
But a court will say later today that this rule will have to
change.
It means that people like the sprinter Dwain Chambers and the
Scottish cyclist David Millar might be able to represent Team GB
this summer. Both of them have been banned in the past for taking
drugs to make them perform better in their sports.
They will still need to reach the Olympic qualifying
standards.
Dwain Chambers tested positive for a banned steroid drug in 2003
and was not allowed to compete in athletics competitions for two
years.
David Millar was banned from cycling for two years in 2004 after
being caught using a "blood-boosting" drug that helped him to win
races.
The English shot-putter Carl Myerscough, another former drugs
cheat, will also be able to compete now.
The British Olympic Association, which picks Team GB, had a
zero-tolerance attitude to sportspeople caught taking drugs. Its
chairman, Lord Moynihan, said there should be no forgiveness for
cheating athletes because they should not be able to take the place
of honest athletes.
He also said cheats may have a lifelong advantage after taking
illegal growth hormones or other body-changing drugs.
But the court said that the BOA's rule was not fair because
ex-drugs cheats in other countries did not face lifetime Olympic
bans.
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Drugs cheats get go-ahead
Should former drugs cheats be given a second
chance?
A court has ruled that ex-drugs cheats should be given a chance
to represent Team GB in the Olympics.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will state today that a
rule banning British athletes from competing in the Games for life
is unfair. Lifetime bans on drugs cheats like the sprinter Dwain
Chambers and the cyclist David Millar will be lifted.
Should sportspeople caught using performance-enhancing drugs be
given a second chance? Opinion is divided. Here are some arguments
from both sides of the debate:
'We are human beings' - David Millar, cyclist and former
drugs cheat
"People make mistakes. Things should be punished but they should
be forgiven, and given a second chance. We are human beings. Why do
sportsmen and women get punished more harshly than people in the
normal world? Isn't the human condition about forgiveness,
learning, changing and developing as people?"
'Dave is an incredible guy' - Mark Cavendish, cyclist
and BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2011
"Dave [Millar] has redeemed himself. Dave cheated, but Dave is an
ex-doper on the athletes' commission, the athletes' panel of WADA
[World Anti-Doping Agency]. He is a massive campaigner on
anti-doping. He really realised what he had done. He learned a lot.
He actually changed as a person. He is an incredible guy - a really
good friend of mine.
"If we want to win the Olympic road race, we need Dave. Dave
will be one of the biggest factors in that . . . If we want to go
and win an Olympic medal, there's certain people you want to share
that with. And Dave's one of them."
'You learn from your mistakes' - Jonathan Edwards, 2000
Olympic triple jump champion
"A second chance is one of those values we should uphold in every
sphere of life, not least sport. You learn from your mistakes."
'People need to believe they can win without taking
drugs' - Sally Gunnell, Olympic gold medal-winning
hurdler
"I believe there has to be a lifetime ban for anyone who takes
drugs. This ban says don't cheat because if you do you will not
race again in the Olympics. It proves it's just not worth taking
drugs. People need to believe that they can go out and win without
taking anything. Just look at Dwain now - he's running the same
sort of times that he did when he was on drugs."
'Lifetime ban a good incentive not to take drugs' - Sir
Chris Hoy, four-time Olympic cycling champion
"If you are caught for taking drugs, then you will not be allowed
to compete in the Olympic Games. That to me is a good incentive not
to take drugs. If you take that away, are you taking a step back in
the fight against drugs?"
'Don't do the crime if you can't do the time' - Doug
Gillon, Herald sports writer
"If you are a convicted sports drug cheat, an abuser of steroids,
growth hormone, or blood doping, you have crossed the line. There
should be no reprieve.
"Why should sport differ from the real world? Permitting drug
cheats back into sport seems little different from allowing
convicted drink drivers to continue using their cars, or
paedophiles to work with children … A conviction for dishonesty
precludes a career in the police or the law. Don't do the crime if
you can't do the time."
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