SeppWatch 2

Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6171777.stm

Ok, perhaps the title of this entry is a little misleading as the guilty party isn’t HRH, God Almighty Sepp Blatter, but our very own Fun Sports Minister, Richard Caborn MP.

So Dickie C¹ thinks that “social drugs” aren’t bad, mmmkay. That “social drugs” aren’t taken for “performance enhancement” and don’t do “harm to the athlete and harm to the sport.” Really? Is that what you think, Dickie C? Really?

Lets look at just one recent case, also making headlines:

Wendell Sailor (Australian Rugby Union/League star): Took cocaine recreationally, admitting that he “fell to the off-field temptation of a so-called ‘party drug’.” OK, so Wendell isn’t the first person to admit taking cocaine, but it is still a stimulant, causes acute and chronic health problems and the use by high profile sports stars and other celebrities promotes its’ use as acceptable to fans.
Sailor played in 5 of the Australian Rugby Union team’s 7 games in the RWC2003, and scored 13 tries in 37 tests as winger. In 2000 he was Player of the Tournament and top try scorer as Australia won the Rugby League World Cup. In no uncertain terms he was (and still is) a great player and an inspiration to many fans and players, but this is the problem. If you turn around and give him a telling-off then what sort of message does that send out. That drugs are bad, mmmkay, but some drugs are more badder than others? Salbutamol (aka Ventolin) is badder than cocaine, or ecstasy, as it has more of a performance enhancing effect?
Dickie C’s Score – 3/3

The message is pretty simple, and WADA are were on the right track with their hard-line: drugs are bad mmmkay.

And therein comes the next problem. Dickie P is a good guy. He’s a hardliner, and thats what WADA and all the international governing bodies need. If you cheat, you will be banned. And it’s not like the rules are there for shits and giggles. Drugs do all sorts of nasty things to your body. That’s why they are illegal. Anabolic steroids do lots of things from shrinking your nuts to giving you boobs if you are a man and from disrupting periods to giving you a beard if you are a woman – dangerous or not, that’s hardly something I’d sign up to. Recent research suggests ecstasy causes brain damage after just a few pills. So why are WADA considering relaxing the rules? It makes no sense to me – as soon as you start making exceptions, people will start using that to bend the rules. Cocaine use as a performance enhancing stimulant will probably increase, as you’ll just get a slap on the wrist from your NGB and a £770 fine from the cops.

Richard Caborn MP, with all due respect², you are wrong

¹ I’m refering to him as Dickie C to disambiguate him from Dick Pound (head of WADA), he of silly name.
² Does anybody else find the modern usage of this phrase inappropriate as it implies respect for the position, but a complete lack of respect for the person in that position?

: 12 Dec 2006 12:28 |  Tags: Drugs Football Sepp Blatter Sport |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem