tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5197898174856470934.post486542383841114311..comments2023-06-20T00:53:22.231-07:00Comments on Run, Swim, Throw, Cheat: How long should “drugs cheats” be banned?profchriscooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413479161943662975noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5197898174856470934.post-14014877281166692013-01-29T23:59:53.355-08:002013-01-29T23:59:53.355-08:00The bans are standardised for sports that come und...The bans are standardised for sports that come under the WADA umbrella i.e. basically all Olympic sports. The governing bodies impose them, but WADA can appeal a ruling if they consider it too lenient (as happened with Alberto Contador when WADA and UCI appealed against a ruling by the Spanish cycling federation). Professional boxing (not amateur), NFL and baseball can set their own rules.profchriscooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14413479161943662975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5197898174856470934.post-52867197516135935632013-01-29T23:50:43.689-08:002013-01-29T23:50:43.689-08:00Do you know the length of bans in different sports...Do you know the length of bans in different sports for drug abuse? i.e. NFL, Baseball, Soccer, Tennis, Boxing, Athletics?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04591349167192653752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5197898174856470934.post-7282026169664576742012-06-24T08:04:42.984-07:002012-06-24T08:04:42.984-07:00I am not convinced about the premise of this quest...I am not convinced about the premise of this question. There is no scientific consensus as to whether treating "normal" children with growth hormone actually increases their height - let alone that this is performance enhancing. The consensus is that there is a short term growth spurt, but the long term end point is controversial. So in practical terms I don't feel it is necessary for sport to address this question. <br /><br />Theoretically it is intriguing, however, Let's say growth hormone did work and could make a normal sprinter into a Usain Bolt type. My gut feeling is that if there is such an effect decisions would be taken based on how comfortable society felt about this. I think in the UK, we would look askance at a parent paying $30,000 to increase the height of a child who was only a bit short. In other countries this may be viewed differently. I personally (my reserved UK upbringing) do feel uncomfortable with the idea. But I think there is no practical way of penalising people BEFORE they start competing except to use the analogy from gender testing. If sport felt the treatment was inappropriate then that person would be banned from competitive sport completely as they had a long term unfair advantage (just like a male competing against female athletes). <br /><br />I suspect if it is ever scientifically proven that anabolic steroid treatment has real long term benefits after the treatment has been stopped (the so called muscle remodelling theory) then similar arguments might be used for lifetime bans.<br /><br />Thanks for the question<br /><br />Chris Cooperprofchriscooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14413479161943662975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5197898174856470934.post-66112291840243922812012-06-24T05:51:20.254-07:002012-06-24T05:51:20.254-07:00How do you assess the appropriate penalty for athl...How do you assess the appropriate penalty for athletes who are overgrown due to abuse of growth hormone in their developmental years? To be sure, the physical advantages gained over clean athletes are permanent.michlobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07784790145941143884noreply@blogger.com