After being brought to the verge of exhaustion by reading thousands of articles and listening to endless discussions on doping, I'm suddenly very glad to come across this short blogpost at The Punch Australia which tries to propose a legal doping system under strict medical surveillance. That is of course till I find the post argument is completely wrong.
There are some good sentences there that I can't help posting into my facebook account: "It would be much easier to eliminate the anti-doping rules than to eliminate doping". Or: "The prohibition on doping puts pressure on making performance-enhancers undetectable, rather than safe". Or: "Rather than drive doping underground, the use of drugs should be permitted under medical supervision". Crystal clear statements that are usually out of the daily discourse by the media and the sports authorities.
But on the day news break of Riccardo Ricco being brought into hospital for allegedly having a self-inflicted 25-day old blood transfusion delivered after a two-year suspension for doping (with some delicious comments by his so-called trademates) one would expect something a bit -just a bit- more serious than a piece of reflection called "Let them entertain us". The whole approach -sign of the times- is biased towards entertainment, taking the spectator's view - the one from the Roman circus, one should fear. Just wondering who the lions are?
Revenues, that's what - no hard guess. TV shows, ads, race organisers, ICU moguls, French sport ministers are just (bad) actors in a supporting role. It's the bloody broadcasting system (anyone thought on taxing football crazy transfers for goodness sake instead of selling national forests?). It seems there have not been enough dead riders. The circus must go on. The ones biting the dust are cheaters, and doctors involved are a shame for the profession. Well, it shouldn't be that difficult to see sports journalists are the main cheaters here. Someone dies? A couple of homages, a handful of tears and let's get on to the new promises. TV corporations should get a two-week closure for every dead sportsman - that would perhaps start changing things.
The argument here goes around sportsmen and -women's health. Other than critisizing the evil former GDR and USSR sports systems -nowadays it's China- there could be a honest effort to reflect on the own flaws. But there are hard times for journalism these days and everyone around has a mortgage to deal with. It's so damn easy besides to follow the yellow path (take a couple of shots from angry colleagues, get some mogul on tape and that's that, a piece of brave journalism). Once there brave people in the media - now all you get is this very same people, white haired and happy not to have to start out in this awful circumstances, interviewed on double-page specials as to encourage their poor succesors.
I don't see why the real mates won't go on strike for the whole season. Let the journalists do the climbings. Let Mr McQuaid do the 200+ kms every day plus the climbings. That would be a good race to broadcast - by ukaze. The tax on crazy football transfers may well pay the well-deserved salaries (if it were just for bearing with so much hypocrisy).
Please do get better Riccardo, and do write on the issue (a book if possible, not interviews) - not revenging, nor apologising. Just the way it goes. Why is bloody wikileaks ignoring the real problems in democracies and just dealing with politics instead?
