VICTOR CONTE - THE TRUTH EVERYONE REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE
In recent days, the press around the world has been captivated by recent events associated with Victor Conte and the BALCO scandal. Sportswriters have extensively reported the revelations and disclosures made by Conte in his recent article in ESPN the Magazine and his sensationalistic interview on ABC’s 20/20 last Friday night.
Conte promised to tell viewers the "truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." While he may have embellished some truths, omitted others and dodged his own motivations behind revealing these truths, his 20/20 interview was indeed bursting with truths.
FAKE OUTRAGE
Unfortunately, the truths most people focused on were disclosures of drug use by Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and other elite athletes. Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery used illegal anabolic steroids! Gasp! The shock, the horror, the indignation, the outrage.
Please.
At the risk of overestimating the intelligence of the general public, I’m going out on a limb and say that there is no way people can continue to be so blatantly ignorant and embarrassingly naïve. Most intelligent people assumed or at least suspected that the vast majority of elite athletes are and have been using performance-enhancing drugs. The "largest drug scandal in the history of sports" only provides further confirmation of the fact that athletes use drugs and drug testing does not work.
REWIND
Do you remember when Ben Johnson beating Carl Lewis in the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Oympics in a world-record time? Of course, he was subsequently stripped of the gold medal after testing positive for stanozolol. It was infamously known as largest drug scandal in sports history prior to handing over the title to BALCO.
The public was outraged. The government was outraged. The government reclassified steroids as controlled substances shortly thereafter - effectively stating steroids were as dangerous/addictive as cocaine and amphetamines. All in an effort to eliminate drugs in sport; to create a level playing field; to protect the integrity of sports; and of course to protect our children.
And we all know that worked like charm! Right.
Which brings us to the present, 15 years post Ben Johnson. Drug use in elite sports is as prevalent as it ever has been. The availability of anabolic steroid is higher than ever. So, it’s no surprise that the BALCO scandal has entered in the national discussion. The government is outraged again. The government recently expanded the Anabolic Steroid Control Act to include more drugs, additional penalties, and increased funding for anti-steroid propaganda. Furthermore, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is threatening to expand government responsibility to include drug testing in sports. Are we headed toward a socialistic approach towards doping as seen in European countries, such as Italy? Let's hope not.
The BALCO scandal has been percolating for 15 months. It finally exploded into our living rooms Friday night with steroid use in sports personified by Victor Conte.
Déjà vu. The Ben Johnson scandal all over again. Except this time it’s the Victor Conte show. (Is it any surprise that Johnson’s former coach, Charlie Francis, was directly involved with Conte in the BALCO scandal?)
THE REAL RULES OF THE GAME
Back to Conte’s interview on 20/20. Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and other athletes used illegal performance enhancing drugs. Big deal.
I want to focus on what I believe to be the most significant "truth" of Conte’s 20/20 interview. It has nothing to do with who was using what drug. It is the truth that few people want to entertain. The truth that has been readily dismissed as intellectual and morally empty.
When asked about the legitimacy of world records set by athletes using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, Conte replies "if it was achieved using the exact same playing field as the previous record, and the previous record, and the previous record, then it is legitimate because you're competing with the same terms and conditions." He helped his athletes compete on the same level playing field as everyone else following the "real rules of the game," as he called them.
Charlie Francis supports his former collaborator: "Steroids are so ubiquitous, so omnipresent and have been for decades. When you realize the true extent of it, then things are as they appear. There is a level playing field out there. It just isn't the playing field you thought it was."
We may not like the "real rules of the game" but they have been in effect for some time. I would go further and state that the use of performance enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, have been the BEST thing in sports in terms of leveling the playing field.
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
If the World Anti-Doping Agency and its U.S. counterpart were to create an absolutely foolproof drug testing program that would detect any and all illegal drug use for the past 5 years, would this level the playing field?
Absolutely not. In fact, this would be the worst possible thing for creating a level playing field if that is the stated goal.
Sport discriminates against the genetically average. Drug use makes sport success less dependent on the randomness of genetic chance. Winners would no longer be limited by genetic chance but would be determined by their dedication, determination, intelligence and rational choice. The athlete who displayed the best combination of effort, training, nutrition, genetics, and selection of performance enhancing drugs would be more likely to win.
THE NATURE OF ELITE SPORTS
Victor Conte has worked with elite athletes. He understands elite athletes:
"I realized elite sport is about doing what you have to do to win. I've seen athletes being forced to decide whether to use or not use, and it's much more painful for them to entertain the idea of giving up their dream than to use anabolic steroids. That's what's really going on. That's the choice athletes face when they get to the very top."
Elite sports is about performance and competition. It is not a game. The spirit of sport has long been embodied by the Olympic slogan. "Citius, altius, fortius" is a Latin phrase meaning "swifter, higher, stronger." Note that there are no qualifiers or exceptions made.
Dr. Bob Goldman asked 198 Olympic caliber athletes several years ago:
1. Given the choice of taking a drug with a certain effect (certain win) and no probability of being caught, would they take the drug? 195 said YES. Only 3 said no.
2. If the same situation could be repeated over 5 consecutive years but with certain death caused by the drug side effects after the 5 years, would the athletes still take the drug? Over 50% said yes.
Elite athletes will do whatever it takes to achieve elite performances. This is the nature of competition. This is the indisputable nature of sports.
THE FUTURE OF SPORTS
If the general public does not like this, then they should renounce athletes as role models and stop financially supporting professional sports. But while drug use in sports ‘concerns’ most people, it doesn’t concern them enough to stop attending/watching sporting events. In fact, surveys consistently show that a significant percentage of the populations simply does not care. Many would use banned substances if they themselves were elite athletes presented with such a choice.
The crusade against drugs in sports has failed. And it will continue to fail. And most people don’t care.
Steroids won.
It’s time to move on.
Is this a bad thing? No! It’s a good thing. Perhaps (although unlikely), we can finally acknowledge the "real rules" of sports by changing the rules in elite sports to include drugs. Eliminate the hypocrisy.
This is the ONLY way to legitimize sports.
Medically-supervised doping, anyone?
In recent days, the press around the world has been captivated by recent events associated with Victor Conte and the BALCO scandal. Sportswriters have extensively reported the revelations and disclosures made by Conte in his recent article in ESPN the Magazine and his sensationalistic interview on ABC’s 20/20 last Friday night.
Conte promised to tell viewers the "truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." While he may have embellished some truths, omitted others and dodged his own motivations behind revealing these truths, his 20/20 interview was indeed bursting with truths.
FAKE OUTRAGE
Unfortunately, the truths most people focused on were disclosures of drug use by Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and other elite athletes. Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery used illegal anabolic steroids! Gasp! The shock, the horror, the indignation, the outrage.
Please.
At the risk of overestimating the intelligence of the general public, I’m going out on a limb and say that there is no way people can continue to be so blatantly ignorant and embarrassingly naïve. Most intelligent people assumed or at least suspected that the vast majority of elite athletes are and have been using performance-enhancing drugs. The "largest drug scandal in the history of sports" only provides further confirmation of the fact that athletes use drugs and drug testing does not work.
REWIND
Do you remember when Ben Johnson beating Carl Lewis in the 100m at the 1988 Seoul Oympics in a world-record time? Of course, he was subsequently stripped of the gold medal after testing positive for stanozolol. It was infamously known as largest drug scandal in sports history prior to handing over the title to BALCO.
The public was outraged. The government was outraged. The government reclassified steroids as controlled substances shortly thereafter - effectively stating steroids were as dangerous/addictive as cocaine and amphetamines. All in an effort to eliminate drugs in sport; to create a level playing field; to protect the integrity of sports; and of course to protect our children.
And we all know that worked like charm! Right.
Which brings us to the present, 15 years post Ben Johnson. Drug use in elite sports is as prevalent as it ever has been. The availability of anabolic steroid is higher than ever. So, it’s no surprise that the BALCO scandal has entered in the national discussion. The government is outraged again. The government recently expanded the Anabolic Steroid Control Act to include more drugs, additional penalties, and increased funding for anti-steroid propaganda. Furthermore, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is threatening to expand government responsibility to include drug testing in sports. Are we headed toward a socialistic approach towards doping as seen in European countries, such as Italy? Let's hope not.
The BALCO scandal has been percolating for 15 months. It finally exploded into our living rooms Friday night with steroid use in sports personified by Victor Conte.
Déjà vu. The Ben Johnson scandal all over again. Except this time it’s the Victor Conte show. (Is it any surprise that Johnson’s former coach, Charlie Francis, was directly involved with Conte in the BALCO scandal?)
THE REAL RULES OF THE GAME
Back to Conte’s interview on 20/20. Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and other athletes used illegal performance enhancing drugs. Big deal.
I want to focus on what I believe to be the most significant "truth" of Conte’s 20/20 interview. It has nothing to do with who was using what drug. It is the truth that few people want to entertain. The truth that has been readily dismissed as intellectual and morally empty.
When asked about the legitimacy of world records set by athletes using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, Conte replies "if it was achieved using the exact same playing field as the previous record, and the previous record, and the previous record, then it is legitimate because you're competing with the same terms and conditions." He helped his athletes compete on the same level playing field as everyone else following the "real rules of the game," as he called them.
Charlie Francis supports his former collaborator: "Steroids are so ubiquitous, so omnipresent and have been for decades. When you realize the true extent of it, then things are as they appear. There is a level playing field out there. It just isn't the playing field you thought it was."
We may not like the "real rules of the game" but they have been in effect for some time. I would go further and state that the use of performance enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, have been the BEST thing in sports in terms of leveling the playing field.
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
If the World Anti-Doping Agency and its U.S. counterpart were to create an absolutely foolproof drug testing program that would detect any and all illegal drug use for the past 5 years, would this level the playing field?
Absolutely not. In fact, this would be the worst possible thing for creating a level playing field if that is the stated goal.
Sport discriminates against the genetically average. Drug use makes sport success less dependent on the randomness of genetic chance. Winners would no longer be limited by genetic chance but would be determined by their dedication, determination, intelligence and rational choice. The athlete who displayed the best combination of effort, training, nutrition, genetics, and selection of performance enhancing drugs would be more likely to win.
THE NATURE OF ELITE SPORTS
Victor Conte has worked with elite athletes. He understands elite athletes:
"I realized elite sport is about doing what you have to do to win. I've seen athletes being forced to decide whether to use or not use, and it's much more painful for them to entertain the idea of giving up their dream than to use anabolic steroids. That's what's really going on. That's the choice athletes face when they get to the very top."
Elite sports is about performance and competition. It is not a game. The spirit of sport has long been embodied by the Olympic slogan. "Citius, altius, fortius" is a Latin phrase meaning "swifter, higher, stronger." Note that there are no qualifiers or exceptions made.
Dr. Bob Goldman asked 198 Olympic caliber athletes several years ago:
1. Given the choice of taking a drug with a certain effect (certain win) and no probability of being caught, would they take the drug? 195 said YES. Only 3 said no.
2. If the same situation could be repeated over 5 consecutive years but with certain death caused by the drug side effects after the 5 years, would the athletes still take the drug? Over 50% said yes.
Elite athletes will do whatever it takes to achieve elite performances. This is the nature of competition. This is the indisputable nature of sports.
THE FUTURE OF SPORTS
If the general public does not like this, then they should renounce athletes as role models and stop financially supporting professional sports. But while drug use in sports ‘concerns’ most people, it doesn’t concern them enough to stop attending/watching sporting events. In fact, surveys consistently show that a significant percentage of the populations simply does not care. Many would use banned substances if they themselves were elite athletes presented with such a choice.
The crusade against drugs in sports has failed. And it will continue to fail. And most people don’t care.
Steroids won.
It’s time to move on.
Is this a bad thing? No! It’s a good thing. Perhaps (although unlikely), we can finally acknowledge the "real rules" of sports by changing the rules in elite sports to include drugs. Eliminate the hypocrisy.
This is the ONLY way to legitimize sports.
Medically-supervised doping, anyone?
