UK Athletics, the British Olympic Association and a hundred and one other related bodies have been in the media recently de-crying the activities of drugs cheats. Whilst the topic has been bubbling under the surface of most professional sports for decades, with a few volcanic eruptions, we may have just bourne witness to the bravest PR offensive from a convicted cheat yet.
Ben Johnson's Seoul Olympics disgrace, Tom Simpson's mountain death, the Tour de France Festina scandal; these are all epoch defining moments, which provoked sporting communities and the public at large to shake an angry fist in the direction of the dopers. It seems however that Dwain Chambers hasn't studied his part in this little pantomime and like a rogue Widow Twanky is courting controversy to try and gain the approval of his public.
The facts are these: Dwain took Human Growth Hormone and was caught, stripped of medals and money, and handed a two year ban from athletics. Upon seeing out his ban Dwain attempted a comeback, and failed, and is now attempting another. The problem is that the UK athletics bodies and promoters don't want to tarnish their brands through association with Mr Chambers and so are taking action through the courts to try and ban him from the sport.
They tried to ensure that he couldn't be selected for the World Indoor Championships and failed and now Dwain is undertaking legal proceedings to enable his participation in the Olympics. Through all of this, he has utilised the press to apply pressure for his cause, winning the support of some rent-a-quote former athletes like Fatima Whitbread. The sad thing is that it seems to be working. An alliance of slighted drugs cheats are all turning on the governing bodies that made them stars, to try and extend their careers.
The big steam-roller of an argument being used by the rebel alliance to support their continued involvement is that promoters and governing bodies are preventing them from continuing their careers, after they have served their sentences - and apparently this is illegal. I'm sorry??!
I'm not trying to be controversial but surely that's like saying that school teachers with a penchant for children should be allowed back into the classroom after being released from their jail cell? What's needed is a strong combined PR offensive from all major athletes and governing bodies to drive the cheats out and restore some of the public's faith in the system.
To think, I was once looking forward to Beijing......
