THE decision by the Sports Arbitration Court to allow convicted drug cheats, such as Dwain Chambers, to compete in future Olympics is a retrograde step (Echo, May 2). A two year ban is a feeble substitute.
The mentality of the drug cheat has always confused me, who are they cheating but themselves? There may be occasions when they escape detection but this does not obviate the fact that every morning when he or she looks into the mirror the face of a fraud looks back.
The crime of the drug cheat is that it is disadvantageous to the fortunes of the clean athlete.
This was clearly shown at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 when Ben Johnson charged to a steroid-assisted victory in the 100 metres. The chief victim of Johnson’s cheating was the American Carl Lewis and it would have been scant consolation to him to hear of his rival’s subsequent disqualifications.
The behaviour of Johnson emphasised the need to protect clean athletes. It is for their sake that drug cheats should be banned for life from athletic competition, anything less is an abdication of our responsibilities to all athletes and sport itself.
D Parker, Bishop Auckland.
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