T
Tom Grosman
Guest
The reason doping continues to go on despite everyone collectively agreeing
that it (or at least the scandals associated with it ) are greatly damaging
the sport is because on an indivual level those who dope have no incentive
to come clean about past doping activities unless they are caught, and in
fact have every incentive not to. Without an incentive to come clean, they
also have no incentive to give it up, especially the winners who dope, since
it may be or they may feel it is necessary for their success. And as long as
a non-trivial percentage of winners dope, doping will continue to be seen as
being needed to win, and will be widespread within the peloton. The whole
peloton has to reform at once, but each individual has to make that choice
for himself.
The best and most foolproof way to find people who are doping is is to get
them to confess to it. With that in mind, I propose a complete amnesty for
all past doping offenses as of Dec 31 2007. You get to keep riding, you get
to keep your trophys, you don't get sued by anybody BUT you have to give a
complete and detailed confession.
If you don't confess and it later comes out that you were doping before Dec
31 2007, you are banned for life from professional racing AND are open to
all legal penalties. If you are someone who confessed and you are found to
be doping again after Dec 31 2007, you get a stiffer sanction than someone
who had never doped (between double penalty and banned for life.)
With all the investigations, retroactive testing using newly invented tests,
tell-all books, people ratting each other out to save their skins, those
that are doping must be living in a continual fear that their number will
come up. In addition, I doubt that athletes WANT to dope, but they feel that
they HAVE to dope. Giving them a chance to turn the page and to do it as
part of the entire peloton, rather than just one person under the press's
microscope with only negative rewards for doing so may be the carrot and
stick necessary to finally put a significant bite into cycling's doping.
-Tom
that it (or at least the scandals associated with it ) are greatly damaging
the sport is because on an indivual level those who dope have no incentive
to come clean about past doping activities unless they are caught, and in
fact have every incentive not to. Without an incentive to come clean, they
also have no incentive to give it up, especially the winners who dope, since
it may be or they may feel it is necessary for their success. And as long as
a non-trivial percentage of winners dope, doping will continue to be seen as
being needed to win, and will be widespread within the peloton. The whole
peloton has to reform at once, but each individual has to make that choice
for himself.
The best and most foolproof way to find people who are doping is is to get
them to confess to it. With that in mind, I propose a complete amnesty for
all past doping offenses as of Dec 31 2007. You get to keep riding, you get
to keep your trophys, you don't get sued by anybody BUT you have to give a
complete and detailed confession.
If you don't confess and it later comes out that you were doping before Dec
31 2007, you are banned for life from professional racing AND are open to
all legal penalties. If you are someone who confessed and you are found to
be doping again after Dec 31 2007, you get a stiffer sanction than someone
who had never doped (between double penalty and banned for life.)
With all the investigations, retroactive testing using newly invented tests,
tell-all books, people ratting each other out to save their skins, those
that are doping must be living in a continual fear that their number will
come up. In addition, I doubt that athletes WANT to dope, but they feel that
they HAVE to dope. Giving them a chance to turn the page and to do it as
part of the entire peloton, rather than just one person under the press's
microscope with only negative rewards for doing so may be the carrot and
stick necessary to finally put a significant bite into cycling's doping.
-Tom
