Comment

Comment by Dan Rasmussen on August 25, 2009 at 5:21pm

Yes I think the athletes should be treated with respect until confirmed guilty. But... when they really are proven cheaters I think the penalties could be harder. And, as you say, more than today involve the responsible leaders. There's no doubt some athletes acctually don't know what kind of substances they are given. They just trust their trainers and the med staff. Blue eyed as it can sound. Of course that's no excuse but the leaders should defintely be punished too.

But when you look at sports like cycling you really get a bit disillusioned lol. I love cycling and have followed the Pro Tour for many years, bloging about it etc. I don't know why I continue to do that since the sport is so totally destroyed by cheaters. I think life bans for confirmed cheaters is the only way there, to find a way to start all over. I've been waiting for years to see a natural reaction from the sponsors (which is another way to change the sport, in this case for the better). Since their brands obviosely are damaged when connected to drugs and cheating. But the reaction has, with a few exceptions, been very lame so far.

Well Arsenal at least invested in Freddie Ljungberg lol. But I agree. The clubs lose their souls completely. I mean what is really the team you love if not the squad? The old and present players. It's not the (temporarily) hired manager. Hardly the owners without any connection to the local area. Maybe the brand of course, but the players are the core of the brand. In another way this "evolution" hurts some old clubs unable to keep their young talents because of the price cheques they are too poor to reject.