Who Guards the Guardians?

Abstract

The scope of this study is to document and discuss the vulnerability of athletes in doping cases – a consequence of the lack of transparency of anti-doping science, the strict liability principle and sport's arbitration system which denies athletes the possibility to have their cases tried in a proper court. After a brief presentation of the EU Athletes' call for involvement and change, this study introduces the concept ‘corrupt idealism’ which facilitates the understanding of anti-doping authorities' credibility problem. This study shows the historical prerequisites for the evolvement of this problem and presents and discusses a couple of controversial cases which expose the uncertain and pseudo-despotic nature of the system. This study concludes that an independent body financed by the working athletes unions should be established to oversee the work of anti-doping authorities and be involved in the development and administration of the anti-doping regulations.

Keywords::

• anti-doping control
• anti-doping regulations
• corrupt idealism
• surveillance
• athletes' legal protection

Notes

^1.Christiansen and Møller, Mål medicin og moral and Hanstad and Loland, “Elite Athletes' Duty.”

^2.Palmer and Baer-Hoffmann, “WADA Code Review.”

^3. Ibid., 4.

^4. Ibid., 5.

^5.Death Penalty Information Center, “The Innocent List.”

^6.Pound, Inside the Olympics, 272.

^7. Vinton, N. “As New Alpine Season Begins, Miller Makes Himself Heard Again” (The New York Times, October 23, 2005). http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/sports/othersports/23ski.html?n = Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FM%2FMiller%2C%20Bode&_r = 0.

^8. “Bode Miller's Take On Doping In Alpine Skiing: Legalize It?” (Ski Racing Magazine, 2005). http://skiracing.com/?q = node/2998.

^9. “WADA Chief Criticizes Miller's Doping Comments” (Associated Press, 2005). http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id = 2203195.

^10.IOC, Ethics Commission, “Decision with Recommendation No. D07/01.”

^11. Hart, S. “Dick Pound: Making Enemies was Part of Job” (The Telegraph, November 11, 2007). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/drugsinsport/2325475/Dick-Pound-Making-enemies-was-part-of-job.html.

^12. “Apologise, Mr Pound” (Jamaica Observer, August 17, 2012). http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/Apologise–Mr-Pound.

^13. Wivel, K. “WADA: Lukkede circler [WADA: Closed Circles]” (Weekendavisen, April 23, 2010).

^14.Møller, The Scapegoat.

^15.Rousseau, The Social Contract, 4.

^16. Ibid., 41.

^17.Dimeo, A History of Drug Use.

^18. Ibid.

^19. Ibid.

^20.Møller, “Knud Enemark Jensen's Death.”

^21. Bøgeskov, L. “Doping-mysteriet uden løsning [The Doping Mystery Without Solution]” (Politiken –Sportsmagasinet, April 9, 2001, 12).

^22.López, “‘Drug of Mass Destruction’,” 87.

^23. Ibid., 96.

^24. Ibid.

^25. Ibid.

^26.Banfi et al., “A World Apart,” 1007.

^27.Berry, “The Science of Doping.”

^28. Ibid.

^29.Nature, “A Level Playing Field.”

^30.Sottas, Saudan, and Saugy, “Doping.”

^31. Ibid.

^32.Lundby et al., “Testing for Recombinant Human Erythropoietin,” 417.

^33.Saugy, Robinson, and Lamon, “To the Editor.”

^34. Ibid.

^35. Wivel, K. “WADA: Lukkede circler [WADA: Closed Circles]” (Weekendavisen, April 23, 2010).

^36. Ibid.

^37.Elbe, Schlegel, and Brand “Psychogenic Urine Retention”

^38.Patrick, “Passport to Clean Competition.”

^39. Ibid.

^40.WADA, “Intelligence Experts Emphasize Importance.”

^41. Hiltzik, M. “Athletes' Unbeatable Foe” (Los Angeles Times, December 10, 2006). http://articles.latimes.com/2006/dec/10/sports/sp-doping10.

^42.CAS, “CAS 2011/A/2384 UCI v. Alberto Contador Velasco & RFEC.”

^43. Ibid.

^44.CAS, “CAS 2009/A/1912 Claudia Pechstein v/International Skating Union.”

^45. Ibid.

^46. Ibid.

^47. Ibid., 30.

^48. Hellmann, F. “Interview mit Anti-Doping-Experten: ‘Pechstein past nicht in ein Epo-Profil’” (Frankfurter Rundschau, Sport, November 30, 2009).

^49. Ibid.

^50. CAS, “CAS 2009/A/1912 Claudia Pechstein v/International Skating Union,” 60.

^51.Faber, “The Strange Case.”

^52. Ibid.

^53. Ibid.

^54. Geisser, R. “Die überhörten Zweifel [The Unheard Doubt]” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, March 27, 2010).

^55. Dimeo, A History of Drug Use.

^56.Soek, The Strict Liability Principles.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Verner Møller

Verner Møller, is Professor of Sport and Body Culture at Aarhus University, Denmark. His main research interests are elite sport and body cultural extremes. He has published a number of books and articles on doping and is co-founder of the International Network of Humanistic Doping Research.