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(2) of harm to young athletes including child abuse;
(3) of parents killing each other on behalf of their children; and of children
taking performance enhancing drugs; and,
(4) of athletes breaching their promises (contracts) or who refuse to sign,
despite the rules of their respective leagues/federations, in order that they
may achieve selfish goals regardless of others — either other athletes or
team-mates.
We have argued that the ethics and practices of the business and entertainment
world had "intruded" into elite level sports and that such influence was often
incompatible with the concept of sport.
The Outsider is continually being informed (or misinformed) by headlines with
regard to the practice of the business and entertainment model. Such is the power
of media and media sensationalism.
The Outsider will be inundated with stories of athletes using performance
enhancement DRUGS such as EPO, marijuana, nandrolone and anabolic steroids.
We have experienced the Ben Johnson Scandal of Seoul in 1988; the Mark Maguire
Story of 2000 and most recently the Tour de France of last summer. The observer
will note a double standard in relation to paradoxes in sport, where such & such
is banned and in other sports where it is allowed. Dr Andrew Pipe summarises
the problem well:
"The phenomenon of drugs in sport sprang up in part because as physicians,
scientists and health professionals we ignored a reality that was growing in our
midst. We heard no evil, saw no evil, and spoke no evil. As a consequence of
our silence, our indifference or more harshly, our negligence, the use of drugs to
accentuate athletic performance became deeply embedded within the sub-culture
of some sports."
A recent Investigative Reports program called "Dying to Win" (2000) suggested
that most athletes at the top level are using banned substances. A study by Melia,
Pipes and Wilmore (1996) suggested that an estimated 83,000 children from
11-18 in Canada, report using or having used anabolic steroids. Worse is the
estimate that up to 21% of users has reported obtaining the drugs through medical
channels (Buckley et al, 1988).
Understandably, the Outsider will become sceptical about honesty, integrity
and trust in sports.
The Outsider will hear of deliberate breaches of trust within organisations
and will learn that those in organisations have betrayed our collective trust. The
Outsider will question: 'How can we trust sports when those that administer
the sports engage in dishonest practices?'
Some of you know may know of the Graeme James affair and the Gordon
Stuccles stories. Evidence suggests that such behaviour may be widespread but
not reported. A 1995 Canadian survey (reported at the 1999 Professional Skaters
Association conference) revealed that 80% of athletes were aware of sexual abuse
and harassment issues. Twenty-one percent of athletes in a survey reported
having experienced sexual intercourse with an authority figure. Why?
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