Austria To Introduce 10 Year Prison Term For Doping In Sports

[Hugh Januss]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/austria-to-introduce-doping-prison-term

In other news: All Austrian pro cyclists become German.

But seriously, over-reaction? Enforceable? A good thing? Maybe very open to selective enforcement?

 

[craig1985]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/austria-to-introduce-doping-prison-term

In other news: All Austrian pro cyclists become German.

But seriously, over-reaction? Enforceable? A good thing? Maybe very open to selective enforcement?

If they can invent a time machine, and I'm sure they will find something that will make them German or upset history to make them part of Germany.

 

[hfer07]

This idea seems to be extremely radical at first glance, but If any country is serious about anti-doping policies, this one being thought by the Austrians really targets the very root of the problem:
* to categorize a doping failure a "criminal offense"
* to make the penalties so strong to avoid the temptation of any athlete to seek those illegal methods in the first place.
*I think prison is to much, but I believe in salary/money fines for damage compensations & lifetime bans.

 

[L29205]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/austria-to-introduce-doping-prison-term

In other news: All Austrian pro cyclists become German.

But seriously, over-reaction? Enforceable? A good thing? Maybe very open to selective enforcement?

I don't know, I would suspect that it would be hard to enforce. So easy to say a Dr gave you a script in another country and that is the reason.

Good thing, yes but don't think it will be practical.

 

[tubularglue]

i shyt my pants reading that a couple minutes ago.

Longtime coming, I quess

grinning from ear to ear.

 

[pedaling squares]

Isn't enforcement done by the nation that issues the licence, not the nation of which the rider is a citizen?

 

[Kerbdog]

If anything this may influence other countries to follow suit & bring in these type of laws. Its another step in the right direction in theory although i am clueless as to how it will be implemented.

 

[42x16ss]

If this catches on just watch how long it takes for every man and his dog to be racing under a Spanish licence next year

 

[Anonymous]

Brilliant money-saving idea on the part of the Austrian government. With no pro or elite athletes among their population, they won't have to fund an Olympic team.

Genius!

 

[Ferminal]

This idea seems to be extremely radical at first glance, but If any country is serious about anti-doping policies, this one being thought by the Austrians really targets the very root of the problem:
* to categorize a doping failure a "criminal offense"
* to make the penalties so strong to avoid the temptation of any athlete to seek those illegal methods in the first place.
*I think prison is to much, but I believe in salary/money fines for damage compensations & lifetime bans.

Not really, enforcement and education are the keys, you can have the death penalty but it means nothing if such a small proportion of elite athletes get caught.

A deterrent applied to the team management would achieve greater results but it's less practical.

 

[Offtheback]

i shyt my pants reading that a couple minutes ago.

Longtime coming, I quess

grinning from ear to ear.

Why not go the Arab way and cut their legs off? God knows what you'd shyt if that happened.

 

[Not Riding Enough]

Probably won't help to encourage full confessions like Kohl in that country.

I wonder what the statute of limitations will be on this as it would also effect later partial confessions like Zabel and Riis.

It gives a very powerful reason to stay quiet. Omerata is one thing but jail for both the individual and anyone they implicate ....

 

[Cloxxki]

Why not go the Arab way and cut their legs off? God knows what you'd shyt if that happened.

I prefer a more Darwinistic approach. Cut off something else. More complicated with female racers, but there are medical solutions less dangerous than the substances they take.

Sport is business. If you con a company or consumer, you do jail time. You con a fellow athlete, joint he aforementioned.

Austria is signaling that sports penalties are not significant enough, and that crime in sports is more rewarded than penalized.

 

[Not Riding Enough]

Isn't enforcement done by the nation that issues the licence, not the nation of which the rider is a citizen?

I would think that is only for sporting sanctions and wouldn't apply to criminal.

 

[buckwheat]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/austria-to-introduce-doping-prison-term

In other news: All Austrian pro cyclists become German.

But seriously, over-reaction? Enforceable? A good thing? Maybe very open to selective enforcement?

Step in the right direction. The sentence isn't mandatory so I think the threat of jail time is very sobering and a huge deterrent.

The buck has to stop somewhere.

 

[Anonymous]

I think this is bonkers actually. Enforcing the rules of a game via the courts is a massive abuse of the criminal law.

What next? Jail time for professional fouls in football? Community service for taking a dive? They could give acting classes to underprivileged kids...

 

[Cloxxki]

I think this is bonkers actually. Enforcing the rules of a game via the courts is a massive abuse of the criminal law.

What next? Jail time for professional fouls in football? Community service for taking a dive? They could give acting classes to underprivileged kids...

So what if I cheated at the Poker Worlds, took off with millions, and used up all the money on "the good life", before I was caught? Ban me from playing poker for 2 years?

 

[Offtheback]

I prefer a more Darwinistic approach. Cut off something else. More complicated with female racers, but there are medical solutions less dangerous than the substances they take.

Sport is business. If you con a company or consumer, you do jail time. You con a fellow athlete, joint he aforementioned.

Austria is signaling that sports penalties are not significant enough, and that crime in sports is more rewarded than penalized.

Sigh, I guess my comment went over your head.

 

[Big Doopie]

I think this is bonkers actually. Enforcing the rules of a game via the courts is a massive abuse of the criminal law.

at first i might agree.

but this is not a game. huge amounts of money can be won and therefore stolen.

so much money, in fact, that you can control the very organization that is supposed to be regulating you.

also comparing it to fouling in football is simply wrong. a foul in football is committed in front of everyone and can be seen by everyone.

 

[Beech Mtn]

10 years in prison is crazy - just too much. Yes, there should be more of a penalty than a 2-year ban from sport, but not 10 years' jailtime.

I'm more in favor of long jail terms for the doctors and pseudo-doctors that administer and distribute the drugs and get rich off endangering health. Shorter jail terms for the athletes who take drugs. Maybe 6 months jailtime, with a criminal conviction on your record would be enough, and raise the current 2-year ban from sport to a 4-year ban.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

10 years is the maximum, not the minimum.

Susan

 

[Cogombre]

It's fine for me. I agree that education and enforcement would be the best way to stop doping, but it'd also be the best way to stop crime at all, and we aren't closing the prisons, are we? Since enforcement is just impossible right now, and it'd take many, many years to educate the sport, after so many years of cheating, a big deterrent like this is, imho, very suitable.

I have a doubt about this btw, and I'd be pleased if some of you could solve it. Does this act include PED suppliers as criminals with those long jail terms? Thanks

 

[B.Rasmussen]

About time that it will get punished like the fraud it is.

 

[BikeCentric]

I think this is bonkers actually. Enforcing the rules of a game via the courts is a massive abuse of the criminal law.

What next? Jail time for professional fouls in football? Community service for taking a dive? They could give acting classes to underprivileged kids...

Professional sports are not so simple anymore that they can be characterized as "just a game." Many people have careers in pro sports from the athletes themselves to management to trainers to coaches to support staff and on and on. Pro sports are a high-stakes business now with very large amounts of money to be won and lost. Sporting fraud at this level should rightly be considered a very serious offense.

All that being said, because it is a non-violent offense I would much prefer fines and bans from the sport to jail time; jail time is a bit much IMHO.

 

[Anonymous]

How is it fraud when they're all on the juice anyway?

The only people being fooled are those daft enough to believe there's anyone clean in the top echelon of pro sports.

To those people, I have this bridge you might be interested in...