http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_...nited-front-agencies-authorities-deter-doping
It was a rare non-courtroom public appearance for Novitzky, who has been at the forefront of the recent, ongoing investigation of Lance Armstrong and other figures in professional cycling. Novitzky didn't go anywhere near the Armstrong case in his remarks last week, but he did address in general terms a topic targeted by critics during prosecutions of high-profile athletes such as baseball players Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens and Olympic track star Marion Jones.
"What is the federal government doing involved in these cases?" Novitzky asked rhetorically. "Sports doping is not illegal. Other activities that go along with it are."
(USADA CEO Travis Tygart, who moderated the panel discussion, noted that the U.S. government also has a mandate to advance anti-doping efforts through a global UNESCO treaty signed in 2008.)
Novitzky outlined the boilerplate reasoning for the FDA's involvement -- the fact that many PEDs, such as the designer steroids unearthed in BALCO, are "dangerous, unapproved drugs that haven't been tested on anybody." Such drugs become "trend-setters," Novitzky said, obtained first by elite athletes, then dribbled out into the general population.
Then Novitzky cited a factor behind these investigations that's more difficult to quantify.
"I personally have had the unfortunate experience of speaking to parents of kids who are no longer with us because of use or aftereffects of use of steroids," he said. "They told me the reason they were doing that was because they were looking up to their role models."
A few minutes later, Novitzky addressed what he called the "myth" that doping is necessarily a function of personality.
"I've had, in the last 10 years, a really unique opportunity in a very unique setting to have dozens and dozens and dozens of very candid discussions with users of these drugs," Novitzky said. "Most of the time, most of these athletes were very, very candid with me about what they were doing, why they were doing it, how much they were doing ...
"I've talked with people in certain sports that [say], 'You know, we don't have a drug problem in our sport, our athletes are good people.' A majority of the athletes that I spoke with, I consider they were pretty good people. They were good people that made bad decisions."
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram