What to do

[buckwheat]

I think most people's stance against doping in sport has to do with the cheating aspect, and hence a "moralistic" perspective, than as a public health threat (although one could classify this as 'moralistic too'--but I get your point).

I disapprove of the corruption and the culture of omertà surrounding doping in cycling, more than I do of an athlete taking health risks. What one chooses to put into their bodies (or not to put in) is their responsibility. It would simply be nice to have everything exposed, just to see the faces of people who have been believing in the myths for years suddenly confront reality.

Doping is just one aspect of widespread cultural self deception. I don't have much hope for it being curtailed unless the biggest of the big are exposed as frauds. Even then, people have short memories or don't even care for that matter.

Look at breast implants, hairpieces, plastic surgery, steroid enhance physiques. Who are they fooling? Do they even care? Does anyone care?

 

[rhubroma]

"To the victor, the spoils"
..... it is not just financial, it is social standing, recognition, and even the plain thrill of being successful - those incentives will always be there in every aspect of life.

If the incentives were just purely financial then the easy solution would be massive financial penalties.

True...veni, vedi, vinci. Well that it may not be entirely financial, is only partially true. To be sure the social aspect of doping exists, however, the finance of sport creates the environment in which those basic drives and instincts to obtain glory find most fertile development.

Many athletes arrive at doping because the financial stakes (and, yes, the personal glory, fame, etc.) are so high, and the competition to receive them so rigorous, that to not dope becomes rather unwise.

My point is that human nature is not as persuasive in leading to doping as the economic aspect of sport is, especially in an age of hyper-inflated salaries and sponsorship deals. Take away those finances and I'll bet you have a radically modified culture. The problem, once again, is that without those finances the culture itself wouldn't exist. Modern doping is melded into the increased financial sums that have continued to be poured into all sports since the 70's and 80's and of the growing power of commercial television to generate the myth of sport "events": from the olympics, to the World Cup, the Super Bowl and even the Tour de France. To me this seems like the most logical place to contemplate where the underlying cause "causarem cognitio" is to be found, and what must be fought first, even before the human nature issues.

 

[buckwheat]

True...veni, vedi, vinci. Well that it may not be entirely financial, is only partially true. To be sure the social aspect of doping exists, however, the finance of sport creates the environment in which those basic drives and instincts to obtain glory find most fertile development.

Many athletes arrive at doping because the financial stakes (and, yes, the personal glory, fame, etc.) are so high, and the competition to receive them so rigorous, that to not dope becomes rather unwise.

My point is that human nature is not as persuasive in leading to doping as the economic aspect of sport is, especially in an age of hyper-inflated salaries and sponsorship deals. Take away those finances and I'll bet you have a radically modified culture. The problem, once again, is that without those finances the culture itself wouldn't exist. Modern doping is melded into the increased financial sums that have continued to be poured into all sports since the 70's and 80's and of the growing power of commercial television to generate the myth of sport "events": from the olympics, to the World Cup, the Super Bowl and even the Tour de France. To me this seems like the most logical place to contemplate where the underlying cause "causarem cognitio" is to be found, and what must be fought first, even before the human nature issues.

Yes, very few professional athletes of the '70's and before could live off the spoils. They had to keep working after their retirement.