war on doping

IAAF (The International Association of Athletics Federations) president Lamine Diack said on the governing body's Web site: "Although it is a matter of deep regret that one of the biggest stars of our sport is facing serious doping charges, I would take this opportunity to emphasize the IAAF's total commitment to the fight against doping.
"In order to defend the credibility of our sport, we will engage all our efforts, in co-operation with partners such as USADA, to defend the majority of athletes who are clean, against those who break our anti-doping rules."

you may think that this is another post about Mr. Barry Bonds, but it's not. This post is actually about the 100-metre co-world record holder Justin Gatlin (he's also an olympic gold medalist in sprinting).


I personally feel that there's no indication that Brother Gatlin has been doping at all. I may even write him a letter suggesting that he contact the ACLU to see if they can investigate whether his civil liberties have been trampled on. Gatlin has accepted that something out of the ordinary was found in a recent drug test, but can't explain why the unordinary substance was found. His coach took a daring step and alleged that it was Gatlins masseur (whom apparently has a diabolical vendeta against Gatlin) that rubbed the steroid cream into Gatlin's legs without Gatlin knowing it. I think that's a buyable story, I mean someone is to blame right? We all know the masseus had opportunity, and apparently motive. I just have a hard time overlooking the fact that Gatlin's coach Trevor Graham has been involved with "at least a half-dozen other athletes who have received drug suspensions" (quoted from http://www.tsn.ca/olympics/news_story/?ID=173084&hubname= )

All in all, this whole story leaves me wondering if the IAAF's "war on doping" will be as effective as the USA's War on Drugs, or War on Terror have been. For the sake of all humanity, let's hope so.