BUSTED

No, this is not about some corrupt politician who was found to have his hand in the cookie jar (or our back pocket). And yes, this is not about Houston sports but it is something that we can all relate to.

This is about the cheating in sports. It has been said many times that it is only cheating if you get caught. Well, we are seeing more and more people being busted for cheating these days than ever before, and in almost every sport -- from NASCAR to football (college and pro) to corrupted NBA officials, to MLB players being busted for steroids and other drugs, and even to professional cycling. I can hear the comments from all of you now. What is the big deal? Bike riders getting busted for cheating? Well, it is that the Tour de France is proof positive that if individuals are desperate enough they will do whatever they can to win. Look at who has been busted: Patrick Sinkewitz, Cristian Moreni, Michael Rasmussen, and Alexandre Vinokourov. Now most people would not know these names if they had not been in the news. Rasmussen was on his way to winning the tour, and had first place sewn up as long as he remained upright on his bike. Vinokourov was supposed to be one of the contenders; however, after an accident left him with stitches in both knees and for all reasonable discussion out of contention, being busted for doping after his wondrous stage victory and time trial victory two days apart, makes everyone wonder about his other performances. The one thing that I will applaud the French on is the fact that they are doing everything they can to be transparent with their testing and at least try to keep the race clean. That being said, until the punishment for cheating gets to the point that careers are threatened there will always be people who push the limit and try to "examine each rule and see what it does not say".

I could sit here and rant about the failing moral fiber of humanity in general, or complain about the fact that cheaters never win, or some other pablum that would have everyone sitting back looking to go to another post. I chose not to do that because it is an individual decision that is made by EVERY PERSON every day. You and I must sit down and decide if we are going to follow the rules. Are we going to run that red light? Are we going to drive five or ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit? We have to decide if we are going to be honest about the change that was given to us by the cashier. We as individuals have to make those sorts of decisions every day, and for the most part we do fairly well. So before we sit here and condemn these gentlemen as well as those in other sports that have been caught cheating, we need to take a look at our own behavior and at ourselves. Would I do something like that in order to be considered the best at what I do?

Please do not get confused here and think that I am condoning these acts of cheating. I am not. Nor am I placing these four riders in the same category as Michael Vick, Pac Man Jones, Tim Donaghy, Rafael Palmiero, or Tank Johnson. Nor are these men in with the likes of Jason Giambi, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, or Sammy Sosa. Vick and those listed with him have been accused of or convicted of felonies; they are criminals and need to be treated as such. Bonds and those listed with him are suspected of cheating but have never been caught -- well, other than Sosa and his corked bat, but he served his penalty for getting caught. No. These four riders are cheaters. They have been caught and will pay the price. For some it will end their careers, for others it may force them into some other profession and away from what they love and do so well, at which point they need to ask themselves if it was worth it. They have to live with the consequences of their actions, just as you or I do.

Stories on the Tour de France:

Story 1

Story 2

Tour History of Doping

Story 3

Posted by bweldon @ 07/26/07 10:51 AM | Print | Comments (0)

Bad Sports Home

Trackback

Unfortunately, abusive spammers have forced us to disable incoming trackback pings. The Technorati link should list related posts. Feel free to drop us an email if you've linked a post and would like to let us know about it.