Sport and the Law: Dwain Chambers and David Millar

There is an excellent quote from The Simpson’s in the episode when Springfield is chosen to host the Olympic Games. The Head of the IOC delivers a speech to the people declaring:

“People! People! Please. You are forgetting what the Olympics are all about. Giving out medals of beautiful gold, so-so silver and shameful bronze.”

In fact, the iconic British broadcaster David Coleman in his commentary of the 400m hurdle final in Mexico 1968 famously said: “Who cares who’s third?” unaware that Britain had picked up gold and bronze.

As the spotlight turns to London this summer, athletes will be looking to take home the medal that they have always dreamed to win. Years of practice can be rewarded or destroyed in a matter of seconds. The precedents set by the likes of Usain Bolt or Michael Johnson only add to that desire. It is unfortunate that some athletes are willing to overstep the mark to achieve those dreams.

Chambers

Athletics is a sport that has been tarnished by drugs cheats down the years. No one forgets the industrial scale doping within East Germany and the stripping of Ben Johnson’s 100m gold medal in Seoul. Many have retold their story and tried to qualify their reasons for substance abuse, yet it still does not seem to restore their integrity.

The Court of Arbitration will soon be ruling whether the British Olympic Association’s (BOA) lifetime ban on athletes found guilty for drug use can be upheld. In late 2011, the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) ruled that British sprinter Dwain Chambers, who has served a two –year ban for the banned substance THG, should be able to compete if he meets the necessary qualification time. They ruled that the BOA’s lifetime ban was ‘non-compliant’ with the WADA code. The ruling in Lausanne will see whether the BOA’s belief that the presence of athletes who deliberately cheat within Team GB would damage team morale, atmosphere and cohesion.

If the BOA loses, it may also see the cyclist David Millar able to compete.

The interesting debate between the two sides is the argument of whether it is in the legal interest or the sporting interest. If an athlete has served a ban for drug misuse then should they be able to compete on legal grounds or not compete for ethical purposes?

Millar

Both Millar and Chambers have competed in other events since their return to sport and both have done the media rounds and written books to exert their contrition. However, maybe it is only in the reactions of men or women who have competed against cheats that we should derive our judgement. The former British sprinter Darren Campbell was stripped of his 4 x 100m relay gold in the 2002 European Championships after Chambers’ positive drug test. Likewise, Michael Johnson was forced to hand back his 1999 World Championship and 2000 Olympic gold’s in the 4 x 400m relay after Antonio Pettigrew and Jerome Young were found guilty of substance abuse. These honest athletes were cheated out of medals themselves and forced to bear the indignity thereafter.

The CAS may overrule the BOA meaning both Millar and Chambers are legally eligible to compete. We shall see what reaction they receive from the fans; legally cleared, but morally never.

Gatlin

I have written about drugs in sport in previous blogs and wanted to reiterate something that has come to my attention this morning. Some of you will be aware of the return of Justin Gatlin to the 100 metres circuit this week, Gatlin who won the 2004 Olympic 100m gold and picked up bronze in the 200m. In 2006, Gatlin was banned from the sport for recording a high level of testosterone in his blood sample.

Gatlin was not stripped of any his medals from his previous achievements, but listening to an interview with him this morning he seemed completely unfazed and unaccountable to how he could have been banned from the sport and at what point he could have taken any drugs. (It is believed it was massaged into his thigh by a physio) Despite my dislike for cheats and the blame on others, it is meritable to point out that the likes of Dwain Chambers and Tim Montgomery have admitted their collusion and importantly their wrongs. Montgomery is currently serving time in prison under a four-year sentence and Chambers of course is racing again after several years out but will never compete in the Olympics. It will a disgrace to see someone like Gatlin racing in London at the 2012 games.

Dwain Chambers: Hollow Victory

I am one of those people who distrust those who question the value of sport or scorn any passing fixture in the sporting calendar. There is something illogical of people who give equivocal answers to their dislike and refuse to admire any form of athletic achievement. Doubting Thomas’s will certainly have to agree the power sport can possess in uniting countries, cultures and societies after years of civil unrest, war or hardship. Sport is an omnipresent good-will vehicle and forceful in breaking down barriers. After years of civil war in Cote D’Ivoire, it was the voice of their superstar striker Didier Drogba who called for an end to arms and a future of peace. How foreign diplomats would love that power. There are countless other examples.

Sport sells a dream and despite the commercialism and universal professionalism over the past half century, no one can deny the vivid aspirations of youngsters and that realisation when they fulfil those dreams; I bet everyone wishes they could hear their national anthem at an Olympic Games.

Watching the European Championships earlier tonight, there is one thing I cannot do and that is cheer on a cheat. The British sprinter Dwain Chambers is no doubt a real talent; however, whatever he does in the next few years his athletics' epitaph will be tarnished by his drug use. The competition in single-competitor sports is fierce and success is laden with financial and heroic plaudits, think of the Team GB’s cycling team in the last Olympics. In his autobiography Chambers claims that being placed outside the world’s top three would mean a substantial drop in pay from his paymaster’s Adidas. There is no doubt that there is a great deal of pressure at the top of sport and certainly in events where history is dictated in less than 10 seconds, a lifetime of practice can be extinguished or rewarded by the starter gun. Why then should someone morally corrupt their career and selfishly cheat those around him in the pursuit of success. Michael Johnson, the superb athlete and equally good pundit, explains that it took him four years to wipe less than a second of his 400m lap time and perfect his running style. That is an answer from an honest athlete, not someone looking for narcissistic admiration and hollow success. Chambers may be a reformed character and one of Britain’s finest athletes but ultimately his testimony of victimhood and desire to steal success is the nadir of sporting competition.