Drugs in Sport – Biographies

Once again I open my paper to see a story about drugs in sport.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-1157606/DWAIN-CHAMBERS-TALKS-TO-MARTIN-SAMUEL-How-drugs-shame-brought-brink-suicide-physical-cost-fight-win-gold-clean.html

But this is a bit greyer than most. It is a review as selection of writings from Dwain Chambers autobiography – Race Against Me, My Story.

Available from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Race-Against-Me-My-Story/dp/1905988753

Now fact Chambers severed a two year ban for using THG, he is banned form competing for Britain at the Olympics for life, and he is now back – clean – competing and winning Gold medals as a sprinter.

So the book raises a number of points should an athlete prosper from selling the story of cheating? Or is it part of the life experience and an autobiography can be justified? Should the athletic cheat be covered by the same laws that stop criminals prospering form book deals on bank robberies etc?

All that aside the book appears to be different to many other on a number of levels. The first is Chambers wrote it himself – no ghost writer hearing stories and creating a book that flows in a readable manor, Chambers just has had a friend tidy up the prose, so it is to quote Marten Samuel in the Daily Mail...

“It is , for the most part, a searing, honest account of his life in athletics and time as a walking junkie- Chambers Words – under Conte. Chambers goes further than any athlete in revealing how, why, when and where”

I hope the book will be a deterrent but it also highlights failing in managers and other coaches in spotting the drug use or not acknowledging the problem. Also the athletes mind set that others are doing it so why shouldn’t I.

I think the most telling comment I have read so far is ....
“There will be a lot of people out there cheating, though, people who know how to manipulate teh programme.”

This last statement made me think about all the coaches I have heard talk of “getting in the refs head” it is just playing to the letter of the law, or at the edge of the rules. Is that cheating – if so can one form of cheating or performance enhancement etc playing the letter not the spirit of the law be more acceptable than a performance enhancing drug?

The bottom line is to the average kid who comes to a Dojo to train drugs in sport isn’t an issue, it is only an issue to them when it is normalised in the hero’s or stars they idolised are seen taking drugs of any kind that it has a real impact on them. SO Chambers book I will buy and read, as a coach to see what went wrong and perhaps help me see signs to look out for, as a warning to other players....perhaps someone should send a copy to Mr Phelps.

Phelps and Chambers both part of teh same problem – misuse of Drugs – but is there a consistancey across sports, or sanctions and consequences applied faily to all?

Should Cambers profit form the book? I don’t know, should he have written it? ...yes – and every coach should read it.

Todays rant over, see you Tuesday,