play
the
game
magazine
2009
www.
playthegame
.org
18
19
by Marcus Hoy and Jens Sejer Andersen
Have we reached a stage where criminals have
more privacy rights than athletes? This was one
of the questions raised when a world-class group
of doping experts and policymakers engaged in a
lively debate on anti-doping policies.
According to Yves Kummer, President of the European
Elite Athletes' Association, the conflict between doping
enforcement actions and human rights is now tilted in
favour of the former. Europe's sportsmen and women,
he pointed out, are citizens and employees residing in
the EU, and should therefore be protected by EU law.
However, he told the Play the Game conference,
many of his athletes feel they are not protected by
Europe's tough data protection and personal privacy
laws. In theory, athletes voluntarily relinquish such rights
to aid the fight against doping, he said - but in practice
they have no alternative than to comply with restrictive
"whereabouts" rules.
"Pedophiles and other criminals on probation en-
joy wider privacy rights than athletes covered by the
whereabouts rule", he said.
"We allow ourselves to be tested, but this should
not give the authorities carte blanche".
His organisation has received complaints from nu-
merous athletes, he said, who argue that the current
tracking system is so complicated and restrictive that
they are unable to lead normal lives. However, when
they complain, the standard answer is "if you don't com-
ply you can't compete".
Herbert Ram, CEO of the Netherlands Anti Dop-
ing Authority, stressed that the whereabout registration
was necessary for the doping controllers to be effi-
cient.
But he was also concerned about the conflict be-
tween democratic values and current anti-doping poli-
cies. A "natural tension" exists between safeguarding
democratic rights and the fight against doping, he said.
Protests from athletes' organisations over data protec-
tion issues are increasing, he pointed out, and conflict
with medical community remains a sensitive issue.
Transparency and open dialogue are vital for any-
body engaged in drug testing policies that some see as
intrusive, he added.
Mothers want the real stuff
For Anne-Marie Kappelgaard, senior medical director at
Novo Nordisk, a global leader in insuline and growth
hormone production, there were limitations as to how
helpful the industry can be:
"Some years ago, one of our presidents mentioned
that we might introduce a biological marker in our
products, so it was easier to trace it in doping tests. I
spent the whole next week talking to angry mothers.
They wanted the real stuff," Kappelgaard said. Besides,
national authorities would never allow additives:
"Our product has to be the same the human body
produces. We cannot contaminate it because of a a small
group of people who might not behave correctly".
In any case, athletes should not bother to take
growth hormone. Novo strongly advises against non-
therapeutical use because of possible side effects, but
also several studies show that growth hormone simply
is not efficient. Kappelgaard admitted that elite athletes
had not been part of the studies:
"In one case we gave a test group placebo. Especially
the men not only felt they performed better afterwards,
we could also measure that they did. This shows some-
thing about the strength of the mind!" Kappelgaard stat-
ed.
David Howman, Director General of the World Anti
Doping Agency (WADA), was invited to give a rundown
of his agency's achievements in its first ten years of exis-
tence. During this time, he said, WADA has made signifi-
cant inroads in the fight against dope cheats. Out-of-com-
petition testing has become standard practice, he said, and
the WADA code has been adopted and accepted by the
IOC and most international sports federations.
Furthermore, UNESCO had launched an anti-doping
convention ratified by a record number of countries in a
record time.
Howman understood that some athletes felt disen-
franchised by the strict testing structure, but he added
that WADA's Athletes' Committee provides sportsmen
and women with an independent voice. "WADA exists
for the benefit of clean athletes", he said.
He, like all other panellists, stressed that the athlete is
not the only one to blame for doping.
"We talk with athletes who are caught in testing, be-
cause we would like to get more information about their
entourage, doctors and trainers who have a great respon-
sibility."
When asked if these people should also be punished,
the answer was clear:
"It should happen and can happen under the revised
code".
This viewpoint was strongly backed by former Tour
de France-winner Greg LeMond.
"The athlete does not get the idea of doping out of
the thin air. They are told to dope by doctors and manag-
ers. But so far athletes are the only one who have paid the
price," LeMond said.
WADA split about criminalisation
LeMond did not support the idea of criminalising the use
of doping:
"I believe in rehabilitation, not emprisonment, and I
believe in education and forgiveness."
WADA is split in this question. The sports organisa-
tions are against putting athletes into prison, but govern-
ments have many different views.
David Howman was personally not in favour of crimi-
nalising the use of doping, but stressed that the UNESCO
anti-doping convention obliged countries to sanction the
illegal production and trafficking of doping substances.
The Italian anti-doping researcher Alessandro Donati,
whose mapping of doping trade has led many govern-
ments to a stronger police effort against doping trade,
suggests a completely different approach.
"I do not believe much in the fight against trafficking,
but much more in prevention among children. Also we
must offer children up to 13-14 years a whole new kind
of sports organisation. The one we have now, is made for
adults."