home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.racing
- Path: sparky!uunet!haven.umd.edu!darwin.sura.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!saimiri.primate.wisc.edu!ames!agate!stanford.edu!CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU!SAIL.Stanford.EDU!les
- From: les@SAIL.Stanford.edu (Les Earnest)
- Subject: Re: Cycling and Doping
- In-Reply-To: warsa@vesta.unm.edu's message of Tue, 22 Dec 92 18:45:53 GMT
- Message-ID: <1992Dec22.231310.22978@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU>
- Sender: news@CSD-NewsHost.Stanford.EDU
- Reply-To: les@cs.stanford.edu
- Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University
- References: <+yfrc5g@lynx.unm.edu> <1992Dec22.160230.18662@cbnews.cb.att.com>
- <hhgra-k@lynx.unm.edu> <2kgrhd_@lynx.unm.edu>
- Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 23:13:10 GMT
- Lines: 27
-
- In an addendum to his article, jim warsa goes on to say:
- [. . .] I also believe the sport SHOULD be clean. However,
- it isn't and drug testing is ruled necessary. This brings up another problem,
- though, and that is that the symptoms are being treated and not the cause.
- The difficulty lies - as has been pointed out before - in the tremendous
- premium placed on winning, often at any cost. The impetus exists, then, for
- some riders who are not quite at the top to try reach the top by whatever
- means they feel is necessary, and this sometimes means drugs. This the
- reality; the ideal is that they reach the top through hard work and other
- forms of "natural" self-improvement. Until the ideal is acheived, there
- will be drug and substance use and abuse. That is, the root of the problem
- must be attacked eventually, or it will go on in one form or another.
-
- This "root of the problem" that jim wishes to attack is simply human
- nature, so I do not recommend attacking it. In fact, I favor
- accomodating it by offering, in addition to competition under medical
- control regulations, unrestricted competition in which athletes can do
- anything to their bodies they wish.
-
- Unfortunately, in the current US political climate of the "War on
- Drugs," my proposals along these lines to the USCF Board of Directors
- have elicited only laughter or shocked denunciations. I give them
- about 10 years to figure out that I was right.
- --
- Les Earnest Phone: 415 941-3984 Fax: 415 941-3934
- Internet: Les@cs.Stanford.edu USMail: 12769 Dianne Drive
- UUCP: . . . decwrl!cs.Stanford.edu!Les Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
-