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Michael Johnson - Giving Back the Gold Medal
The breaking story this week, that Michael Johnson will give back his 4x400m realy gold medal from the Sydney Olympics because his team-mate (Antonio Pettigrew) admitted to taking drugs, has created a lively debate over on the sportpsy listserve, which is an email-based discussion list - yes, these things still exist ;-)
The initial questions asked were:
If an athlete knows his/her teammate is cheating, do they have the right/responsibility to come forward?
And, as in this case, after the event do athletes in team sports have the right to argue to keep their medals if a teammate is found guilty?
A number of interesting issues were raised including whether:
Another perspective is that of Seb Coe's which is that Michael Johnson's stance might just help turn the tide in the US, which has been hit particularly hard by recent scandals involving performance-enhancing drugs.
What do you think? Please comment below. Here is a link to the story.
Rob Robson
iStadia - Networking for Sport & Exercise Community
The initial questions asked were:
If an athlete knows his/her teammate is cheating, do they have the right/responsibility to come forward?
And, as in this case, after the event do athletes in team sports have the right to argue to keep their medals if a teammate is found guilty?
A number of interesting issues were raised including whether:
- - Athletes were actually scorned for coming forward and reporting cheating
- - Officials and others in power had a disincentive to report cheating ("losing their stars"), and consequently whether cheating was brushed under the carpet
- - The risks involved in encouraging greater reporting by athletes, whether it could be abused (naming someone for disingenuous reasons) and whether it could create a witch hunt
- - Or not the guilty parties are punished, and what the effect is if they are not
- - Without the testing procedures to adequately follow up on allegations, will this change anything?
- - It is possible for athletes/teams to police themselves (e.g. kicking a cheat of the team)
- - How effective are youth sports coaches in teaching core values?
Another perspective is that of Seb Coe's which is that Michael Johnson's stance might just help turn the tide in the US, which has been hit particularly hard by recent scandals involving performance-enhancing drugs.
What do you think? Please comment below. Here is a link to the story.
Rob Robson
iStadia - Networking for Sport & Exercise Community
Tags:
antonio pettigrew,
athletics,
cheating,
drugs,
ethics,
michael johnson,
moral dilemma,
performance enhancement,
sport,
whitleblower
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