Last week, I discussed the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) by Russian athletes during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. An investigation showed excessive manipulation by Russia’s sports ministry in the drug testing back to the 2011 and 2015 Olympic Games as well as the 2014 games in Sochi. Twenty-eight sports were implicated in the Russian investigation.
A ruling came down on Sunday of this week from the International Olympic Committee that will allow the individual sports federations to decide which Russian athletes would compete in Rio. The ruling also said that Russian athletes who have previously served bans due to doping will not be allowed to take part in the Games.
Obviously, there was a great outcry from anti-doping organizations that the IOC simply “passed the buck” and did not have the guts to sanction all Russian athletes from the games in Rio. The IOC defended their position by saying that an athlete who was not implicated in the drug scandal should be free to compete and need not be punished for the actions of others.
One decision had already been made. The Russian track and field athletes would not be able to compete. One female Russian, long jumper Darya Klishina, would be an exception because she was tested outside of Russia. Others say the federations may not have the knowledge or the time to adequately determine who should or should not compete.
I will let you decide if the IOC was only being fair to the Russian athletes who may be clean or very unfair to the world athletes who are definitely clean.
To me, the most interesting decision was the one to ban former Russian runner Yulia Stepanova from the Rio games. Yulia had been suspended for two years after being found guilty of doping back in 2013. During her suspension, she and her husband, Vitaliy, broke the story of how the Russian sports system used large-scale doping with their athletes.
So the very person who brought the scandal out into the open would not be allowed to compete even though her two-year punishment had been served. She wanted to compete as an individual athlete, not for any country. She and her husband are currently living in the United States.
So what is the lesson learned? Will others come forward to expose illegal tactics if they, too, will be punished more severely than the athletes who remained silent? The Olympic Games will go on starting August 5 and will include Russian athletes. It does appear that there will be a cloud of distrust that winners won medals without the help of artificial assistance. I can only hope that great performances will be proven to be just that – great performances! I have my doubts.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- The Russians can’t seem to stay out of the news. They are suspected of having released the Democratic e-mails to Wikileaks that showed the DNC treated the Sanders campaign unfairly to help get the Hillary Clinton nomination. Trump vs. Clinton may be the best/worst competition of the year.
- NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon did not stay retired very long. He filled in for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at the Brickyard 400. Earnhardt, Jr. has been experiencing concussion symptoms. Gordon finished thirteenth.
- I am not a NASCAR fan, but it appears many more aren’t either. At Indianapolis on Sunday only 50,000 fans filled the 250,000 seats, continuing the steady decline of NASCAR attendance.
- As NFL football camps open this week, Ray Rice does not have a contract. In case you forgot, Rice was suspended by the Ravens in 2014 for domestic violence. He has been out of football ever since. He wants to play again and says he would donate his entire salary to combat domestic violence. The minimum he would be paid would be $885,000. Would you sign him?
- The Blue Mountain League regular season ends this week and congratulations to the defending league champions, Limeport Bulls. They won the regular season and, along with the Yankees, will get a bye to the semifinals. The playoffs should be as competitive as the regular season. Get out and watch a game.
