Should doping in sport be a crime?

Poll Oct. 22, 2012 - 05:34AM JST ( 25 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

25 Comments

-2

JapanGalOct. 22, 2012 - 01:00PM JST

All drugs should be legal.
-4

Thunderbird2Oct. 22, 2012 - 04:04PM JST

JapanGal... hope you're being facetious?
2

lostrune2Oct. 22, 2012 - 04:31PM JST

All drugs should be legal.

Definitely GHB and Rohypnol, ha!
3

JohnBeckerOct. 23, 2012 - 01:15AM JST

Maybe the administration and sale of performance enhancing drugs could be made illegal (if it isn't already), but an athlete doping is not a crime. It's just an infraction of the rules of his/her sport. Let the sport's governing body handle policing, judging and punishment. Putting it in the legal code and asking the courts to handle it is like asking the police to arrest singers who rely on auto-tune.

...wait, maybe I need to re-think my position.
4

SpeedOct. 23, 2012 - 08:49AM JST

No. Many of the substances aren't illegal. They're just banned to be consumed by the athletes in their respective sports. Sports authorities are not legal criminal courts nor should they be.
1

JaymannOct. 23, 2012 - 10:24AM JST

@Speed - well put. What an innane poll this is. What crime has been committed when an athelete cheats? They do all the time - just watch any Open-Side Flanker in Rugby. To suggest that sports events are in any way, shape or form important enough to warrant cheating in them as a crime is to completely lose touch with reality (admittedly a situation much of the world appears to be in now).

Japangal is correct - all drugs should be legal, and regulated. That is accepted by economists and health authorities now (or the experts as you and I call them) - the rest is just moral posturing.
1

SamuraiBlueOct. 23, 2012 - 12:04PM JST

Some banned drugs at international sport are found in OTC cold medicine so it is impossible to out law them entirely.
1

tajOct. 23, 2012 - 02:26PM JST

Current anti-doping rules and testing include far too many substances, including those that are not performance enhancing, and it is far too easy for amateur athletes (think Olympics and Paralympics) to be caught in an accidentally doping. (cold meds being the number one problem).

Serious performance enhancing cheating in professional sports can be dealt with as fraud, perhaps.
0

Dennis BauerOct. 23, 2012 - 02:51PM JST

i think they should make 2 catogories clean and doped sport events, the clean athletes will have long lives, while the doped athletes have their record book times/scores and short lives,
0

Aizo YureiOct. 23, 2012 - 07:09PM JST

It's stupid to make it illegal. Kick them out / ban them from the sport but for government and police to get involved? WHY?

What to protect sponsor or team owner's profits with my tax money? stupid....
0

Jason LovelaceOct. 24, 2012 - 10:23AM JST

It is theft no different than robbing a bank or picking soemone's pocket. Dishonest is dishonest...
0

FadamorOct. 24, 2012 - 10:26PM JST

I voted "no" because if a drug is used to enhance someone's sports skills, that's cheating, not a criminal act. Let the sport's administration deal with cheating, not the police.
0

ka_chanOct. 25, 2012 - 04:37AM JST

Who cares, it's sports. Let them take anything they want. They'll just die younger.
1

irishosaruOct. 25, 2012 - 09:11AM JST

Guys and girls - the survey is asking whether or not doping in sport should be a crime...not whether it is currently a crime or not (because we know it isn't).

So the argument that it isn't a crime but merely breaking the rules of the sport is missing the point.
0

FadamorOct. 25, 2012 - 09:55PM JST

So the argument that it isn't a crime but merely breaking the rules of the sport is missing the point.

What? So if someone answers the question "No" because they don't think doping reaches the level of a criminal act, they're missing the point of the question? I think you need to go back and re-read the question, then re-read all the responses, then re-evaluate how your post applies at all. The one missing the point is YOU. The question is asking whether you consider doping to be a criminal act. There is no right or wrong answer because it is asking for a personal opinion.

As it stands, doping in sports is not illegal though the possession of some of the drugs/paraphernalia required for doping may be illegal. Doping in sports is done to gain an unfair advantage over other competitors in that sport. It is not an action directed at the general population. There is no reason to bring the criminal courts into the picture, because the action by the competitor only hurts others in the same sport. The sport's governing body should be the only ones with any say in what does or does not happen to a competitor caught cheating.
0

irishosaruOct. 25, 2012 - 10:55PM JST

@Fadamor - the question asks whether it 'should' be a crime. So, posts saying that (I'm paraphrasing) "it's not illegal, just breaking the rules of the sport" are missing the point, because we know it's not illegal now.

Posts saying no and giving a reason why doping should not be considered a crime are not missing the point.
-1

telecasterplayerOct. 26, 2012 - 10:52AM JST

Of course not, law enforcement resources shouldn't be wasted on this. But Lance Armstrong should give back every dollar taken under the guise of his faked super-human athleticism. It's a consumer issue.
-1

Akemi MokotoOct. 26, 2012 - 11:03AM JST

No. They should only be banned from the sport. Law enforcement has enough to deal with.
0

cracaphatOct. 26, 2012 - 08:38PM JST

Only in boxing.Juiced up can result in fatalities through punches.
-2

FadamorOct. 27, 2012 - 02:29AM JST

Only in boxing.Juiced up can result in fatalities through punches.

Boxing itself should be illegal. In this age of concussion-awareness, we still have a "sport" where the ultimate object is to cause a concussion so severe that it causes the person to fall unconscious.
0

cracaphatOct. 27, 2012 - 10:50PM JST

Boxing itself should be illegal. In this age of concussion-awareness, we still have a "sport" where the ultimate object is to cause a concussion so severe that it causes the person to fall unconscious.

Tis the words of an uneducated person to the world of boxing.The idea that you spout is so wrong and ignorant at best.
0

MeanRingoOct. 28, 2012 - 03:37AM JST

Every sport should have two leagues. One where athletes are free to pump themselves with anything and everything they can to give themselves a competitive edge, and another where it is all strictly prohibited and athletes are monitored extensively before, during and after competition. Then, let the fans decide which they would prefer to watch.
0

MrDarrylOct. 29, 2012 - 01:22AM JST

Doping shouldn't be a crime in a sport. It should get you disqualified. The crimes are for the legal authorities such as the police. There should be more testing for banned substances to get rid of the problem. I was a world class swimmer for years and had the drug test knowledge given to me at a young age. I don't know any of my colleagues who wanted to cheat to win. There is no fun in that, but there wasn't much money in my sport either. The more that's at stake...the more diligent these governing bodies need to be. This seems to be the reason for people to cheat. Since you can't take away the incentive you should make cheating virtually impossible. Everyone gets tested (maybe even before and after.)
0

Helen_MonkNov. 01, 2012 - 01:16PM JST

Jason LovelaceOct. 24, 2012 - 10:23AM JST It is theft no different than robbing a bank or picking soemone's pocket. Dishonest is dishonest...

Sounds like typical person who is naught but petty, jealous, and dishonorable and attacks success for naught
0

YubaruNov. 19, 2012 - 04:46PM JST

Sports authorities are not legal criminal courts nor should they be.

It sure seems like they act like them now a days though. Look at the Lance Armstrong case, the recent MLB case involving Ryan Braun, where his test was over turned, but because the media ESPN leaked it, he was treated like a criminal.

I think it's getting out of hand though when things you eat, drink or can purchase over the counter can cause a "positive" test.