[Johan Kriek] On Drugs in Sport

[britbox]

Very interesting views from new Tennis Frontier Blog Contributor Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport, and particularly tennis.

http://www.tennisfrontier.com/blogs/johan-kriek/johan-kriek-on-drugs-in-sport/

Discuss.

 

[twilazon]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

What attracts me to tennis is the rare (at least in sports) simplicity and purity of the mano-a-mano (womano-a-womano) nature of the competition, especially considering the high level of physical stamina and cultivated expertise needed to excel at it. It may not be art, but it can be artistic. Racing may involve similar independence in each participant, but the nature of that contest involves less direct interaction as the process unfolds. I am no fan of Davis Cup/Fed Cup or any other form of trying to turn what is basically multiples of opposing individual reactions into either nationalistic verve or collective accomplishment (team sports). Table tennis, badminton, fencing, boxing, squash/handball, and wrestling may have similar characteristics, but they don't attract me because of their smaller skill set and comparatively restricted potential for cultivation.

That said, I believe the presence of drug use will ultimately destroy any value to the entire enterprise, more than any other professional sport. I admire Mr. Kriek's severity in addressing the issue, and totally agree with his willingness to embrace an extreme solution. This is no place for harboring a supposedly balanced, two-sided or moderate response; sometimes there is just one right answer and one wrong one. Each tennis match is altruistic as a controlled test between two isolated forces that can be played, watched, analyzed, or just comprehended on levels that are not available to other sports. Mr. Kriek's personal perspective sheds interesting light on how the damage of doping could play out in what so far remains a worthwhile endeavor. Now, if we could just get Hawkeye or Shotspot on *every* court in the world...!

 

[Kieran]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Great post Twizalon, absolutely agree. The Ultimate Sanction should be available. The example seen in athletics, the credibility is easily lost but hard to regain. I'm watching the World Athletic Championships even as I type this and in the last five minutes, Fraser Pryce has won gold (6 month ban for illegal substances) and Christine Ohuruogu won gold (1 year ban for skipping tests).

Justin Gatlin won silver the other day. If he can win silver at his age without taking drugs, why did he take drugs in his prime? The only option is to be cynical. And we don't want tennis to get that far, so this is the time for a clean up. Mr Kriek is right to highlight the health issues and also the fact that if a player wants to protect their body from substances which everyone is freely using, he won't be able to compete.

And he's right about the lifetime suspension, whether it's world #1 or #500:

"Adios!"

 

[shawnbm]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Kriek takes a hard stand, and he is spot on! The world of professional tennis cannot suffer the ignominious fate of cycling and baseball--it needs to continue to stand tall. Although I believe in giving a professional a suspension of less than forever for getting caught--perhaps an entire year or two--it should be life for repeat offenders. Every player should be routinely tested and the best should know it will be multiple times a year. It will be random, but ALL will be tested more than once in a year. We can't have this ruin tennis.

 

[twilazon]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Great post Twizalon, absolutely agree. The Ultimate Sanction should be available. The example seen in athletics, the credibility is easily lost but hard to regain. I'm watching the World Athletic Championships even as I type this and in the last five minutes, Fraser Pryce has won gold (6 month ban for illegal substances) and Christine Ohuruogu won gold (1 year ban for skipping tests).

Justin Gatlin won silver the other day. If he can win silver at his age without taking drugs, why did he take drugs in his prime? The only option is to be cynical. And we don't want tennis to get that far, so this is the time for a clean up. Mr Kriek is right to highlight the health issues and also the fact that if a player wants to protect their body from substances which everyone is freely using, he won't be able to compete.

And he's right about the lifetime suspension, whether it's world #1 or #500:

"Adios!"

Maybe in the case of someone truly inadvertently being exposed to banned substances - if we can believe Gasquet is such a thorough French kisser, for example... , then there could be conditional options that are appropriate. I therefore like the idea, as shawnbm suggested, of alternates to a one-strike-you're-out mentality for pros. I'm sure criminal law specialists will have some useful insights, just as the death penalty (sic!) doesn't always function as an effective detriment against crime. But an inclusive ranking threshold (500-1) sounds like it would do the trick.

 

[britbox]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

I'm of the same opinion as Shawn, favouring an initial two year ban and then an immediate lifetime ban for a second offence.

 

[masterclass]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Mr. Kriek wrote a wonderful article on Drugs in Sport. He is to be commended for having the courage to write it. I have written my perspective on Johan's article and PED use in my latest blog entry.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[August]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Tennis is one of those sports why I'm against PEDs. You can improve your fitness with PEDs and improved fitness of players reduces the importance of skills. I find that sad as I like to see offensive shotmaking instead of players relying on defense and stamina. I think tennis should be a game for players with great skills and sufficient fitness instead of a game for players with great fitness and sufficient skills. Bad anti-doping culture (and slow surfaces) can turn tennis into the latter one.

And the Cilic case has made strange withdrawals/losses even more suspicious. Can you be sure a player had a three-month break just because of an injury? One can say a player's name shouldn't be tarnished with a positive A-sample. But I think they usually report the positive A-samples in many sports. Asafa Powell's positive B-sample was confirmed just recently and we knew about his poritive A-sample almost two months ago. I think positive A-samples shouldn't be tried to hide.

 

[masterclass]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Tennis is one of those sports why I'm against PEDs. You can improve your fitness with PEDs and improved fitness of players reduces the importance of skills. I find that sad as I like to see offensive shotmaking instead of players relying on defense and stamina. I think tennis should be a game for players with great skills and sufficient fitness instead of a game for players with great fitness and sufficient skills. Bad anti-doping culture (and slow surfaces) can turn tennis into the latter one.

And the Cilic case has made strange withdrawals/losses even more suspicious. Can you be sure a player had a three-month break just because of an injury? One can say a player's name shouldn't be tarnished with a positive A-sample. But I think they usually report the positive A-samples in many sports. Asafa Powell's positive B-sample was confirmed just recently and we knew about his poritive A-sample almost two months ago. I think positive A-samples shouldn't be tried to hide.

August, I completely agree with all you said.
Transparency is a necessity. Keep everything open and up-to-date.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

nadal had a 6 month break..

now thanks to the cilic case folk are thinking it might have been a silent ban..

 

[tented]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Mr. Kriek wrote a wonderful article on Drugs in Sport. He is to be commended for having the courage to write it. I have written my perspective on Johan's article and PED use in my latest blog entry.

Respectfully,
masterclass

Fantastic response, Masterclass. You make several good points, especially in terms of what a sport gains/loses if they control their own testing.

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Tennis is one of those sports why I'm against PEDs. You can improve your fitness with PEDs and improved fitness of players reduces the importance of skills. I find that sad as I like to see offensive shotmaking instead of players relying on defense and stamina. I think tennis should be a game for players with great skills and sufficient fitness instead of a game for players with great fitness and sufficient skills. Bad anti-doping culture (and slow surfaces) can turn tennis into the latter one.

And the Cilic case has made strange withdrawals/losses even more suspicious. Can you be sure a player had a three-month break just because of an injury? One can say a player's name shouldn't be tarnished with a positive A-sample. But I think they usually report the positive A-samples in many sports. Asafa Powell's positive B-sample was confirmed just recently and we knew about his poritive A-sample almost two months ago. I think positive A-samples shouldn't be tried to hide.

Not that I condone PED's but how does improved fitness reduce the importance of skills? If anything, it maximizes them. That is actually why I find "banned substances" so arbitrary. There is a crap ton of substances out there that are legal and let's guess what they're there for? Performance enhancement! I don't even mean that in the negative sense. But as Chael Sonnen (MMA fighter who got suspended for elevated testosterone levels) once said: Why would I ever drink/eat/take something if it wouldn't help my performance?

So why is it that certain performance enhancers are prohibited but not others? With the above logic, even other enhancers reduce the importance of skills...

If both players are on PED's, the match is still going to be decided by skills, not who is taking the better drugs.

Again, I'm not FOR PED's, but I do find the whole thing highly flawed. I also thing they're one of the misunderstood aspects of sports, with people thinking they're some magic potion that will turn you unbeatable.

 

[August]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Tennis is one of those sports why I'm against PEDs. You can improve your fitness with PEDs and improved fitness of players reduces the importance of skills. I find that sad as I like to see offensive shotmaking instead of players relying on defense and stamina. I think tennis should be a game for players with great skills and sufficient fitness instead of a game for players with great fitness and sufficient skills. Bad anti-doping culture (and slow surfaces) can turn tennis into the latter one.

And the Cilic case has made strange withdrawals/losses even more suspicious. Can you be sure a player had a three-month break just because of an injury? One can say a player's name shouldn't be tarnished with a positive A-sample. But I think they usually report the positive A-samples in many sports. Asafa Powell's positive B-sample was confirmed just recently and we knew about his poritive A-sample almost two months ago. I think positive A-samples shouldn't be tried to hide.

Not that I condone PED's but how does improved fitness reduce the importance of skills? If anything, it maximizes them. That is actually why I find "banned substances" so arbitrary. There is a crap ton of substances out there that are legal and let's guess what they're there for? Performance enhancement! I don't even mean that in the negative sense. But as Chael Sonnen (MMA fighter who got suspended for elevated testosterone levels) once said: Why would I ever drink/eat/take something if it wouldn't help my performance?

So why is it that certain performance enhancers are prohibited but not others? With the above logic, even other enhancers reduce the importance of skills...

If both players are on PED's, the match is still going to be decided by skills, not who is taking the better drugs.

Again, I'm not FOR PED's, but I do find the whole thing highly flawed. I also thing they're one of the misunderstood aspects of sports, with people thinking they're some magic potion that will turn you unbeatable.

PEDs do the same as slower surfaces. They help you to defend. We can see that when there are two well-defending (hopefully clean) players playing each other. Offensive playing is a suicidal strategy in those matches. Offensive skills aren't rewarded in those matches. That's why I'm against doping (and surface slowing).

 

[jhar26]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Tennis is one of those sports why I'm against PEDs. You can improve your fitness with PEDs and improved fitness of players reduces the importance of skills.

Defense is also a skill. But the only way to make tennis a true skills sport is too return to playing with standard sized frames. The technology of today inevitably makes fitness, physical strenght and athleticism deciding, or at the very least very important factors in the outcome of tennis matches and it makes it for a McEnroe or Goolagong type of player almost impossible to compete. Not that I have a problem with tennis as it currently is. In fact I love it. But the technology has probably for forever changed the game. For better or worse? A matter of taste I suppose. I for one like both about equally as much.

As for PED - I'm in favor of a lifetime suspension for those who knowingly cheat in this manner. I don't care about recreational drugs though and I always considered the Hingis and Gasquet cases lame. The intention should be to see to it that we have a level playing field, but not to act like holier than thou types who look over players' shoulders to see that they drink a glass of milk and eat an apple everyday.

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: Johan Kriek on Drugs in Sport

Tennis is one of those sports why I'm against PEDs. You can improve your fitness with PEDs and improved fitness of players reduces the importance of skills. I find that sad as I like to see offensive shotmaking instead of players relying on defense and stamina. I think tennis should be a game for players with great skills and sufficient fitness instead of a game for players with great fitness and sufficient skills. Bad anti-doping culture (and slow surfaces) can turn tennis into the latter one.

And the Cilic case has made strange withdrawals/losses even more suspicious. Can you be sure a player had a three-month break just because of an injury? One can say a player's name shouldn't be tarnished with a positive A-sample. But I think they usually report the positive A-samples in many sports. Asafa Powell's positive B-sample was confirmed just recently and we knew about his poritive A-sample almost two months ago. I think positive A-samples shouldn't be tried to hide.

Not that I condone PED's but how does improved fitness reduce the importance of skills? If anything, it maximizes them. That is actually why I find "banned substances" so arbitrary. There is a crap ton of substances out there that are legal and let's guess what they're there for? Performance enhancement! I don't even mean that in the negative sense. But as Chael Sonnen (MMA fighter who got suspended for elevated testosterone levels) once said: Why would I ever drink/eat/take something if it wouldn't help my performance?

So why is it that certain performance enhancers are prohibited but not others? With the above logic, even other enhancers reduce the importance of skills...

If both players are on PED's, the match is still going to be decided by skills, not who is taking the better drugs.

Again, I'm not FOR PED's, but I do find the whole thing highly flawed. I also thing they're one of the misunderstood aspects of sports, with people thinking they're some magic potion that will turn you unbeatable.

PEDs do the same as slower surfaces. They help you to defend. We can see that when there are two well-defending (hopefully clean) players playing each other. Offensive playing is a suicidal strategy in those matches. Offensive skills aren't rewarded in those matches. That's why I'm against doping (and surface slowing).

This is a very misguided view.