September 6, 2012
PST Wrong To Support Alleged Drug Violator Stephane Galifi
by Ted Gross
The US-based Pro Squash Tour announced Monday that former Italian #1 Stephane Galifi is scheduled to play in two of its events this fall, one in Lewiston, Maine, and one in Pittsburgh.
Galifi reportedly failed a drug test in the summer of 2011.
A two-year suspension was subsequently imposed by the World Squash Federation, which is currently in effect and extends until December 2013.
According to WSF Chief Executive Andrew Shelley, "The worldwide ban covers WSF, PSA, regional, national and other recognised events."
The 34-year-old Galifi reportedly failed a drug test in 2005 as well, allegedly testing positive for cocaine and cannabis, which led to an announced two-year ban beginning in August of that year.
That should be all we need to hear.
PST tournaments may not fall under the WSF's "other recognised events" category, but this is a bad decision by the PST.
This guy shouldn't be playing professional squash anywhere.
You don't want alleged drug violators mingling with fans, giving post-match interviews and signing autographs for kids.
The PST likes to be different, so in this case the right move is to go beyond what the WSF has decided: Don't let the guy play in your events, not now, not in two years, never.
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Ted, Do you think it is fair that athletes are tested for non-performance-enhancing drugs? In my experience, athletes use less cocaine, for example, than most of the young guys on Wall Street, guys who are in a business where people's life savings are at stake. Why is it considered fair to test an athlete for cannabis? It's not cheating, and his errors in judgement are in no way going to injure anyone, at least any more than a non-athlete's errors in judgement.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Sasha
Sasha - Using cocaine is illegal in all walks of life. I take it you would be ok with your kids growing up with the understanding that using/abusing any sort of drug (performance enhancing or not) is acceptable? Professional athletes are idolized by children around the world and the PST has lost all credibility as a 'Professional' tour.
DeleteMy point is (if it wasn't clear) that athletes are being tested for illegal substances that are not relevant to their occupations. This doesn't seem an invasion of privacy to you? Why are congressmen and bankers and professors and actors not tested? Testing for performance enhancing drugs is needed to keep the playing field level, but why does this warrant testing for recreational drugs for which the rest of us are not tested?
DeleteDo you really think my making this argument indicates that I would like my children to grow up with such an understanding? I don't think you do, you're simply making a snarky comment, rather than offering justification for the testing.
Do you not think a professional athlete who is caught taking drugs is guilty of bringing the game in to disrepute? what we are discussing here is a very negative topic for squash and in a sport with a higher profile it would be all over the news. many companies ( i am from the UK so can only speak for over here) regularly test there employees for drugs and alcohol.
DeleteAll professional (Olympic) athletes sign up to the same code and they all know the consequences of being caught. You will not find a more level playing field!
If the issue is job safety I can understand testing for recreational drugs, though I would still find it invasive. In cases where it is not relevant to the job in that immediate sense of safety, I don't believe companies should have the right to test their employees. A professional in any field who uses drugs or alcohol and creates a public nuisance (a quaint old phrase) might, in some eyes, reflect poorly on the profession. Most professions are not tested, so a sensible (I'm sure you wouldn't accept the word responsible) user need not fear exposure. Why is an athlete different? Aren't people in other walks of life role models for children? Although not a user myself I know teachers, lawyers, doctors financiers, and athletes who use recreational drugs discreetly and carefully. It does concern me that some of these drugs fuel a chain of criminal providers, but I still can't see how we can justify testing some people without testing the whole society.
DeleteTed is advocating a life-time ban for marijuana. What other professions ought to institute the same? How would we even run an economy if they all did!? What would we do with all
George Bush and Barack Obama have both used recreational drugs, although only one has had the courage to talk about it publicly. Should they both have been banned for life from polical work? Perhaps some perspective is needed here.
comparing a professional athlete to a lawyer or financier is laughable.
Deletei don't see many of them promoting the latest sports shoe or health craze to my children.
Galifi smoked weed in 2011. Lifetime ban seems Ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteRead the article before commenting! It clearly says a 2 year ban which expires Dec 2013.
DeleteDear Mr. Angry -
DeleteMr. Gross in his column above wrote "Don't let the guy play in your events, not now, not in two years, never."
Not sure what you meant by "read the article before commenting" but you should take your own advice.
Ted, you're right on the money here. It doesn't matter what drug he used. He broke the rules... end of story. I was shocked by this decision. This is just further evidence that the PST is not a legitimate athletic entity. This can't possibly help the olympic bid. It's time for players and fans to stop reading the garbage in the ezine and stop supporting this joke of a tour.
ReplyDeleteThe ezine rocks. Are you crazy?
DeleteWhen NFL players violate the drug policy and test positive for cannabis, they don't get anything close to a 2 year ban. Seems a little harsh by the WSF.
ReplyDeleteNFL is not an Olympic sport, never will be and probably doesn't want be! most people in squash realize what making the olympics would do for our sport, the PST clearly doesn't. Mr McManus has made some horrendous decisions in my view but this is by far his worst.
DeleteUntil 2004 caffeine was a banned substance per WADA and the Olympics. Obviously that was a dumb rule and they quietly removed it from the list. Cannabis shouldn't be on the list either. They will eventually remove it too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/02/2322263.htm?site=olympics/2008
DeleteI thought the post above was a joke until I Googled it. The ABC article above discusses this.
I don't know what to think any more.
I don't think smoking pot is a smart idea, but I don't think its use should cost you a sporting career.
There is HUGE difference between athletes smoking weed, which is dumb, and using performance enhancing drugs, which is cheating.
ReplyDeleteBartolo Colon in MLB got 50 games (1/3 of a season) for steroids.
ReplyDelete2 years for smoking? ? ? ? WTF WSF
Probably the main reason why Baseball was kicked out of the Olympics :)
DeleteBaseball was kicked out because the Olympics now wants to represent the best of any sport. MLB won't change its schedule (like the NHL) to accommodate the Olympics.
DeleteTed, I'm not quite so sure about the severity of your proposal. I can understand that using drugs recreationally and the drugs being illegal are an issue. Would you ban a player for a DUI? I don't question the validity of your concern just the severity of the punishment. There are players who will down prodigius amounts of beers when not on court and would you worry about them signing autographs for kids? A player should be penalized for illegal drug use based on the amount and nature of the offense and it is up to the governing body to enforce it. Should Gaffi chose to play on the PST and want that opportunity why not. If the PST follows illegal drug use policies and enforces them and Gaffi is caught, then it should be as if it was his first offense on the PST. He should not be judged within the PST for his actions under another league. If marijuana were legal and taxed to the hilt, we'd probably be complimenting him on promoting weed, just like all those athletes that promote drinking.
ReplyDeleteCan a player in other sports who is punished by one league go to another?
ReplyDeleteYes. He shouldn't be allowed around children or women or men he shouldn't be allowed to play squash again. He shouldn't be allowed to coach or earn a living in the game. No one should ever be allowed to speak his name within 50 feet of a squash court. And if squash isn't in the Olympics everyone should blame pst.
ReplyDeleteYou sir, are an idiot and a sheep, who blindly accepts authority as the truth rather than the truth as the authority. You would have people punished simply for breaking a rule (law) without ever questioning the integrity of the rule (law) itself, so how can you judge the severity of a punishment without truly comprehending the entirety of the situation (in this case, a social/legal infraction within a sport). Some rules (laws) are meant to be broken as true science will always give us access to a emergent/evolving network of true facts, and eventually, those silly rules (laws) are either changed or removed entirely.
DeleteLearn about cannabis and you will see exactly why the governments (powers that be) make it illegal.
**Spoiler Alert**
It is a natural cure to a few notoriously lethal & profitable diseases, and makes many expensive treatments (which are inefficient [by design] and weaken the immune system to other diseases/infections/detrimental conditions) obsolete.
So WSF overextends with an unnecessarily harsh penalty and PST swoops in to pick up another top player. Smart actually.
ReplyDeleteSo much sympathy for a "professional athlete" who used drugs and was caught... TWICE?! Pretty bad career move if you ask me...
ReplyDeleteMichael Phelps
Deleteswimmer
pot head
22 Olympic medals
18 Gold
http://seattletimes.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2010308560_lincecum_makes_first_statement.html
DeleteMLB pitcher caught with marijuana. He won two CY Young Awards for being the best pitcher in baseball.
If Michael Phelps tests positive for marijuana 'in competition' he gets banned. Fact. If it is acceptable to use marijunana during MLB game/competition then great, is the use of cocaine also acceptable?
DeleteI love PST . And I love This signing. More great squash. Don't care what athletes do off court. None of my business.
ReplyDeleteMr. McManus' frustration at not being able to procure top talent is understandable...however putting Gallifi on court is not the solution.
ReplyDeleteMuch ado about nothing
ReplyDeleteYup
DeleteDon't understand what PST is doing wrong. Galifi was one of the unlucky few to get caught. Cannabis won't make him a better player. Let the guy play squash. WSF really got this one very wrong. Good luck with PST Galifi.
ReplyDeletePS: Don't attack the referee. :D
yeh great! lets allow all professional athletes to use drugs and continue playing! C'mon lets at least keep some integrity in our great sport.
DeleteBy accepting Galifi as a player on their tour the PST are promoting the use of drugs in sport.
What if WSF was so obsessed about the Olympics in 2001 and Galifi was caught after a few cappuccinos or (heaven forbid) a few strong espressos. That much caffeine? Lifetime ban for sure.
DeleteMarijuana has been prevalent in the squash community for quite some time, especially in the 90's. There is one former top 3 players who used it religiously. I agree that a 2-year ban is outlandish. Ban him for 4 months.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Galifi was tested positive for using cocaine in 2005 is pretty ridiculous and shows his lack of restraint. Cocaine takes 24 hours to flush out of your system while marijuana takes a month to clear out. Regardless, no professional athlete who knows he's getting tested and in the limelight should project this image.
"Don't let the guy play in your events, not now, not in two years, never."
ReplyDeleteNEVER? Come on.
A couple months - fine. Two years is more than a little harsh. But a lifetime is nonsense.
Maybe, Mr. Gross, we should have him wear a Scarlet Letter on his chest for life so that all in the community know him for who he is.
From another debate on this site.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous6:46 AM
Mr Gross, I hope you are now going to sensationalize the recent PST announcement regarding their registration of a player who is currently serving an international drugs ban.
I look forward to your views!
Reply
Ted Gross2:23 PM
Thanks Anonymous - Yes, I am aware of the situation with Stephane Galifi and am planning to post something. We had a story back in November on his alleged failing of a drug test:
http://dailysquashreport.com/11_18_11_galifi.htm
Reply
Mission accomplished ! ! !
Thanks for the lively discussion.
ReplyDeleteAs a bit of clarification:
The World Squash Federation adheres to the guidelines of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
WADA was formed in 1999 through an initiative led by the International Olympic Committee.
The World Squash Federation, along with the PSA and WISPA, signed a joint agreement in 2004 to implement the code.
600 sports bodies, including the International Tennis Federation, follow the WADA Anti-Doping Code.
Cocaine and cannabis are in the WADA "prohibited in-competition" category.
A two-year suspension is a common penalty for a first offense.
"You don't want alleged drug violators mingling with fans, giving post-match interviews and signing autographs for kids." - Ted Gross
ReplyDeleteToo late
Michael Phelps – Olympic Gold Medalist
Ross Rebagliati – Olympic Gold Medalist
Michael Beasley – NBA
Josh Howard – NBA
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – NBA
Bill Walton - NBA
Stephon Marbury - NBA
Carmelo Anthony – NBA
Mario Chalmers - NBA
Jason Williams - NBA
Allen Iverson - NBA
Nick Fairley – NFL
Marshawn Lynch – NFL
Kenny Britt- NFL
Mike Adams – NFL
Jerome Simpson - NFl
Laurence Maroney - NFL
Randy Moss –NFL
Michael Vick – NFL
Santonio Holmes – NFL
Ricky Williams - NFL
Rick Williams – NFL
Tim Lincecum – MLB
Elijah Dukes – MLB
Jordan Schafer – MLB
Woody Harrelson - Actor
Michael Bloomberg – Mayor of NYC
Sir Richard Branson – Businessman
Matthew McConaughey – Actor
James Franco – Actor
Cameron Diaz - Actress
Drew Barrymore - Actress
Justin Timberlake – Actor / Musician
Willie Nelson – Musician
Seth Rogen – Actor
Frances McDormand – Actress
Kimora Lee Simmons – Model
Nicole Richie – Actress
Nicole Hilton - Lucky
Michelle Phillips – Musician
Snoop Dogg – Musician
Redman – Musician
Lil Wayne – Musician
Mariah Carey – Musician
Charlize Theron – Actress
Dionne Warwick – Musician
Sarah Silverman – Comedian
Oliver Stone – Producer
Dawn Wells – MaryAnn from Gilligan’s Island
Dave Chappelle – Comedian
The Pointer Sisters – Musicians
Barbara Streisand – Actress / Musician
Rick Steves – Author
Aaron Sorkin – Producer
Barack Obama – President of the U.S.
Al Gore – Vice President of the U.S. (former)
Ted Turner – Founder of CNN
Montel Williams – Talk Show Host
Paul McCartney – Musician
Michael Pollan – Author
Eddie Vedder – Musician
Stephen King – Author
Arnold Schwarzenneger- Actor / Former Governor of California
Natalie Portman – Actor
Brad Pitt- Actor
Morgan Freeman – Actor
George Clooney – Actor
Nicole Hilton - Lucky
DeleteVery, very funny.
http://rt.com/sport/doping-wada-canabis-marijuana-sports-olympics-504/
ReplyDelete"There are those who believe our current criteria needs to be amended and that will be given appropriate consideration through this review process . . . Specifically to cannabis, I can only say to those, particularly in the football codes who have expressed concern that we're focusing on an area that really isn't about cheating in sport.
- John Fahey, WADA President
"I can only say . . . that we're focusing on an area that really isn't about cheating in sport."
Delete- John Fahey, WADA President
THEN DON'T INCLUDE IT IN YOUR LIST OF BANNED SUBSTANCES.
The Coalition of Major and Professional Sports, which represents the AFL, NRL, Cricket Australia and Tennis Australia, is preparing to lobby the head of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) to take cannabis off the list of prohibited substances.
ReplyDelete"If a player in any one of our codes was found to have used marijuana there's an automatic presumption that there'll be a two year ban," he said.
"What's happening around the world is that the two year bans aren't being applied because marijuana, cannabis, is seen as being in a different category of substances, so it's inconsistent it's anomalous.
-From ABC News in May 2012 "Sporting codes to push against marijuana stance"
what about Cocaine??
DeleteI believe Mr Galifi has tested positive for both?
In 2005, yes. In 2011 he allegedly tested positive for cannabis (marijuana).
DeleteMaybe he picked it up from kissing a woman in a nightclub. Tennis suspended Richard Gasquet for 2 years for coke --- until Gasquet convinced them he got the coke traces from someone else's lips.
ReplyDeleteDaily Squash Report is smarter than us all.
ReplyDeleteIf it's September and squash is starting in the U.S., talk about PST.
Last week a PST/PSA fight over banning a kid got a sizable number comments.
This week another player signing causes heated comments.
Love them or not, PST is clearly the straw that stirs the drink.
In other words, they bring more hits/views/clicks to your site.
Don King McManus
DeleteYes, yes. Joe McManus is sitting somewhere in his lair, in a giant leather chair, stroking his pussy cat, and laughing loudly, crazily and obnoxiously to himself.
DeleteHis evil plan is working perfectly. Soon the world will be under his control...
Yes, im sure we will be getting a press release very soon. Written by Joe McManus, about Joe McManus, with comments..... Yes, from Joe McManus.
DeleteMcManus has done more for the Daily Squash Report than anyone on the planet - both in content and promotion.
DeleteThe only reason McManus has promoted the DSR is that it was the only website that would publish his rubbish! SquashSite has obviously stopped publishing his self obsessed press releases so hopefully DSR will do the same.
DeleteJust another PSA - PST battle.
ReplyDeletePSA got two for the US Open. Now PST gets a new recruit.
“If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.”
Delete― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
“There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. ”
ReplyDeleteLance Armstrong was a cheater. Barry Bonds was a cheater (allegedly). Roger Clemens was a cheater (allegedly).
ReplyDeleteEPO, Human growth hormone, steroids etc. are designed to give you an unfair advantage in competition.
Smoking marijuana is controversial. But it is not cheating to enhance your performance in competition. Its use would hinder your performance in a fast moving sport like squash.
Looking for a LIKE button
DeleteSo there are 3 reasons I see that this Mr. Galifi should be banned from playing.
ReplyDelete1) Because that's the rule.
2) Because it was cheating.
3) Because it sets a bad model.
1) If the rule is a bad one, good on PST for calling the world out on it. They are clearly free to decide as they choose.
2) There is no evidence that smoking dope gives an unfair advantage to a player in squash.
3) The singers, actors, and politicians above are likely to create more of an impression upon children. Athletes should be known for what they are - elite athletes. Nothing more, nothing less.
If they cheat to gain an unfair advantage in competition, they should be called cheaters. But kissing women, drinking and smoking ain't cheatin' the game.
http://dailysquashreport.com/8_25_11_power.htm
ReplyDeleteMr. Gross,
You reported this, but. . .
You didn't write a scathing piece saying that Jonathon Power shouldn't be "mingling with fans, giving post-match interviews and signing autographs for kids" after he tested positive for drugs.
Maybe it's fair we ask you to defend your own self?
So you are arguing that an athlete should be held to higher standard than a lawyer or financier? And that's not laughable? I can assure you that there's plenty of abuse of clients' trust by cocaine-fueled financiers, and many a client who has suffered from a lawyer who stayed out too late using legal or illegal substances, but I've not yet heard of a pot-addled athlete injuring his opponent or the crowd.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, if the athlete wasn't TESTED for non-performance enhancing drugs your child would never know he'd used them.
Sascha - please name me a financier that is in the public eye or is idolized by children more than Michael Phelps, Federer, Tiger Woods etc etc. So yes a professional athlete is held higher than any lawyer or financier.
DeleteThe athlete in question WAS tested, during a competition and FAILED. I consider that unacceptable, you clearly dont.
The financier has a direct duty to people whose money he uses. Are you going to argue that his judgement can never be impaired by use of drugs?
DeleteOnce again, WHY do you think he ought to be tested for a drug that has nothing to do with his profession? WHY? The role model thing is after-the-fact. Without the test it doesn't apply. So what's the justification for the test in the first place? I actually think a short term ban might be reasonable, given your point, but Ted was arguing for a life time ban. Bush was taking coke in his thirties. Obama smoking weed, and I think doing some coke as well in college. Should they both have been banned for life from public service?
Which is a worse message for kids- You can drive your car into your living room drunk and still be president, or you can smoke pot and (wait for it!!!) still be a pro squash player!!???
As far as I know there is no international rules regarding drug use that all politicians must adhere to, in professional sport there is and for very good reasons. Obviously you cannot understand the concept of 'break the rules and do your time'.
DeleteI understand the concept very well- I am asking, again, why do you think the sport has a right to test an athlete for something that has nothing to do with the sport? I just said above that I can understand a short term ban once the infraction has become public. But why do you think the sport has a right to test for something that has nothing to do with the sport in the first place? To write "obviously you can't understand" is a narky little irrelevant argument, but I'll still ask you the same question again. You say "very good reasons". What are they? If it's the role model thing, I'll remind you again that it's only the test that informs your child of the athlete's drug use. And again, isn't the president a role model? What are the "very good reasons?"
DeleteDon't expect a decent & honest answer from that "Anonymous" author Sasha, as he won't likely give one. He takes the authority as the truth rather than the truth as the authority, and that's all there is to it for this person. He doesn't ask the big questions, therefore he is not a big thinker. And I don't pay any credence to what dull/indoctrinated people have to say (I mean repeat...they never SAY anything original, because they repeat what other 'authority' figures have told them are 'facts' when those 'facts' are actually false and based on theories which came from people who's opinions weren't worth a flying fart.
DeleteThanks Anonymous 11:18.
ReplyDeleteIf Power were currently under a WSF/WADA suspension for a drug violation and joined an alternate tour that didn't respect the suspension, I would take the same view as above.
Note:
My guess is many of the Anonymous posts on this thread are from the PST.
It is surprising the PST hasn't been heard from officially.
Below is a re-print of an article appearing in this month's Squash Player Magazine.
ReplyDeleteDrug Martyrs
“From the Editor”
By Ian McKenzie
Squash Player Magazine 2012 Issue No. 4
Sport, by definition is competitive, recreation not so. In this competitive activity rules are crucial and behind them we have a set of ideals (or principles) on fairness. The competition must be fair or, as some say, there must be a level playing field.
One area where competitors can gain an unfair advantage is to use performance enhancing drugs. The principle is easy enough to agree to, but defining these drugs and testing for them is a different matter.
I am surprised that marijuana is viewed as a performance enhancing drug, but would tend to bow to experts’ views. After all, they are the experts. I am uneasy with this, but I assume they must know what they are doing.
However, I am even more uneasy when I read the World Anti-Doping Agency Code, which in deciding whether to ban ‘a substance or method’ (in paragraph 4.3 of the code) sets out the criteria, one of these being WADA’s determination that the use of the substance or method violates the spirit of sport described in the “Introduction to the Code”. This includes such concepts as ‘fun and joy’ and ‘health’, which does lead me to question whether the banned substances are really included to stop ‘performance enhancement’ or violate some other ‘principle.’
Squash loyally signed up to the protocols with an eye, of course, on its Olympic bid, but I am uneasy that the main outcome is that we ban young people from our sport for occasional use of recreational drugs which are nothing to do with trying to gain an unfair advantage. Let’s hope the sacrifice is worth it. To call them ‘drug cheats’ is unfair, though, isn’t it? How about drug martyrs?
To subscribe to Squash Player Magazine, please call +44 (0) 20 8597 0181 or email editor@SquashPlayer.co.uk
Hilarious. Ian would bow to the experts' point of view
Deletethat marijuana is a performance ENHANCING drug?!! If I weren't in Ethiopia we could try a simple experiment. I'll play with an eye-patch over one eye and Ian can smoke a joint.
Can someone show me some evidence that Marijuana IS NOT a performance enhancing drug?
DeleteSource:
Deletehttp://espn.go.com/special/s/drugsandsports/mari.html
What are the effects of marijuana on performance?
Impairs skills requiring eye-hand coordination and a fast reaction time
Reduces motor coordination, tracking ability and perceptual accuracy
Impairs concentration, and time appears to move more slowly
Skill impairment may last up to 24 to 36 hours after usage
Reduces maximal exercise capacity resulting in increased fatiguability
Marijuana has no performance-enhancing potential
Source:
Deletehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2657492/
Cannabis and sport
"As cannabis smoking impairs cognition, and psychomotor and exercise performance, it is considered to be an ergolytic drug. Renaud and Cormier showed that marijuana smoking reduce maximal exercise performance"
Ha, Hilarious! come on Joe you may as well put your name to these posts!
DeleteDon't get everyone trying to figure out if maryjane is performance enhancing. Guy chose to break the rules twice, knew the consequences, paying the price. Not rocket science.
ReplyDeletegreat summary and completely agree!
ReplyDeleteI think the argument, "It's simple. He broke the rules and should be banned," actually has some validity, but should we never question the rule? Furthermore, if that's your ONLY argument, he hasn't broken a PST rule yet, not being a member 'till now, so it's simple- he can play.
ReplyDeleteI think questions of morality, legality and fairness are far more tricky than rocket science, which can be done with a decent grounding in high school mathematics and physics. I think the moon shots didn't even require any relativity in the calculations-it was the good old 10th grade Newtonian stuff.
To me it seems that you guys are arguing that a child's right to see a false picture of the world is a more valid right than that of a squash player to make a living. I am sure people won't like that way of putting it, but that's why these are hard questions.
Would one person try to explain to me why it's fair to test an athlete for an irrelevant illegal substance? The role model argument is firstly unfair since it places a burden on the athlete he hasn't agreed to, (I doubt there are many worshipping 10 year olds obsessed with an Italian squash player anyway), and secondly is in a sense begging the question, since without the test the child wouldn't be aware that the athlete had infringed the drug laws. It's a circular argument. If you're simply in support of the drug laws, why don't you support mandatory testing for all citizens?
Again, I've said above that I understand a short term ban since the rule IS in place, but it's an absurd rule and should be eliminated.
By the way, I am in complete support of a lifetime ban on Lance Armstrong, he broke rules that are relevant, and have legitimate purposes- to protect other competitors from being forced to use dangerous substances to compete, and to preserve the integrity of the sport. I'm not sure where I stand on Lasse Viren and Eddie Merx and all the old timers who used far less sophisticated means of enhancing their systems. In Viren's case I don't think blood building had been outlawed in his day- I'm not sure about the rules regarding Merx. I do believe that Armstrong, like Merx, outworked and outcompeted everyone else anyway, but in a case where the rule is essential to the nature of the sport I agree with those of you who say," He broke the rules- he's out."
The role model argument is perfectly legit. Being a professional athlete, becoming a role model is part of deal, whether the athlete likes it or not. Kids look up to professional atheltes and want to be like them, act like them.
DeleteSquash is a tiny world. But when watching a professional tournament in my club and observing the kids from the local urban squash program who were watching the tournament, they were completely engrossed in the players. They swarmed them for autographs, photos, wanted to play with them, use their racquets, just talk to them. Whether the player wanted it or not, they are very influential.
Once again, the child wouldn't know the athlete had used drugs if the athlete wasn't tested.
DeleteAre Bush and Obama not role models?
Probably not, but that's a hypothetical. Fact is, they ARE tested. Your original point stated that being a role model is unfair to the athlete since it's a burden they didn't agree to. I'm just saying it comes with the territory. Athletes have no choice in the matter.
DeleteSo you are arguing that people in a walk of life you deem to make them likely to be admired by children should be tested for drugs so that we can punish them in the sight of children pour encourager les autres?
DeleteI've already agreed that since the rule IS in place, some punishment is necessary, since otherwise none of the rules, good or bad, would have any effect. I'm arguing that firstly the rule is a poor one, and secondly, a life-time ban is an absurd punishment.
Someone wrote above that politicians are not tested, that there is no rule about them. For crying out loud, marijuana use is against the law of the land.
If a politician can break the law and pursue his occupation, why not an athlete, whose responsibilities to society are clearly far less great?
Render unto Caesar. It's the responsibility of the law to punish offenders; additional punishment by a sports association is beyond that association's purview.
It's completely ludicrous to ban squash players for cannabis use, and it's sad to see some careers close to be ruined by it. I mean have you ever tried playing after smoking? Or smoked a joint to help you recover from a hard match?
ReplyDeleteIt's just terrible that for testing positive for cannabis (and even cocaine) you get a penalty, let alone the penalty being as high as EPO and other performance enhancing drugs. It just makes no sense at all, and it's a pity that these views are held in this blog.
Also, I've seen many great professional squash players over the last twenty years, and Galifi was one of the very best to watch.
Learn to teach you own kids then rather than rely on other people as role models. In other words, get that rod out of your ass and maybe your kids will look up to you more as a cool parent/role model, rather than a stiff authority figure who will have their limits tested by their kids. Just be cool, peaceful, open-minded, healthy, and then wrap that all up with some humour if you're intelligent/witty enough, and I can guarantee your kids will look up to you rather than the crackheads.
ReplyDeleteWhy blame outside influences, when it is ultimately YOU who can control your own reality and have any real influence on the people you care about.
I have always been opposed to the IOC position on non-performance enhancing drugs. I have never taken one myself, but drink alcohol and have, on occasions, played squash after a unit or two too many, so know it does not help performance.
ReplyDeleteBut Joe McManus has taken a position which is fundamentally flawed. He is a part of worldwide squash whether he likes it or not. Let him play with the rules, use no-let squash, promote new ideas but - and this is the key part - do NOTHING to damage the sport. However much you disagree with WADA rules they govern world squash and if it is to gain Olympic exposure that is the law. You might argue Olympic exposure would not help squash, but it would do one heck of a lot more for it than the PST Tour.
Be a maverick Joe and good luck to you, but do not bite the hand that feeds you. It was dumb move to allow Galifi in to your tour, admit it and at least reach some accord with the sport as whole.