EMERGING THREAT: Doping is a matter we need to talk about because it is in public interest

The issue of doping by some Kenyan athletes has dominated the headlines in the recent past. This is a matter we need to talk about because it is in public interest.

It is something we need to address now rather than later. Its root cause(s) need(s) to be unmasked and addressed. Its signs and symptoms must all be addressed because it is a threat to our athletics excellence and national pride. That is why I have decided to add my voice on this issue.

The creed of the Olympic Games states: “The important thing in the games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing is not conquering, but fighting well.”

Further, the spirit of sports is based on ethics, fair play, honesty, health, respect, rules and laws. While acknowledging and appreciating this as true to the spirit of sportsmanship, it has little to do with the reality of the current competitive sports in the world.

Things have changed a great deal. Athletes are rewarded for winning at virtually every level of competitions. Second place is viewed as the first loser. The job security of a coach is directly related to his/her team’s success and not how well the team played.

Given this reality, it is not surprising that athletes and coaches will sacrifice and risk a great deal in order to obtain a competitive edge and enhance performance at all costs. Performance enhancement in professional sport has now become a medical, ethical, and legal problem for modern athletes and athletic organisations. This is primarily due to the amount of money associated with winning in today’s sports industry.

Multimillion shilling/dollar contracts, appearance fees, international endorsement and merchandising represent a huge industry that offers today’s athletes, their sponsors and entourage a lot of financial gain. The pressure to win is simply becoming too much for some to bear.

I should probably start by asking some questions which might be simple but are important and need answers. Do our sportsmen and women know what doping means?

Do our sports managers and administrations know what doping is? How well-informed are our sportsmen and women together with our sports administrators and managers about procedures related to doping control?

From which sources do our athletes often receive information on drug-free sport? To what extent do you consider there is a doping problem in sports in your country?

Are our athletes aware of the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) procedure, which allows an athlete to take a medication deemed necessary for their health which appears on the list of prohibited substances in sport?

Are our athletes aware of prohibited substances in sport? Do our athletes know their rights and responsibilities in relation to doping control process?

How about in schools and colleges? Are school children taught against doping and substance abuse? What does the Kenya Sports Act 2013 say about doping? What is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) code? What does the International Convention against Doping in Sport spearhead by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) say?

These are many questions that beg for answers not from one but from many players? They beg for action by all stakeholders in sports in Kenya ranging from researchers, administrators, managers, sportsmen and women, policy makers, sponsors, teachers, parents, peers, siblings, media and others.

Doping in sports can mean any of the following:

1. The presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in an athlete’s sample;

2. The use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or a prohibited method by an athlete;

3. Refusing to submit to Sample collection after notification;

4. Not being available for testing;

5. Tampering, or attempting to tamper with a sample after collection;

6. Possession of prohibited substances by an athlete;

7. Trafficking or attempted trafficking in any prohibited substance or prohibited method;

8. Administration or attempted administration to an athlete in competition of a prohibited substance;

9. Assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, conspiring, covering up or other type of intentional complicity involving an anti-doping rule violation by another person;

10. Association by an athlete with any athlete support person who is serving a period of ineligibility, or a person who has been convicted in a criminal or professional proceeding to have engaged in conduct which would have constituted an anti-doping violation.

— vonywera@gmail.com