Why does doping remain taboo?

The only times this word appears in capital letters, bold type, or even in color are when it's necessary to strip an athlete of all the recognition they've earned for a "misdeed." This attitude of the mass media is a starting point for understanding the silence of sports professionals. Yet, if we want to move the issue forward in one direction or another, we must break the silence! Let's try to understand the other reasons why this practice is a subject that would be considered inappropriate to discuss due to social or moral conventions (definition from Larousse).

Fear of punishment

The sanctions, or rather the sanctions, can be imposed on athletes overnight. They can be divided into two categories: professional sanctions and media sanctions. Both are terrifying for athletes. The former can lead to a ban on practicing the sport to which most have dedicated their lives since childhood, while also causing them to lose their source of income (prizes, sponsorship contracts, etc.). The latter strikes at the honor and pride of the athlete, loved by some and adored by fans of their sport. When a doped athlete is exposed, all this recognition evaporates, giving way to insults, criticism, and judgment. Previous cases, such as those of renowned sprinters Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson, or cyclist Lance Armstrong, are examples that are fresh in everyone's minds. It's easy to understand why those involved in sports don't want to talk about doping for fear of being financially and morally ruined by these sanctions!

Doped athletes: guilty, but are they solely responsible?

The subject of doping remains taboo for a completely different reason. If a swimmer, athlete, or footballer uses performance-enhancing drugs, then we must ask ourselves why. And perhaps this is where a seemingly obvious truth could challenge the sporting authorities! Since the end of the twentieth century, sport has been transformed and adapted to our economy, becoming a commercial product that generates astronomical sums beyond our comprehension. And like any financial product, it must be improved and optimized, and in the sporting world, this translates into busier competition calendars, as well as the need for high performance and the pursuit of numerous records. On the other hand, there are the sponsors, who in many cases represent the athletes' primary source of income, and they want champions to represent their brands. These sponsors exert pressure on athletes to achieve the best results and give them the impression that they no longer have the right to fail. From this perspective, one can imagine that if the mask of doping were lifted, those responsible would not necessarily be only the athletes.

Unusual stories, sometimes unbelievable excuses!

Like children caught cheating, some athletes and their entourages resort to increasingly outlandish excuses as their first line of defense. This stems, once again, from the taboo surrounding the subject. Athletes are unwilling to admit to using banned substances and sometimes resort to ridiculous tactics to cover up the practice. Here are a few gems to laugh at what frightens so many in the world of sports.

Three-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador hid behind a Spanish steak "stuffed with clenbuterol »"to justify the presence of this prohibited product in its metabolism.".

In Lausanne in 2007, the Russian rowing team was caught with syringes they had thrown into a recycling bin.

At the London Olympics, it was the American athlete LaShawn Merritt who admitted to ingesting DHEA in order to enlarge his penis.

Conclusion

Regardless of our stance on doping, it is the duty of every sports professional to break down these barriers. As with all topics for debate, open discussion facilitates dialogue and progress, so that sport can once again become a pleasure and an opportunity for equitable sharing at all levels, and not a risk for its participants. To break the taboo, athletes, their staff, and federations all have an important role to play..