Dwain Chambers????

[Ronnoc1980]

whats everyones thought on dwain,should he be able to compete at the olyimpics or not,in my opinion he has served his ban and can now go back to work (also one of our best chances of a medal)he has been slaughtered from every angle,some people commit much worse crimes eg murder/manslaughter and do there time and go back to the same job,another example is lee hughes,he did worse and is now back plying his trade

 

[viscount17]

the rules should impose a life ban, but they do not. it's also too obvious that the bans imposed by the various federations are too inconsistent with some giving careful calculation to ensure competitors will be 'eligible' for the next olympics.

so by the rules he is eligible, do I want to see him there, no.

 

[USER1999]

He is a drug taking cheat, so no, he should not be at the olympics.

I have no sympathy, cheating is ruining sport. There should be no second chances, a life time ban from all competition is the only punishment that will deter the cheats.

Other team mates have had to hand back relay medals due to his cheating. How bad would you feel if you had 'won' a medal, only to have to give it back. How could you trust him to be in the team again?

 

[billyg]

Not much sympathy here for Mr. chambers i'm afraid.

Legally, he's almost certainly entitled to compete but this loophole should close a.s.a.p

Morally, it sends out all the wrong messages. Chambers admitted to taking a combination of 7 banned performance enhancing drugs which implies a wilfull desire to cheat.

Cheats shouldn't prosper.

 

[vig]

No! and neither should any other cheat.

The list is endless of the so called superstars that were unbeatable but had a little bit of help.

 

[forefortheday]

For me the worst of it is that he has been repeatedly asked to name those that assisted him, which he has not done.

Problem is that the sport is rife with it, in fact it wouldn't surprise me if it was the minority who were clean these days!

Difference between Lee Hughes and Chambers is Hughes committed an offence unrelated to his sport, scumbag yes cheat no

 

[Nico]

He is a cheat pure and simple. Look what his actions have done to his fellow team members!

Money lost,medals handed back,if he was a team mate of mine we would be having a conversation in the car park about that!!

There is no place in Sport for people like this and the only way to get rid is to ban them full stop combined with a better testing regime.

Now dont start me on Joey Barton and co.

 

[Nico]

I read this today and it summed up the whole situation for me.



From The TimesJuly 1, 2008

Why Dwain Chambers must miss the Beijing boat

I spent a morning last week with the Great Britain rowers who will travel to the Beijing Olympic Games. A more impressive bunch of athletes, or people, you could not wish to meet. These are men and women who break the ice on frozen rivers when the rest of us are curled up in the warm. Then there are the lightweights who endure a miserably sparse diet, weighing themselves every night, while training like demons several times a day.

Knowing that they labour in the giant shadows cast by Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent, there are no book deals in the offing, no Big Brother appearances, even if they win gold in China. They are doing it for themselves in the purest sense that there is nothing else - no riches, no life of fame - to chase.

Share any time with these men and women and it clarifies the Dwain Chambers issue in a stroke. You understand why it would be an insult to ask them to share a plane with a drugs cheat, why their venture does not deserve to carry the slightest taint.

Following on from the roll call of renowned athletes calling on the British Olympic Association's ban on Chambers to be upheld, perhaps it is time for a petition, for millions of sports lovers to make it plain that the disgraced sprinter is not welcome. The trouble is, Chambers has proved himself beyond shaming.

 

[viscount17]

It says it all, nearly.

For me it fails in the last sentence. It is not or should not be up to the cheats to decide whether they will or will not continue to compete and to contaminate future athletes of all disciplines.

To me, it is the sports governing bodies, all of them, that have failed. They have failed us and they have failed their future by their cowardice, hypocracy and greed in failing to ensure that all cheats receive life-time bans.

The legal system, most especially in the US, have also played their part by failing to uphold bans and allowing cheats to sue.

 

[madandra]

Ban them for life and make them pay back EVERY penny they got in prize money and sponsorship. Chambers knew the punishment and should never be allowed to tun in the Olympics.

 

[Nico]

I see what you mean Viscount. However I think the writer was pointing towards Chambers brazen disregard for public opinion and the feeling of his contemporaries.

 

[OldWindy]

Once a cheat etc.. Anyone who's going to give him a second chance is denying an honest athlete a place. Wanting him in for a medal is cheap integrity.

 

[Sam]

Ah but the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act makes some quite serious crimes 'spent' after the appropriate number of years - how does cheating compare?

 

[Nico]

That kind of legislation is why the BOA brought in their own by-law.

You know what is coming tho,he will get on the plane through restraint of trade.

Our only hope is that they can find some way of not selecting him by fudging the criteria.

 

[viscount17]

The Olympics are unpaid therefore there is no 'trade' to restrain.

What he is after is post games advertising revenue, but who the hell would want him, and higher pay-outs for world cup events etc from which he is not barred.

 

[HartleyHare]

personally i'm not a fan of athletics, if i watch any of it it'll probably be the womens long jump ;-).

but IMO anyone who cheats by using drugs should be banned for life from whatever sport they are involved in.
it should be controlled centrally and not be open for any sort of negotitation.

cheats are cheats plain and simple.

 

[viscount17]

we were discussing this at work this morning. the concensus was that 2 years is much too short a ban anyway as he is still benefitting from the training advantage that the drugs gave him. absolute minimum of 5 years but most favour life. all agree though that it is the international governing bodies that are too weak.

 

[Red_Eyes]

I wonder how he did argue restraint of trade given that the Olympics is a non fee event.

Now he's not going I hope he retires. He has undermined athletics.

I'll sit and wait for the judo...

 

[viscount17]

he has said he plans to continue the case so as to compete in 2012. I wish he would just go away.