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Do you think Russia should have been banned from the Rio Olympics over allegations of state-sponsored doping?

27 Comments
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The issue with Russia is not that cheating athletes were caught. That happens time to time.

The issue with Russia is that the cheating national testing system was caught. That's almost unheard of.

One cheating national testing system is a lot more serious than millions of cheating athletes.

Because the national testing system is supposed to be the gatekeeper with the key. A compromised gatekeeper is a lot more serious than any compromised athletes.

Cheating athletes are punished by being banned. How about a cheating national testing system? How do ya propose to punish that? That cannot go unpunished. Suggestions welcome.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Best way to celebrate the perennially corrupt, unfair Olympics: Turn off the TV. Get your bum off the sofa. Head for the hills.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I'm shocked Putin couldn't scare up enough cash to buy their way out of this one.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Let the competitor compete. There is a neutral team! Just don,t allow Russia to be represented in any form for the next 50 lunar cycles.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I think I am only reading half truth on this story. Not sure who else (i.e. including non russians) is involved in this huge scam.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Sate sanctioned cheating. Of course they should be banned.

What a gutless bunch the IOC is.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Why is it the IOC finds problems with 4 year old urine samples? Is there one test for use immediately after the event today and a different test 4 years later?

That's correct - better tests are developed as science improves. It's a constant arms race between PEDs developed that could avoid tests and new tests that could detect the new PEDs. Usually, it takes some time for science to catch up to the new PEDs.

What about only ban those who were caught cheating, and allow those who have a clean record.

But how do we know who's really clean if the system itself is compromised? So it still goes back to the same conundrum - what do we do with the system?

That's why it's very important to keep the system from getting corrupted, which would then make the situation a whole lot harder to separate those who truly passed vs. those cheaters who passed because the system manipulated the tests.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

WIth Russia and the old Soviet Union doping reputedly has gone on for decades with at least implicit state involvement all the time. Individual athletes at different times would be actively involved but that is the case for lots of people outside of Russia too.

But many athletes of good reputation become accused: Rafael Nadal took a newspaper to task about its accusations earlier this year; swimmer Ian Thorpe was accused by a German newspaper years after his peak. After that it is never the same.

It is dangerous days for anyone wanting to be a high-level competitive athlete, having to depend on duplicitous sports infrastructures and dodgy public and private support systems. Certainly not athlete is a deluded hubris-ridden wretch like Lance Armstrong. But these days almost all of them are tainted. Who really would want their kids to end up like that?

So, yeah, like John-san says, a neutral team but keep the non-sporting glory seekers of the institutions as far away as possible.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

As long as the national testing system is taken to task. The independent report of WADA unequivocally implicates

0 ( +0 / -0 )

while the individual athletes may or may not deserve to be punished (they are responsible for what they put in their own bodies), what other punishment is there when the cheating is state sponsored?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

What was the deal? The athletics team ban to allow the others?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There is no way Russia shouldn't have been banned over this state-sponsored cheating. We all knew it was a cultural tradition in Russia to cheat and lie, but the state doing it is a new level of civilizational failure and puts Russia back a few hundred years in their development. They should duly be heavily, heavily punished

0 ( +3 / -3 )

This is like the Cosa Nostra discussing whether Joey the Knife should be banned for jaywalking. After all, one jaywalking assassin tarnishes the entire Cosa Nostra reputation for integrity.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

As far as I see it, the primary fault here lies with the Russian state and its systematic use of doping, not with the athletes. While that does make it difficult to try to weed out willing participants in the whole doping scandal and ban them, if the clean athletes have any beef it should be with their own state, not with WADA or any other body trying to keep their own sport fair and honest.

If a ban on Russia is warranted, as I believe it is in this case, then it should be enforced and any person wishing to compete outside that ban needs to be independently tested before and after the event, competing as a country-neutral competitor. This should continue until Russia can be seen to be competing fairly.

In that respect the IOC are doing the world no favours by wimping out on the ban.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why is it the IOC finds problems with 4 year old urine samples? Is there one test for use immediately after the event today and a different test 4 years later? Use the same test or a better test today to eliminate anyone who does not pass the test.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What about only ban those who were caught cheating, and allow those who have a clean record. It's hard to believe that an entire multi-sport national team are using illegal substances. It's also hard to believe to say there isn't any political motives going on here.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

No, Russia should not be banned because many other countries are doing the same thing.

So....... Lance Armstrong should keep his Tour de France titles because other cyclists are doping too?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If every country that doped or was caught doping received a ban, there'd likely be few nations competing. I disagree totally with doping, and hope that athletes who get caught doing so get banned for a good, long time, if not for life, from their events, but to ban a country because it happens is simply throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Otherwise, East Germany would never have been allowed to compete, especially in women's events....

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Since Olympic substance testing began, it appears that Russian competitors were caught 90 times. In the same time frame USA was caught 98 times. I quickly ran through the list of ALL countries who were caught and didn't double check, but I'm sure the numbers are very close to fact.

So for all who are for banning an entire country for the actions of some, it looks like the USA has been caught more than Russia. I for one, am glad that the final ruling only excludes those individuals who are caught!

Excluding countries just because you don't like them or their leader, goes against the foundation of world Olympic competition.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

It's not just the doping athletes - more seriously it's the national testing system that help them cheat

Many countries have athletes who have been caught doping - not many countries have national testing systems that help them cheat

If it's just athletes doping, banning those athletes would have been the end of the issue

But it's the national testing system too that has been caught cheating - so what ya gonna do, ban the nation?

And yeah, the East German issue was a big black eye on the Olympics - nobody wants a repeat of those days - and that is why many people now want to punish national systems that cheat

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

State sponsored? Well that is the key, really. As far as I know, most testing regimes require the good faith participation and supervision of national bodies. If the national bodies have questionable practices and if they cannot stand up to basic scrutiny, then it behooves the INTERNATIONAL body to protect the integrity of international competitions.

Too bad Russia. Your reputation is shot.

You know, this is just another case of Russians shooting themselves in the foot. If they just walked the straight and narrow and cultivated good will worldwide, they would not have these problems. Compete fairly. Respect borders. Give a little here and accept a little there. People would give them the benefit of the doubt. But no. It seems that they have to cut corners and nip and tuck wherever they can. Good riddance to bad rubbish. It could all be so different if Russian government and people could just get together and act with dignity and magnanimity instead of paranoia and pettiness at every turn.

There was a time when Russia had the second largest GNP in the world. Now it can't even join a card game because everyone knows it cheats. If it blames everyone but itself, we will know that Russia has not hit rock bottom yet.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Are the 25% who voted no actual Russian dopers? There is no excuse or reason to dope, it is there for cheaters and those who do not want to do any sport clean.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

All individuals, from any country, who are caught doping should be expelled from competing. That does not mean the whole country should be banned. EVERY country has had competitors who were guilty of doping, should they all be banned from competing? Remember, these allegations of state sponsor doping, have only come from one person, shouldn't the independent Olympic test catch all who are cheating?

I personally don't know if these allegations are true or not, can any of you show the facts?

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Looks like I have to update the previous numbers. Since the very first Olympic testing started. Russian competitors were caught 90 times, while Americans were caught 98 times. Now in fail swoop, Russian competitors added 85 more. If this is true, in one week they were caught close to the total violations since the beginning of Olympic testing. Is this possible? Yes, but I have to be a little suspicious after seeing all the demonizing of Russia these last couple years.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Yes, and China who does state-sponsored doping should be banned, too!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

No, Russia should not be banned because many other countries are doing the same thing.

I'm more concerned about potential terrorist attacks in Rio.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

No way the whole delegate should be banned, or at the very least individuals proven to not be doping should be allowed to enter individually. All that banning Russia does is prove the Olympians are not necessarily the best in the world -- it can no longer be called a 'world event'.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

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