1st Edition

The Anti-Doping Crisis in Sport Causes, Consequences, Solutions

By Paul Dimeo, Verner Møller Copyright 2018
    186 Pages
    by Routledge

    186 Pages
    by Routledge

    The sense of crisis that pervades global sport suggests that the war on doping is still very far from being won. In this critical and provocative study of anti-doping regimes in global sport, Paul Dimeo and Verner Møller argue that the current system is at a critical historical juncture.

    Reviewing the recent history of anti-doping, this book highlights serious problems in the approach developed and implemented by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), including continued failure to accept responsibility for the ineffectiveness of the testing system, the growing number of dubious convictions, and damaging human-rights issues. Without a total rethink of how we deal with this critical issue in world sport, this book warns that we could be facing the collapse of anti-doping, both as a policy and as an ideology.

    The Anti-Doping Crisis in Sport: Causes, Consequences, Solutions is important reading for all students and scholars of sport studies, as well as researchers, coaches, doctors and policymakers interested in the politics and ethics of drug use in sport. It examines the reasons for the crisis, the consequences of policy strategies, and it explores potential solutions.

    Preface

    1. The Inadvertent Consequences of Anti-Doping

    2. Origins and Emergence of the Anti-Doping Crisis

    3. The Creation Of WADA: Politics, Olympism and the Illusion of Reform

    4. Why Anti-Doping Fails

    5. Collateral Damage

    6. Problems with Medicine and Science

    7. Social Stigma and De-Humanization

    8. Proposed Alternatives to the Current Anti-Doping Strategy

    9. Recommendations for Radical Reform

    Biography

    Paul Dimeo is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport at Stirling University, UK.

    Verner Møller is Professor in the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University, Denmark.

    "This is a significant contribution in clearly describing the labyrinth of a global anti-doping system that is ineffective in fulfilling its intended purpose – catching cheats. Equally, the book powerfully conveys how athletes as a key stakeholder are disempowered within the global anti-doping system. Moreover, the book conveys a number of powerful examples that demonstrate the unjust and harmful impact that the application of the WADA Code has on athletes – an issue that to date has largely been absent from the public discourse … an important resource for athletes, their representatives, sports administrators, and the public at large." - Brendan Schwab and Matthew Graham, World Players Association

    "Anti-Doping regulation in elite sport has come a long way in recent decades, but as we’ve seen recently, it still has a long way to go. Paul Dimeo and Verner Møller bring to this issue an informed, independent perspective that is critical yet constructive, provocative yet pragmatic. Everyone involved in anti-doping — whether administrator, athlete or other — should read this important, eye-opening book." – Roger Pielke Jr., Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado