Tarnished Careers
Hero-to-zero as a spectator sport
DUSTIN PREUN
In a summer filled with worldclass sporting events, sports fans were practically frothing at the mouth in anticipation of seeing some great moments in sports history. The World Cup of soccer in Germany and the Tour de France were among the events in the last few months that were supposed to be the stage for world-class athletes to showcase their skills and talents.
Unfortunately, some of these athletes chose to completely destroy their reputations and put large black marks on their legendary careers. As a result, sports fans around the world were left disappointed at the shameful decisions made by these athletes.
It seems that every day, there is a new story about an athlete cheating to win by taking illegal performanceenhancing drugs. It is almost getting to the point where you have to take a step back and wonder which athletes are actually “clean.” Recently, two high-profile athletes have tested positive for taking synthetic testosterone.
The first is Justin Gatlin, an American sprinter, who ran the 100- meter dash in 9.77 seconds to tie for the world record with Asafa Powell. Gatlin had been previously known as a strong advocate against the use of performance-enhancing drugs. When Gatlin tested positive, he was, at first, delayed in responding. After finally owning up to the results of his positive test, he blamed the mistake on his masseuse, claiming the masseuse had rubbed the illegal substance on him. To most people this story sounded rather ridiculous. Catlin would have been banned for life, but agreed to an eight-year ban in exchange for his co-operation with track and field doping authorities.
The second is Floyd Landis, a cyclist in this year’s Tour de France. Landis won the event in one of the most legendary rides ever. In one of the later stages of the race, with three major hill climbs ahead of him, Landis was able to erase an eight-minute deficit to take over the race lead. After Landis rode to victory through Paris, it was discovered that he had taken synthetic testosterone. Once again, a rather ludicrous excuse was used. Landis’ first ploy was the “whiskey excuse.” He claimed that he and his team sat around and drank, out of frustration, after giving up the lead and “le maillot jaune” (yellow jersey) in the previous stage. Landis is now distancing himself from that excuse and is instead accusing the testosterone ratio test of being inaccurate. Landis faces the possibility of being stripped of his Tour de France title and being banned from the sport for two years. Landis’ case is just another black eye for the sport of cycling. Before this year’s Tour de France, several cyclists — including strong favourites Jan Ulrich and Ivan Basso — were disqualified for taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Obviously, cheating is not the only way an athlete can go from hero to zero in an instant. In the final of this year’s World Cup of soccer in Germany, Zinédine Zidane of the French national team embarrassed himself and tarnished his legendary career with his classless head-butt to Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest, knocking him to the ground. It was a moment that may become the defining moment of Zidane’s career. Speculation is that Materazzi had been antagonizing Zidane, trying to rattle the superstar. Had this incident not occurred, the soccer world’s view of Zidane would be turned 180 degrees. We could have seen Zidane hoisting the World Cup trophy in celebration, instead of seeing the depressing sight of the best soccer player of this generation walking off the pitch, staring at the ground, past soccer’s greatest prize. That sickening moment was the last of a World Cup tournament filled with a comedic array of dives.
Instead of being a showcase of talent, skill, and class, this tournament was littered with flying bodies trying to draw penalties. With all of the acting happening on the field, it was more like watching a Broadway show than the most important soccer game of the year.
All in all, these incidents have shown a lack of class from people who are idolized by aspiring athletes around the world. There are plenty of children who dedicate themselves to imitating these athletes. It is a shame that athletes continue to cheat to win, because they are really cheating their fans and themselves. There is no doubt that these athletes are under intense pressure to succeed. The question is whether they will draw the line between what is right and what is wrong. The world wants a pure, competitive sport, not a false reality. Dedicated sports fans deserve more for their admission price.
