Cheating in sports

[2fast748]

With the recent revelations about illegal drugs being found on aeroplanes belonging the Dubai government in connection with horse racing and the Red Bull traction control argument raging does anybody really believe modern sport is clean?

There's lots of argument along the lines of "Sheik whatever hisnameis wouldn't cheat" & "why would Red Bull cheat to win a a race?" but does anybody really believe all the big sporting scandals are in the past?

[Derek Smith]

I know little or nothing about horse racing over and above that it has horses in it and it is as bent as the rules allow. There was a case of dog knobbling in London when I was a bobby there and on reading about it it seemed that it was the norm, the defence was rather along the lines of what will soon be called the Armstrong Ploy.

There was much 'bending' of rules in F1. Indeed, Chapman, in one of his biographies, actually boasted about cheating. Ken Tyrell, something of a hero of mine at the time, got done for upping the octane rating of the fuel.

Some suggest it is down to money but drug taking goes on at all levels of various sports.

There are many sports where the organising body is corrupt. I remember one particular chap, caught by a sting, whose defence was that he was doing it for youth sport in his country, as if that made accepting bribes alright.

For many countries corruption is a way of life and it is unreasonable to expect players, officials and organisers to somehow go against what would not be criticised in their own countries.

There's a sporting icon in the USA whom everyone knows took drugs. this sporting icon died, leaving behind some sort of financial interest, SO anyone mentioning the bleedin' obvious would be sued. So this person is held up as a role model for people of the same 'type' and, as they know that drugs were the cause of the fantastical increase in performance, they too will look to the same route to fulfill their aspirations.

We tend to think of this country as a haven of sporting morals but that is far from the truth.

[GravelBen]

I think the more money is involved in a sport, the more corrupt it is likely to be - look at pro cycling, boxing, etc - and even without corruption the rules will be stretched to the limit.

However you can find people in any sport, at any level, who will cheat if they think they can get away with it. Thats just... people.

Its interesting thinking about cultural differences towards cheating too. I don't have the experience to really comment on it, but had an interesting chat to an Aussie bloke a while back who said he found a much bigger difference moving to NZ than he expected - he reckoned Aussie was very much 'win at all costs' while NZ was more 'winning by cheating is losing'.

[XCP]

That's interesting. I have always considered the All Blacks to be some of the most proficient cheats going. Mind you everyone cheats in Rugby.

[ewenm]

I don't expect any professional sport to be "clean". What's important to me is how the sport reacts to the cheats. Coverups, token penalties, words rather than actions, these tend to put me off the sport.