Doping at 120kph

Things are getting heady, swirling, spinning out of control, like vials of blood in the centrifuge.  The growing swarm of controversy surrounding professional cyclist Lance Armstrong and accusations of doping [a general term for the use of performance enhancing drugs, banned pain-killers, EPO, blood doping techniques etc. used in cycling] are causing an upheaval in pro cycling.  Beyond simply calling into question Armstrong’s seven Tour de France victories, the current USADA investigation is exposing “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”  Therein lies an important fact.  The current controversy is not simply a case of one athlete or one sport but rather, reflects the culture of cheating in sport.  But the race doesn’t end there.

The fall of yet another great champion should serve to remind us that we all seek the same thing; to exert control over the world around us in an effort to survive and prosper. On the sports field or in the office; at church or at home; at the bar or on the road, we all seek an advantage that will give us control over our lives.  It is the delusional belief that we can control life which leads to frustration, anger and pain.  As eventually happens, when things don’t go our way we look for alternatives; we cheat or pass the buck.

We set expectations of others that we are unwilling to make of ourselves.  We take pride in the achievements of our heroes as though we contributed to those victories and we get angry when we learn that we’ve been conned.  We idolize and we vilify.  We deny the problems within our deepest personal relationships then blame those others when things falls apart.  We drink an extra cup of coffee in the morning to prepare us for the day ahead.   We break the speed limit while driving because we are late for an appointment.  We see others doing whatever it takes to survive and prosper so we feel validated in doing the same thing.  Once that occurs, we no longer feel as though we are cheating.  Instead, we are simply doing what everyone else does.

In his recent tell-all biography, The Secret Race, the former team-mate of Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton, spoke openly about the culture of doping in pro cycling and his role within it.  One of the messages that was repeated over and over was that each racer and each team was simply keeping up with the Jones’.  If team x is doing it, so must we.  Eventually, the playing field is levelled and what could be seen as cheating becomes status quo.  The problem, however, lies not in the act but in the denial.
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The denial that we cannot ever really control life and the mistaken idea that others can, forces us all to cheat.  But since we all cheat, it is not seen as a corruption in moral fibre.  If the speed limit is 100kph and everyone is driving 120kph, we feel fine about doing the same.  It’s no longer seen as breaking the law but driving with the flow of traffic; denial.  That feeling is further validated when we pass a speed-trap and are not pulled over.  And, knowing that the cops won’t pull us over for driving 20kph over the limit, we take advantage and even push a little further.  We take advantage of a corrupted system and feel no shame in doing so; everyone else is.

Every day it seems, new revelations are surfacing that implicate more and more people within more and more organisations.  Dr. Ferrari for providing drugs to Armstrong; Nike for allegedly paying $500,000 to cover-up a positive doping result; former UCI president Hein Verbruggen for accepting that bribe, as well as the myriad current and ex-racers for their role in keeping up with the Jones’.  What will not be discussed, however, is that they are all just people, like each of us, seeking to exert control over their live’s.  We refuse to acknowledge that we do the same thing, every day.  Instead, we carry-on about how Lance lied to us all, how the UCI covered it up and how people around the world made a lot of money as part of the lie.  We drive down the highway–20kph over the limit–cursing his cheating role within a corrupt system.

Rather than getting angry with Lance Armstrong or Barry Bonds or the executives who collapsed the world’s economy a few years ago, we need to examine our own lives and the lack of control there-over.  If we refuse to adhere to the speed limit, then we must admit that doping is a legitimate aid to being a stronger cyclist.  A better strategy would be to acknowledge that we all are human and none of us can control life.  Rather, we can simply control how we react to the daily challenges of life on this planet.  For my part, I’m going to go ride my bike but, not before I drink an other cup of coffee.