How long is it going to take to figure out that it is the coaches and agents who are big part of this drug issue? You cannot coach an athlete on drugs and not know it. Justin Gatlin is coached by Trevor Graham who has had six other athletes test positive. Sure he sent the syringe to USADA, how did he get it? What was he doing with it? How tough is that connection to make. Why don’t the USOC and USA Track& Filed take a stand and ban the drug coaches. Here is what Darryl Seibel, a U.S.O.C. spokesman said: “We are thinking about broadening the scope of responsibility and accountability to include individuals who have the ability to influence the athlete, such as coaches, trainers and agents,” He said the committee could deny those people access to the Olympic training centers, accreditation to the Olympics and access to high-performances services provided by the committee. Why not outright ban them and fine them? Make everyone sign a contract that states that if they or an athlete they are working with tests positive they are banned from being coaches or agents.
We need to get our heads out of the sand if we want clean up sport. Right now the outlaws are so far ahead of the law it is scary. There is so much money at stake, not only in athlete’s contracts but also the sponsors have so much to lose if a high profile athlete goes down. I believe the sponsors and the sports governing bodies are part of a vast conspiracy to sweep all this under the table. They constantly demand higher performance levels with unrealistic competition schedules. What is the limit?