In 2003, sprint phenom and would-be heir to Mo Greene’s crown as sprint king, Dwain Chambers, was busted in one of the biggest steroid scandals of all time. He served his time away from the sport while pursuing American football and laying low. In 2006, he was reinstated to compete again by the IAAF but his own National Governing Body and many European meets have been giving him a hard time- initially banning him (a decision that was overturned by the IAAF), making him repay past earnings, blackballing or outright not allowing him to compete in certain meets, and publicly calling for lifetime bans for the guy.
I don’t know what to think.
Dwain seems more repentant than others and seems to have legitimately tried to make amends. He also played by the rules and sat out the time as dictated by the sport’s international governing body. By most accounts he was legitimately a phenom who probably didn’t need to take drugs and his recent performances indicate that this may be the case. On the other hand he knowingly took part in what by most accounts was one of the most structured doping regimes in all of sport and only had to sit out 2 years. Check out this recent article about Dwain’s current struggles and let me know what side of this debate you are on.
Discuss entry