I went to this lecture yesterday at Case's law school because it seemed interesting and, let's be honest, I needed the CLE credit.
Mr. Murray, a bioethicist, is also the Chair of the Ethical Issues Review Panel for the World Anti-Doping Agency ("WADA").
The most surprising part of the evening was nothing that he said, but the reactions of some of the audience members who seemed angered and mystified that athletes "cheat" when competing.
Of all of the mysteries surrounding doping in sports (how it is done, how often, how do they avoid detection, etc.), one thing is not (or should not be) a mystery: why they do it.
Large percentages of people in major metropolitan areas allow the outcome of a Sunday sports contest to dictate their mood on Monday. We revere our professional sports heroes. Outstanding high school athletes are treated like gods in communities large and small. Winning is everything. Don't you remember, it's you vs. second place.
Oh yea, and some of these people (many of whom are otherwise totally unemployable) end up making millions of dollars playing sports for a living.
I'm not sure what's more offensive, cheating athletes or the fact that people are still shocked when they find out people do this.
1 comment:
So I clicked on the link and discovered the speaker of that lecture is the President and CEO of the Hastings Center. That's highly regarded in the area of Bioethics. You always manage to go to very cool lectures Dave.
My question is why hasn't Ros Atkins or the rest of the BBC figured out that there will never be any rational, level-headed debate on WHYS? Just give it up already Ros!
Post a Comment