Bad Meat?

This was the post I was supposed to do last week, but a no-hitter got in the way. As many of you know, Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was accused of doping during this year's race. He, like all who have tested positive, was shocked and dismayed. He suggested that he had a bad piece of meat that skewed the results. Time will tell. What is impressive is that the excuses get more creative.

It's hard to believe how many cyclists have tested positively for some sort of drug enhancement. Since 1975, 10 of the 16 winners have tested positive for some type of drug use, though not all during the Tour. Lance Armstrong, winner of 7 consecutive has been accused, but never convicted. What kind of sport is this that you have to dope yourself with performance enhancing drugs to win or even compete? Don't get me wrong, cycling is a wonderful sport for all ages. Every July, the Tour de France takes our breath away with the vistas and great athletes battling against all the French terrain can throw at it. The effort of each athlete is tarnished by an accusation several months later that they tested positive for a drug.

Do we tolerate industries or businesses with this kind of record? Who would want to work in such a place? Think about it-the work is so difficult that you have to drug yourself every day to perform and compete. How long would you last? Who would take you seriously? Because of your association with that industry or business, your reputation would suffer. An endless downward spiral may occur.

At least regulators have job security. But at what point do the checkers out number the competitors? We see this in cycling and in some industries (banking ?) we may be close. The cycling "industry" is in need of real leadership. The problems are many and solutions are few. Perhaps its time to pull the plug on the Tour de France for a few years and find a way to rid the sport of doping and honor those athletes who can do compete without drugs. I guess if I'm Alberto Contador, the lesson is, don't eat the meat in France!