From Medals to Morality: Sportive Nationalism and the Problem of Doping in Sports

28 Pages Posted: 29 Sep 2008 Last revised: 17 Nov 2008

See all articles by Dionne Koller

Dionne Koller

University of Baltimore - School of Law

Date Written: 2008

Abstract

The conventional wisdom is that in the fight against doping, the government is in the best position to clean up sport and protect the integrity of competition. The premise underlying this assumption is that in the United States, sport is private, so that the government typically has no role in its regulation. It is now, advocates suggest, with the integrity of sport on the line, the government should move off the sidelines and take action. This essay challenges that premise by arguing that with respect to doping in sports the government has not merely been a sidelines observer, but was actively reaping the benefits that performance-enhanced victories produced. Accordingly, this essay aims to examine the issue of doping in sports, particularly in the American Olympic Movement, in a new light. Our current focus has been on individual athletes making misguided choices in an attempt to short-cut the usual path to athletic success. This essay seeks to expand that view, by arguing that the individual stories of cheating through doping have taken place in a win-at-all-costs sports paradigm that was fully supported by the government, which for decades did little to address the issue. Now, with the United States' international image on the line, the government is tackling the issue seemingly with full force, using its power and influence to clean up sport. Examining more fully the government relationship to sports doping, and now its response, is important, because it can illuminate ways that the government's anti-doping initiatives can threaten athletes' rights and ultimately undermine the movement to eradicate doping in sport.

Keywords: doping in sports, American Olympic Movement, government policy, athletes, cheating, law and sports

JEL Classification: K30, K49, L83

Suggested Citation

Koller, Dionne, From Medals to Morality: Sportive Nationalism and the Problem of Doping in Sports (2008). Marquette Sports Law Review, Forthcoming, University of Baltimore School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-19, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1274233

Dionne Koller (Contact Author)

University of Baltimore - School of Law ( email )

1420 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
United States

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