Indian players refuse to sign Anti Doping norms

[Howsie]

Also for security reasons why will Sachin want to reveal where he will be. He is on hit list of Let. And Let is like Al-Quida for India.

So Let can't read a ICC schedule and find out where India is playing :sarcasm

 

[King Cricket]

What a portion of the sporting community is saying:

But some say the rules have gone too far. Indeed, BCCI isn’t the first to reject the contentious testing procedure. Fifa too has turned down the Wada regime saying the rules should apply differently to team sports like football

Sportspersons have been critical of the rule. Here is what some of the reactions have been (alphabetically, according to discipline):

Athletics — Bryan Clay: If there’s any way to make this less invasive for the athletes, let’s try to figure that out. We want to catch the cheaters, but we also want to have a regular life, or as regular as it could be.

Rowing — British team members: We feel that unless the system is changed, there will be a number of clean athletes facing life bans and a higher number of clean athletes who will opt to retire rather than face the constant hassle and panic of staying on top of these requirements, and the severe penalties for tripping up. Will this system catch more cheats, or merely compromise the lives and training of clean athletes?

Swimming — Dara Torres: It’s absolutely too much. Why make this more cumbersome when we do so much already? We’re at the point where we have to find a middle ground.

Tennis — Andy Murray: I support drug testing… but there has to be a more realistic and practical way to deal with the problem… These new rules are so draconian that it makes it almost impossible to live a normal life.

Rafael Nadal: I think it shows a lack of respect for privacy. I think it’s a disgrace. These are things that completely have to change, and there is a unanimous voice on that in the locker room. It is an intolerable hunt. In the end we are humans and we do not have to feel like criminals just because we do sport.

Venus Williams: If your match goes to one ’clock at night you don’t know what’s going to happen… You are not focusing on where you are going to be (the next morning). There are some things in the system which need to be looked at. We want a system which works and that’s fair. I think it’s a little too intense. What person of free will is going to text their every whereabouts?

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Sports | A chorus of disapproval

Guess the Indian cricket board has a number of friends.

 

[Fluroescent]

FIFA hasn't. And isn't it the world's most important sporting body?

Yes, actually, FIFA definitely has. Cricinfo are a bogus news source which does not partake in fact-checking and has continued to spread misinformation, such as their claims about Roger Federer, when Roger has clearly and equivocally called for the enforcement of these measures.

And I'm not sure whether scion_sid has read up on what these regulations exactly entail. Top Indian athletes such as Abhinav Bindra have also called for these necessary measures to be enforced, and have undergone them thoroughly. What should be most important here is to ensure that drugs don't get into cricket, not the wails of a few spoilt panzies who think everything should be spoon-fed and pampered to them. Drugs are evolving and sliming their way through cricket, and people who take them do actually take measures to ensure they don't remain in their bloodstream for long after the initial intake, so daily tests are definitely necessary. These guidelines were based upon actual research undertaken on the methods cheaters are taking these days.

Fluroescent added 4 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...

What a portion of the sporting community is saying:



The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Sports | A chorus of disapproval

Guess the Indian cricket board has a number of friends.

Nonsense. These individuals have all agreed to the tests and take them to this day, so they haven't "rejected" anything. Dissent and rejection are two entirely mutually exclusive and separate things. Since they've taken the tests anyway, I'd think they'd have done other things if they were as concerned as the Telegraph says. Every major and notable sportsman around the world have been following these measures since the beginning of this year.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I remember an athlete (Tennis, athletics, something) got suspended for a while because he had 3 strikes due to not being able to keep the board up with his locations. I think this is what the Indian players don't want happening.

And I'm pretty sure it isn't only the Indian players. All of them probably feel the same way, as it stands it is only the Indians who have complained. I know I wouldn't like this idea.

 

[Fluroescent]

I remember an athlete (Tennis, athletics, something) got suspended for a while because he had 3 strikes due to not being able to keep the board up with his locations. I think this is what the Indian players don't want happening.

And I'm pretty sure it isn't only the Indian players. All of them probably feel the same way, as it stands it is only the Indians who have complained. I know I wouldn't like this idea.

That's actually not true at all. The athlete you speak of, Bobby George, missed two of her tests, but was present during the third time, so she wasn't "suspended". In fact, no athlete or sportsman has ever been suspended on the basis of these regulations. In fact, she's said that she's had no problems whatsoever with updating the schedule and the regulations themselves. What is evident here is a major spread of misinformation and misconceptions in regard to this matter by people who haven't read upon this issue at all.

Each cricket board, and its players, have signed up to the ruling, which has been in place since early 2009. True professional cricketers have had no problem with them whatsoever, and it is only now that it has been raised by some of the Indian cricket players.

 

[SciD]

Athletes and Cricketers are totally different. If athletes dont sign up they cant take part in anything. They have no choice.

 

[Fluroescent]

Not true. This is a fight against drugs, not of "personal choice". Abhinav Bindra explained it beautifully:

Bangalore: Even as the BCCI stands behind Indian cricketers in their defiance of WADA’s anti-doping policy that requires players to keep WADA abreast of their whereabouts at all times, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra feels that the concerns viz-a-viz security issues regarding the information supplied to the anti-doping agency are unfounded.

"I don`t think there should be any concern on individual security as the information provided is only going to the concerned officer and is strictly confidential," Bindra told a news channel.

Bindra, who has been in the registered testing pool since the past three years, said that the cricketers don`t have any choice and would have to join the Olympic movement in the global fight against doping in sport sooner or later.

"It is irritating to keep officials updated everyday, as your plans tend to change. However, out of competition testing is extremely important and one must make every attempt to co operate (with WADA)," Bindra said. "Once you have your basic schedule for one quarter ready, you can keep updating the information. There have been instances when I haven`t updated the information but then they are not coming to test you every single day," he said.

Meanwhile, shooter Gagan Narang also felt that the present system is much better, since information on an athlete`s whereabouts can be easily updated via SMS or e-mail. "Once you get the hang of it, it is not very difficult to update your whereabouts," Narang said.

Former bronze medallist in World Championships, long jumper Anju Bobby George said she never faced any problems in updating the information. Anju said that if one can give valid reasons then it won`t be counted as a missed test. "Once during the monsoon, I was not present at my home when the testers came. It happened again but luckily I was present when they came looking for me the third time," she said.

So it isn't as black-and-white as some people would make it out to be. It is the moral struggle against drug usage that is of prime importance here, which should take precedence over anything else.

 

[SciD]

These guys have no choice. Our cricketers are spoilt bunch. They dont give up easily.

 

[SaiSrini]

What if India is ready to let go of all cricket until they get their demands fulfilled? That means No Champions trophy, and no cricket until whenever the ICC backs down (could be "no cricket for a year"). Let the ICC decide then, what to do.

 

[Howsie]

These guys have no choice. Our cricketers are spoilt bunch. They dont give up easily.

So what you're saying is that India will get it's way because it's a power of world cricket?

 

[SaiSrini]

So what you're saying is that India will get it's way because it's a power of world cricket?

Quite true. Its possible.

 

[Fluroescent]

What if India is ready to let go of all cricket until they get their demands fulfilled? That means No Champions trophy, and no cricket until whenever the ICC backs down (could be "no cricket for a year"). Let the ICC decide then, what to do.

Quite true. Its possible.

That's an outrageously arrogant way of thinking. The entire sporting world has committed to the WADA code and the fight against drug-enhanced sport, so doing something to derail this issue and holding the game hostage would be against the basic moral values of sportsmanship. Who do the BCCI think they exactly are?

Even Indian sports minister MS Gill has spoken out strongly on this issue:

The Indian sports minister MS Gill has said all national sports bodies and players should support the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and adhere to its codes. On Sunday the BCCI rejected the anti-doping code in its present form where the players are required to submit information of their whereabouts for three months at a stretch, calling it a "violation of privacy".

"We have accepted WADA regulatory testing and we adhere to it," Gill said. "Sportspersons should be clear in one thing that it is not getting into someone's life." The sports ministry has a WADA-accredited National Dope Testing Laboratory in Delhi and Gill said it was proud to be associated with the global independent anti-doping watchdog.

"We have set up a dope testing laboratory next to Nehru Stadium and now Sweden is also sending samples of their players for testing."

NEW DELHI: Reacting strongly to the BCCI-Wada face-off, Union sports minister MS Gill said that it should be clear to every sportsperson and
sports official that honesty was most important while competing with the world.

"I want all youngsters to remember that winning is important but winning without honour is no good. Taking recourse to dubious means to succeed is a dishonourable act and worse, it affects the health of the athletes. They should know the harm doping can cause to their bodies and the image of the nation," he told TOI during an exclusive chat on Monday.

He, however, added, "I don't want to be critical of the BCCI or players. It's an issue they should discuss with ICC and Wada and sort out in good time."

But does he feel that the cricketers are over-reacting? "I don't know what is on their minds. But yes, the controversial whereabouts clause has been accepted even by sportspersons like Roger Federer. It is a commitment the world of sport has made and no sport should be outside the purview of this."

It's definitely good to see leading Indian figures such as Gill speaking out strongly in favour of these measures, having been well-acquainted with them through their experiences and knowledge of the code. The BCCI, who would not be acquainted with the code at all, is doing nothing but making a joke of itself in front of the sporting community.

 

[SciD]

So what you're saying is that India will get it's way because it's a power of world cricket?

Always happens that way my friend. Sad but true.

 

[srikarr12]

I dont see no matter how much drugs evolve in sport, cricket will always be a sport where "performance enhancing drugs'' will be quite useless unless they are endurance boosters or for quick injury recovery drugs. There will also probably be recreational drugs around the scene but thats most probably in the off-season. I dont think cricket needs to be drug tested inside out 24/7 but a little less often.........

 

[Howsie]

I dont see no matter how much drugs evolve in sport, cricket will always be a sport where "performance enhancing drugs'' will be quite useless unless they are endurance boosters or for quick injury recovery drugs. There will also probably be recreational drugs around the scene but thats most probably in the off-season. I dont think cricket needs to be drug tested inside out 24/7 but a little less often.........

Recreational drugs are just as bad tbh. Cricketer's are role models for kids all around the world, we don't need that shite in our sport, or should I say those types of people.

And :laugh at the notion that performance enhancment drugs will not help cricketers.