Do public perception and the ‘spirit of sport’ justify the criminalisation of doping? A reply to Claire Sumner

Dealing with doping. A plea for better science, governance and education

“…Unlike the previous 2 criteria, there is no pretence that the spirit of sport is based on scientific or medical evidence of any kind. Rather, it defines a moral high ground considered the ideal of sport, but this criterion lacks a precise legal definition 22,23 and relies on a list of values that include elements of both enhancement and health, 24 making it either redundant or a way of ensuring nearly any substance can be included on the List.…”

“…Unlike the previous 2 criteria, there is no pretence that the spirit of sport is based on scientific or medical evidence of any kind. Rather, it defines a moral high ground considered the ideal of sport, but this criterion lacks a precise legal definition 22,23 and relies on a list of values Human chorionic gonadotropin, luteinizing hormone and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone will influence testosterone levels in males. Side effects will be mainly related to increased and decreased testosterone levels (possibly similar to, but milder than described under AAS).…”

Neurodoping in Chess to Enhance Mental Stamina

“…There are good grounds for welcoming the Review's conclusion that doping should not be treated as a crime (see e.g. [44]). However, the rationale provided for this conclusion in the Review focused on pragmatic considerations -especially difficulties with obtaining enough evidence to secure a conviction.…”

“…20 Sumner claims this test would be "easily" met in doping cases and defends criminalisation of doping partly on the basis that the public supposedly considers dopers to be dishonest enough to deserve retributive punishment. However, Kornbeck and Kayser [44] highlight the uncertainty about whether many cases of doping would meet fraud's dishonesty requirement and point out that empirical studies on public attitudes have generated mixed results, with some sectors of the public expressing disapproval and others appearing more tolerant of doping. Kornbeck and Kayser were considering the Ghosh test for dishonesty, which also included the hard-to-prove subjective requirement that the accused realised that the public would view his conduct as dishonest.…”

Procedural Fairness in the International Tennis Federation’s Disciplinary Regime

“…All of these depend upon maintaining and increasing public interest, and confidence in the integrity and fairness of the administration of a sport may be a major factor in this. The withdrawal of endorsement deals from athletes such as Maria Sharapova who are banned following positive doping tests supports this idea, although a number of studies suggest that the effect of this has been overstated (Kornbeck and Kayser 2018).…”