Olympic cheating: Double Standard?

Sam_Lee · August 3, 2012, 11:02pm

Hunt,

You are in denial. Does your link emphasize any stats that make Katie look “superhuman”? DOES NBC TALK ABOUT IT? Does NBC use Katie’s record to help Ye in any way? Is any piece about allegation/suspicion on the front page of Yahoo News?

In Ye’s case, most of the initial reporting cherry-picked stats that made Ye’s achievement look as freakish as possible: comparison with Lochte in the last 50, 5 second drop from PB, quotes from selected American swimmers using adjectives like “interesting” and “insane” while either downplaying or completely missing other facts that would give a more balanced picture: she’s 23 seconds slower than Lochte overall; she’s slower than 4 other male finalists in the last 50; a drop of 5 seconds is nothing unusual for that age especially over a year and a half; she did it in the same fashion for the 200-IM at the world championship last year; Adams Cammile swam faster than one of the male finalist in the last 50 in the same event at the US Olympics Trial even though she only placed 40th in 400 free. Gradually, more op pieces (much from foreign press) came out to help defend Ye but that’s after the damage was already done!

Is Katie getting the same treatment?

Sam_Lee · August 4, 2012, 12:40am

Hunt,

That article is pretty much the only one that talks about it even though Ye’s achievement and improvement were not that impressive when compared to Katie’s. Before that John Leonard went to the press to make accuation, tens (or maybe hundreds) of reports were already talking about Ye’s “suspicious” performance or “raising questions”, as you so naively put it. The double standard is so obvious.

ellemenope · August 4, 2012, 4:33am

Wasn’t the Zola Budd situation a special one in that South Africa wasn’t allowed to compete in the Olympics at that time? Everyone wanted to see her compete against Mary Decker…of course, it turned out terrible for Mary Decker…

Canuckguy · August 4, 2012, 7:51am

A new scandal?

alwaysamom · August 4, 2012, 8:16am

ellemenope is right. Zola had no opportunity to compete because of the boycott of South Africa. Her father was entitled to a British passport and thus, so was she. There was nothing disgraceful about it.

Pea · August 4, 2012, 9:53am

I remember Zola Budd.

Does anyone else remember the speculation surrounding Florence Griffith Joyner? There was plenty of speculation in our press that she was using performance enhancing drugs. She ultimately tested clean. Just because I can come up with a list of athletes from the same era where the speculation wasn’t so visible doesn’t mean she was singled out. It just means that for whatever reason that is the story the press decided to run with.

coureur · August 4, 2012, 11:45am

So what? That makes Britain granting her instant citizenship all the more disgraceful; they used a technicality, a loophole, to thwart the international ban on South African athletes due to their outrageously racist aparteid policies. The British thought they could pick up a quick Olympic medal.

It was Budd’s grandfather, not her father, who was British. Her father was South African. Where does it stop? Heck, my great grandfather was British. I guess if I were a talented athlete I could be in London right now competing for the glory of Great Britain.

From Wikipedia:

[Zola</a> Budd - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zola_Budd]Zola”>Zola Budd - Wikipedia)

Excerpt:
“The Daily Mail, a British tabloid newspaper, persuaded Budd’s father to encourage her to apply for British citizenship, on the grounds that her grandfather was British, to circumvent the international sporting boycott of South Africa so that she could compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. With a strong push from the Daily Mail, British citizenship was granted in short order and she moved to Guildford. Her application and arrival was controversial due to her acquiring a passport under preferential circumstances. Groups supporting the abolition of apartheid campaigned vociferously and effectively to highlight the special treatment she received; other applicants had to wait sometimes years to be granted citizenship, if at all.”

coureur · August 4, 2012, 12:01pm

We were in Seoul for the '88 games and saw Flo-Jo compete. Her performances were amazing. The most amazing prformance we personally witnessed was when she crushed the world record in the 200m in the semis and then came back out about 25 minutes later and broke it again in the finals.

There wasn’t much overtly said about her being on dope in the US TV coverage. But there was, and still is, a lot of suspicion swirling around her within track and field circles. For one thing she did show a sudden, sharp jump in performances. And her body changed at the same time. She got a lot more muscular and her voice got deeper. I suspected her at the time and still do, but nothing was ever proven.

alwaysamom · August 4, 2012, 12:19pm

coureur, I didn’t say that Frank Budd was British. I said he was entitled to a British passport, which he was and which he obtained. She was then also entitled to a British passport. This process is not the same as applying for citizenship through the normal channels of immigration. My children had the same opportunity with U.S. citizenship and all now have dual. The obtaining of the passport is how the citizenship is granted. It is not a long process. She then qualified in Olympic trials. This 17 year old was treated appallingly by many fans and the reason that she and her family returned to South Africa was largely due to the death threats against her when she returned from L.A. She did continue to represent GBR in races for a few years after that.

Whether or not athletes should be able to utilize this type of tie to another country is debatable but it happens often, and in many sports.

tom1944 · August 4, 2012, 3:02pm

We have a significant number of Americans that are members of other countries teams. John McEnroe made a crack about there really being two Americans playing in the women’s tennis final.

Hunt · August 4, 2012, 8:38pm

Sigh. As far as China goes, I guess the best defense is to be as offended as possible. I don’t see the double standard, except that it’s certainly true that many Americans do not trust the government of China. At all. We may not trust our own government, or our own sporting organizations that much, either.

And just a little note:

It would be awful of me to point out that you keep mentioning these two athletes who just happen to be African-Americans. I certainly hope that doesn’t mean anything about your attitudes.

See how it goes? Around and around. It’s better to be against all cheaters.

discoinferno · August 4, 2012, 9:01pm

99% of athletes either dope or take over the counter supplements which are basically dope but not recognized by slow-moving laws yet. It’s all a game.

It’s probably worse in China than in truly developed countries but not by much. Europe probably has the fewest because they tend to have the most dynamic pharmaceutical laws.

In addition, I know in the east certain athletics are often viewed as more of a spectacle than a ceremonial competition. Compare kickboxing/boxing/mma/etc. Almost no steroid testing in Japan & Korea, very strict in the US & Europe.

cbreeze · August 4, 2012, 9:56pm

Ummm… and you started a thread about Chinese doping.

StillGreen · August 4, 2012, 9:59pm

"“Sigh. As far as China goes, I guess the best defense is to be as offended as possible. I don’t see the double standard, except that it’s certainly true that many Americans do not trust the government of China. At all. We may not trust our own government, or our own sporting organizations that much, either.”"

There is no defense for doping in reference to China, or the USA, or any other nations.

But the problem is, as an American, you don’t even understand the concept of innocence until proven guilty. You are defending the act of implying guilt based on suspicion alone, such as what Leonard has done to Ye. And furthermore, you are trying to brush away current US doping scandals, such as Gatlin and Cox, which are proven cases instead of merely suspicion.

This isn’t only just double-standards. This is hypocrisy.

"“It would be awful of me to point out that you keep mentioning these two athletes who just happen to be African-Americans. I certainly hope that doesn’t mean anything about your attitudes.”"

African-Americans are Americans, period. A racial description isn’t particularly necessary here. You have just shown that you are… Shame on you.

Originally you were blaming Chinese in the other thread. Once you couldn’t defend blaming Chinese in general, then you back-peddled into blaming the Chinese government. And now you further back-peddle to racial lines. I wonder what else you will come up with, until you back-peddle into the wall… :-)

"“See how it goes? Around and around. It’s better to be against all cheaters.”"

Exactly. Where are the likes of Leonard? Gatlin and Cox should have given them enough suspicion to go after the US Track and Field Team. Double-standards… :-)

Sam_Lee · August 5, 2012, 12:55am

Listen to you. I don’t think anyone here (including StillGreen) was thinking about color except you. It is indeed awful of you to point out.

Canuckguy · August 5, 2012, 5:19am

I would never want to be in Leonards position. If he doesnt say anything about the American swimmer, he will be seen as an American hypocrite. If he were to say what he said about Ye, he will be seen as an American traitor.

The moral of the story is this: If you are a hypocrite, be a quiet one and no one would notice. We really need not tell the world what hypocrites we are. It is not very becoming. For some reason, Americans never learn what we internationals have known all along.

I think you just pulled a Leonard on that one.

Canuckguy · August 5, 2012, 5:37am

Back to badminton for a while, the team that started the scandal by losing unexpectedly is the ultimate winner. They would not have a chance against Chinas number 1 pair, their own teammates. I have been told that it is nice to be good, but it is better to be lucky.

I dont think even the most hardcore conspiracy theorist can claim it was a hatched plot by the gold medalists.

lake42ks · August 5, 2012, 8:43am

This thread shows how/why people feel offended when it’s not intended. Good discussions.

Wildwood11 · August 5, 2012, 10:09am

Returning to soccer for a moment and result-manipulating strategies, in the recent European Cup Spain and Italy were together in their original group of four. They tied their match but by the last games, Spain was already assured of moving on to the elimination rounds. Italy would only move on if Croatia lost to or tied with Spain. Italian fans and media worriedly speculated that Spain would avoid a win to keep Italy out as it would be a stronger finalist. Spain however beat Croatia 1-0 and naturally grumbled that they would never do less than their best although, ironically, they were confident Italy would have if the roles had been reversed.

As you know they both made it to the final where Spain whipped Italy 4-0. Maybe it was karma for Spain’s good behavior.

Pizzagirl · August 5, 2012, 10:26am

We don’t need sanctimony from StillGreen -the poster who defends China ripping off Apple’s intellectual property by setting up phony Apple stores. I’ll take Hunt’s moral compass over StillGreen’s moral compass any day.

Olympic cheating: Double Standard?

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