Have we all become idiots?

By George Davis

The word proposal, a noun, was first used in the 1650s. It originally referred to a specific offer for marriage. Over time, the term also came to mean a plan or suggestion put forward for consideration or discussion by others.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller told Parliament last week that, "We need to initiate a system for high-school level testing for athletes involved in training and competition in sport, in accordance with appropriate approvals from the Ministry of Education, ISSA and the parents and guardians of these youngsters."

How this statement became referred to as a proposal from the prime minister for secondary school athletes to be tested is more than baffling to me. Mrs Simpson Miller was clear in her speech and as far as the audio and text of her presentation go, laid out no proposal for such testing. What she expressed was a desire for us to go this route, while outlining some of the responsible bodies who would need to be enlisted for this to become reality. Despite not having proposed, the prime minister's comment has, under a certain kind of treatment from the media, sparked a debate about whether our youth athletes should indeed be tested for banned substances. I have listened to some sensible people support this idea. I am still waiting on those sensible people to give even one sensible reason for this to be done.

Anyone who believes that the way to prevent professional athletes from being involved in doping, whether wittingly or unwittingly, is to carry out tests when they are young is a certified kook. To suggest that the testing of an athlete in the formative years will dissuade said athlete from cheating or being victimised by crooked handlers as a senior, is as ridiculous as believing and then telling a child that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

Dopers to learn from

The professional Jamaican athlete has hundreds of doping cases over the years in the sport of track and field to use as examples of why not to dope. The devastation of shame which has sucked the sparkle and glitter out of stars such as Ben Johnson, Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery serves as a free lesson to anyone who believes that they'll be permanently ahead of the game and won't get caught. No one dopes because they don't know what doping is. Nobody dopes because they are uninformed about the penalties of doping. Nobody dopes because they are unaware of the scale of shame and disrepute which will fall upon them or their country if they get caught.

People dope because they are looking for an advantage. They dope because their lifelong dream is to be a star and anything that can assist them to reach that level is not too dangerous for them to meddle with. People dope because of glory and the cash that come with it. They do it for that incredible feeling of winning big events while beating the biggest names on the biggest stages with the world watching. People dope too because they want to get better at their event. They dope because someone convinces them that a particular substance is undetectable and they won't get caught.

Drug testing is a process. It involves taking and analysing samples. How does exposing athletes to that process when they are young, dull the motivation for them to use banned substances, years later when they are professionals? What is the magic in the process that will compel a young athlete into swearing off doping for as long as their career lasts? Have we all become idiots?

Educate athletes

Since governments love to do public education, this is the ideal issue to be tackled through intense and continuous information sharing and training. Teach athletes about the benefits of a balanced diet. Teach them about the importance of verifying the safety of new supplements or other substances they may be given by their handlers. Teach them about integrity in sport and why fleeting glory is not worth the shame and disgrace to self and nation. Teach all these things and more. And then cut out the foolishness about testing athletes when they are young to prevent them cheating when they become seniors. Selah.

George Davis is a journalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and george.s.davis@hotmail.com.