The World Anti Doping Agency has produced a damning 323 page indictment of a sport which has lost its soul. In this case, today, it is athletics. Accusations that the London 2012 Olympic Games were ‘sabotaged’ by systematic drug cheating throws filth over what should be cherished memories.
The accusations have been levelled mainly at Russia with threats being thrown around like confetti that they will be banned from competing at next year’s Olympics, stripped of hosting the World Cup in 2018 and more.
The US has entered the debate saying Russia has no place in top level sport. the Russians have hit back saying the report is all innuendo and very little evidence.
Some commentators have pointed out the positive that Rob Heffernan might now be closer to being upgraded to an Olympic medal which is great for him but what value will it have in years to come as this continued erosion in the values of sport accelerates.
That concluded with the line “I want to forget Lance Armstrong and pin my hopes on other heroes. I need those heroes to be clean because if you cannot believe in sport, then what is the point of it.”
Fast and loose
Those words ring crystal clear again today, and in a sporting environment which has multiplied in terms of its appeal and engagement to business, to Government and to society.
The stakes are higher than they have ever been and yet still sport seems to continue to play fast and loose with the boundaries its administrators place upon themselves.
Amid all the accusations against Russia, easy to level because they are ‘over there’ little is being said of the fact that large chunks of the report into the IAAF had to be redacted because of criminal proceedings currently under way over allegations of corruption and cover ups.
And it’s not just Athletics. As the news was engulfing the media of this report, new broke as well that the President of the German Football Association was stepping down in a scandal over allegedly corrupt payments to win the hosting of the 2006 World Cup.
Damage
Is there any end to the damage being inflicted on world sport at the highest level?
When will there be a tipping point where major global sponsors cry enough is enough and switch their own emphasis?
What level of reputation damage needs there be before it begins to lap over the edges of the sporting world and affect the willingness of people to commit their own hopes and dreams to the pursuit or support of physical endeavour?
Sports strength is the way it serves as a microcosm, in simple terms, for overcoming challenges and finding strength beyond that which we thought we had.
Resist
That is what is needed now. We need to resist the jaded acceptance that nothing can be done. We need to redouble our efforts to paint sport as clean and to make sure we are not just kidding ourselves.
An Post stuck by cycling and used the influence of its sponsorship to insist on the most rigorous of testing and integrity.
The grassroots engagement and volunteer ethic that is so central to Irish sport is a beacon in how things can be.
Sport Ireland has a notable record of honesty and achievement in dope testing. We need to push at the highest level for every other nation to match those standards and to clean up sport in every form.
Global sport is at such a level now, and the importance of live events to media and in the public consciousness is such that we do not want to give up on sport.
Today more than ever though, sport needs to step up to prove worthy of that unwavering support.
Sport for Business is a community of sporting and business leaders.
We work closely with our members in over 130 of Ireland’s leading sports and businesses shining a light on the commercial world of sport, building and collaborating on great events that help us all to be better at what we do.
Sport for Business is a community of sporting and business leaders. 
