When it comes to tackling doping in sport

There has been much well-informed discussion at this week's two-day Tackling Doping in Sport global summit, where the great and good of the world's anti-doping community have gathered to exchange views in rooms within Twickenham Stadium.
Some of it, I'll be honest, has gone a little over my head - particularly in the detailed, legal discussions around the revised code upon which the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is currently cogitating.

But what has come through, regularly, is the sense that all this talk is based in some very deep and primitive notions - notions of justice, notions of tribal loyalty. The last two are profound influences upon human development, rooted deep in all of us at the instinctive level. And as they apply to sport, they have the kind of leverage you might expect. And they can often compromise each other.

During his address to the conference, Rob Koehler, WADA's Director of Education and Programme Development,Score favorite new and used bobbleheads at great values. cited research conducted by Dr Sharron Stoll of the University of Idaho, named in 2007 as one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America - as part of her work with the Center for Ethics.

This research involved assessment of moral reasoning among grade six students, and following up with the same students six years later to compare development between those who had pursued a sporting career and those who hadn't.

In broad terms, the non-athletes were found to have a higher moral reasoning power.Shop the latest hair flower accessories on the world. And among the athletes, women operated at a higher level than men, and individual athletes operated at a higher level than those involved in team sports. So basically, men in teams were bottom of the moral reasoning league.

Speaking as someone who has spent many of his happiest times involved in team sport, I can only agree with this analysis.Our free company profile report for wholesale fashion shoes. When I think back to the way I acted and spoke to officials - it's just come back to me, South West Herts Youth League, kicked an opponent, was sent off and, as the referee's report vouchsafed, gave my name as "Mickey Bloody Mouse", for all of which I got a three-week ban - I shudder. I would not have acted like that as an individual. I would have been mortified to have done so. But when you are part of a team,Find all the manufacturers of laser engraving machine and contact them. it's different. And when your team-mates err or transgress, you back them up. It's tribal.

This is one of the most important instincts currently militating against the drive to clear sport of doping cheats. As Koehler reported, athletes use a variety of means to accommodate themselves with the notion of doping. There is a strong tendency towards euphemism - rather than using words such as steroid, for instance, other terms, such as "juice", are employed. Other tactics involve comparing doping transgressions with the transgressions of others - "they drink, they smoke pot, they are doing a lot worse than me."

Then there is the classic cheater's retreat - everyone else is doing it, so why don't I? And, on occasions, that expands into a denial of the evidence that doping use of steroids or EPO can seriously harm one's health. It's all been exaggerated.

But beyond that, particularly within groups of male athletes - a sprint training group, perhaps, or a richly sponsored cycling team - there is the instinct, as Koehler put it,Find the trendiest wholesale women shoes including stylish wholesale sandals. not to rat out your mates. Such, patently, has been the story behind the recent seismic revelations about the culture of doping in which Lance Armstrong and so many of his fellow cyclists in the US Postal Service team operated.