Phelps: 'Even Suspicion Of Doping Is Disillusioning For Clean Athletes'
Phelps: 'Even Suspicion Of Doping Is Disillusioning For Clean Athletes'
Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all-time, testified before the House Energy & Commerce Committee today on international anti-doping efforts in sports.
Michael Phelps testified before a congressional committee on Tuesday, discussing his support for international anti-doping efforts in sports.
"I can't describe how frustrating it is to see other athletes break through performance barriers in unrealistic time frames, knowing what I had to do to go through that," Phelps told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. "I watched how this affected my teammates as well. Even the suspicion of doping is disillusioning for clean athletes."
Phelps brought it home by saying, "If we allow our confidence in fair play to erode, we will undermine the power of sport."
While this is a difficult and complex issue to tackle, it is one that needs to be taken head on as the integrity of sport is at stake. Let's be honest for a second, though. People cheat. They get caught. Athletes, in all sorts of sports, cheat. They get caught. But what changes? What is being done to prevent this? The answer is blurry and one you won't like: It depends. The measures that are taken hinge on the governing body and on the athlete(s) at stake. This is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.
A wise man once said, "Control what you can control." You, as an individual, cannot stop someone from doping -- no matter how hard you may try. But we, as a swimming community, have the power to influence how this issued is governed and how punishments are enforced and, more importantly, upheld. I don't pretend to have all of the answers; nor am I delusional enough to think I could show up to the International Olympic Committee or the World Anti-Doping Agency's front door tomorrow and politely ask them to be better. But what I can do is speak up -- use my voice. Do something about it.
As Phelps said, "the time to act is now."
Watch the full statement below.
Video Courtesy of C-SPAN
"I can't describe how frustrating it is to see other athletes break through performance barriers in unrealistic time frames, knowing what I had to do to go through that," Phelps told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. "I watched how this affected my teammates as well. Even the suspicion of doping is disillusioning for clean athletes."
Phelps brought it home by saying, "If we allow our confidence in fair play to erode, we will undermine the power of sport."
While this is a difficult and complex issue to tackle, it is one that needs to be taken head on as the integrity of sport is at stake. Let's be honest for a second, though. People cheat. They get caught. Athletes, in all sorts of sports, cheat. They get caught. But what changes? What is being done to prevent this? The answer is blurry and one you won't like: It depends. The measures that are taken hinge on the governing body and on the athlete(s) at stake. This is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.
A wise man once said, "Control what you can control." You, as an individual, cannot stop someone from doping -- no matter how hard you may try. But we, as a swimming community, have the power to influence how this issued is governed and how punishments are enforced and, more importantly, upheld. I don't pretend to have all of the answers; nor am I delusional enough to think I could show up to the International Olympic Committee or the World Anti-Doping Agency's front door tomorrow and politely ask them to be better. But what I can do is speak up -- use my voice. Do something about it.
As Phelps said, "the time to act is now."
Watch the full statement below.
Video Courtesy of C-SPAN