First Of Many?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/35385415
Can anyone take athletics seriously again?

[Ninefingers]

No you can't take any pro sport seriously right now, Lord Toad has much to answer for!

[andy-hughes]

Lord Coe - you were second-in-command when this chicanery was going on.

There are two ways to explain why you did nothing about it -

1. You didn't know it was going on, which makes you incapable of seeing what is going on under your nose, it also makes you utterly unfit to hold any position of responsibility anywhere on the planet ever again.

or

2. You knew what was going on, ands you did nothing - please see above.

The conclusion - Lord Coe is the person 'best placed' to steer British Athletics out of this cul-de-sac of corruption and pocket-lining.


No - no one can take athletics seriously again.

[melv16]

I think you can say that about most sports that you can gamble on; horseracing, greyhounds, snooker, darts, cricket, football to name a few. The list is endless

[Bazile]

Look at the list from wiki of sporting doping cases going back and as recent as the London olympics .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Olympic_Games

It's very sad indeed that there will always be a doubt in a lot of cases that the person standing on the podium is not clean .

Atheletes just happen to be prominent in doping scandals

[anotheoldgit]

Money has spoilt real sport, I wonder what things would be like if all sportsmen and women were to revert back to amateur status?

[Canary42]

Not to mention match-fixing........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/35402310

[melv16]

The 3 sports I know about and played; football, cricket and rugby were never strictly amateur. 'Boot money' was payed in cricket & football and top flight rugby clubs used to find their players 'jobs'.

[New Judge]

I gave up taking atheletics seriously when professional participants were permitted to take part in the Olympics. The strength of my decision was further enhanced when people like Jonathan Edwards (the Welsh Triple Jumper) renounced his devout religious beliefs to compete on a Sunday.

Here's his take on it:

[New Judge]

[Which was, for some inexplicable reason, cut off. Hope I didn't fall foul of the AB censor]:



Meanwhile, here’s mine:

Edwards: “I refuse to compete on Sundays because of my devout Christian belief”

Sponsor: “But we’ll pay you £25,000”

Edwards: “OK then”

However, in February 2007 it was widely reported that Edwards had lost his faith in God. The Daily Mail described Edwards as a "man deeply troubled by the collapse of his Christian faith". But in an interview reported by Jane Oddy in Mirror News (27 February 2014) he was quoted as saying "I am happy and actually it’s fine. I don’t miss my faith. In many ways I feel more settled and happier in myself without it. I don’t know if that is related to losing my faith or would have been the case anyway, but it’s a non-issue as far as I am concerned. Seven years on I don’t feel a gap in my life and I suppose that’s the proof of the pudding isn’t it? Had I suddenly thought that life doesn’t quite feel right, maybe I’d re-examine that – re-examine my faith. In fact, more than ever, I feel comfortable with where I am in life.”

The lure of hard cash makes a man (or a woman) sometimes do strange things.

[New Judge]

And still we cannot see Mr Edwards’ reasoning for his change of heart. I’ll try one last time:

Edwards initially refused to compete on Sundays due to his devout Christian beliefs, a decision that cost him a chance to compete in the 1991 World Championships. However, in 1993, after much deliberation and discussion with his father (a vicar), he changed his mind, deciding that God gave him his talent in order for him to compete in athletics. He once said "My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do. I have made a commitment and dedication in that relationship to serve God in every area of my life."

Here’s mine:

Edwards: “I refuse to compete on Sundays because of my devout Christian belief”

Sponsor: “But we’ll pay you £25,000”

Edwards: “OK then”

However, in February 2007 it was widely reported that Edwards had lost his faith in God. The Daily Mail described Edwards as a "man deeply troubled by the collapse of his Christian faith".

But in an interview reported by Jane Oddy in Mirror News (27 February 2014) he was quoted as saying "I am happy and actually it’s fine. I don’t miss my faith. In many ways I feel more settled and happier in myself without it. I don’t know if that is related to losing my faith or would have been the case anyway, but it’s a non-issue as far as I am concerned. Seven years on I don’t feel a gap in my life and I suppose that’s the proof of the pudding isn’t it? Had I suddenly thought that life doesn’t quite feel right, maybe I’d re-examine that – re-examine my faith. In fact, more than ever, I feel comfortable with where I am in life.”

The lure of hard cash makes a man (or a woman) sometimes do strange things.

[melv16]

He also used to present Songs on Sunday for the BBC. Maybe he saw the light?

[New Judge]

Or the £50 notes. :-)

[melv16]

You old cynic, NJ:-)

[Bazile]

To answer your specific question

// First of Many ?//

I don't think so - and even if there were , there are still plenty companies out there who will jump at the chance to replace them and see their company logo emblazoned across the chest of these sports men/women

[jno]

does anybody take football seriously? If the answer to that is Yes, I suppose the answer to your question is also Yes.

[Ken4155]

I find it ironic that Adidas should be taking the moral high ground, here. This from a company that was, if memory serves, embroiled in child slave labour claims as recently as the turn of the century.

[bazwillrun]

Re Edwards...another classic whereby the religious dreamers can use its "gods will" or "god gave me this talent" blah blah, as a getout clause to do or justify anything that happens or takes their fancy, or whatever they want to use it for....