804 International Journal of Collaborative Research on Internal Medicine & Public Health On the governance of doping in sport Gerald Gremion* Department of Musculoskeletal System, Swiss Medical Olympic Center, Lausanne, Switzerland *Corresponding author: Gerald Gremion, Department of Musculoskeletal System, Swiss Medical Olympic Center, Lausanne, Switzerland, Tel:+41213149406; E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Bad governance in sport and all the political involvement poisoning it have recently led to numerous negative headlines in the press. Not a week goes by without hearing about doping, corruption, violence, competition-rigging, or player trafficking, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. This is damaging to the sporting ethics in dissociable from good sporting governance. Without any doubt, these ethical issues will be at the center of the concerns and challenges to come for the International Olympic Committee and all the other national sports federations. Introduction Doping: an account of the most publicized scandals In relation to doping problems in particular, cycling was, rightly or wrongly, the first to attract a good deal of attention. It began in 1998 with the Festina scandal and the Tour de France. Three days before the start of the tour in Dublin, Willy Voet, the Festina soigneur, was stopped in his car by French customs. The customs officers found an unbelievable haul of doping agents, indicating that doping was being organized in the leading team of the time. The shock wave was immense. The Festina team was expelled from the competition. Under the pressure of questioning, some riders admitted their guilt and were suspended. Willy Voet received a fine and a 10-month suspended sentence, as did the Festina Sports Director Bruno Roussel.