Jail sentence for doping athletes? No, they are not thieves! Or are they?
Ethiopia’s Girmay Birhanu celebrates his marathon win at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend on May 24, 2015. (Photo by Ashley Fraser / Ottawa Citizen)
LONDON, May 7, 2020 - “It is enough!” Haile Gebrselassie said at the end of 2016 when he was elected president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation. Just before his reign began, the Ethiopian government had introduced a jail sentence for athletes who get caught doping. “It is enough!” Haile Gebrselassie said when the first Ethiopian athlete named Girmay Birhanu was convicted to three years in prison after he had tested positive for Meldonium.
For millions of Ethiopians, running means escape from poverty and starvation. Genetic predisposition, combined with cultural demand to run in everyday life gives Ethiopians an edge when it comes to long-distance running. However, sometimes, divine endurance is not enough to make a difference, so athletes reach out for performance-enhancing drugs.
Many conducted investigations have revealed the simplicity of obtaining such drugs in Ethiopia. High absolute doping risk and high success at international level put Ethiopia to category A according to the World Athletics, meaning Ethiopia is among six other countries with the highest doping risk to the sport.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is aware of the problem Ethiopia faces but doesn’t support jail sentence for athletes who test positive. The Agency provides the World Anti-Doping Code, which includes sporting sanctions up to four years for the first serious offence, and eight years and even a life ban for repetitive offences.
“If you decide to fire a bullet in your worst enemy’s brain, the chances are you will end up in jail. If however, you decide to put a needle in your arm and inject some drug to make you train harder, you don't deserve a criminal sanction,” Sir Craig Reedie, former president of the WADA, says. “Sports sanctions are sufficient enough.”
In the meantime, Mr Gebrselassie, who resigned from his position in 2018, so now former president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, explains why sporting sanctions are not sufficient enough and why he had been supporting the jail sentence while he had been in charge of the Federation.
“Doping is not just about taking drugs while competing. People often think about it as it is not a big deal,” Mr Gebrselassie wants to make it clear. “Let's look at it this way - say the main prize of a race is 200 000, 300 000 dollars. An athlete sees that as an opportunity to take a drug, win the race and take the money. Later on, he gets caught, and he is found guilty. Even if he gets banned from sports for four years, he still doesn't care because he got the money.”
Alternatively, Mr Gebrselassie believes if an athlete ends up in prison, he is rather marked as a thief.
“But athletes seldom dope on their own,” is something Sir Reedie pulls out as the main argument against criminal punishment.
“Actually, the WADA encourages countries to impose criminal legislation with criminal sanctions for anybody involved in production, administration and dealing with drugs which athletes take. We are 100% supporting that. What we don't believe in are criminal sanctions for athletes. Because athletes seldom dope on their own.”
Mr Gebrselassie says the situation is quite different in Ethiopia and that he had wanted to send the message that an athlete who dopes is also a criminal.
“We wanted to show that that person works against the Ethiopian culture and the Ethiopian community, not only as an athlete but also as a person. If the WADA said ‘Haile, you have been caught doping’, that day would be the day I die. I mean, how would I show my face up in front of people? You can't imagine how things work here in Ethiopia.”
However, Mr Gebrselassie notes that what goes for Ethiopia doesn’t necessarily count for other countries.
“Every country has its system. Of course, internationally we have very good sporting sanctions, but when it comes to Ethiopia, why not to have stronger punishment?”
Sir Reedie believes that is exactly the problem because different criminal punishment leads to imbalance.
“If you have criminal sanctions, you will have one sanction for the same offence in Ethiopia, you will have another one in France, you will have a different one in Britain, you will have a fourth one in Germany and the whole system will break down. Those people who argue in favour of criminal sanctions seem to me rather to miss that particular point.”
For millions of Ethiopians, running means escape from poverty and starvation. Genetic predisposition, combined with cultural demand to run in everyday life gives Ethiopians an edge when it comes to long-distance running. However, sometimes, divine endurance is not enough to make a difference, so athletes reach out for performance-enhancing drugs.
Many conducted investigations have revealed the simplicity of obtaining such drugs in Ethiopia. High absolute doping risk and high success at international level put Ethiopia to category A according to the World Athletics, meaning Ethiopia is among six other countries with the highest doping risk to the sport.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is aware of the problem Ethiopia faces but doesn’t support jail sentence for athletes who test positive. The Agency provides the World Anti-Doping Code, which includes sporting sanctions up to four years for the first serious offence, and eight years and even a life ban for repetitive offences.
“If you decide to fire a bullet in your worst enemy’s brain, the chances are you will end up in jail. If however, you decide to put a needle in your arm and inject some drug to make you train harder, you don't deserve a criminal sanction,” Sir Craig Reedie, former president of the WADA, says. “Sports sanctions are sufficient enough.”
In the meantime, Mr Gebrselassie, who resigned from his position in 2018, so now former president of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, explains why sporting sanctions are not sufficient enough and why he had been supporting the jail sentence while he had been in charge of the Federation.
“Doping is not just about taking drugs while competing. People often think about it as it is not a big deal,” Mr Gebrselassie wants to make it clear. “Let's look at it this way - say the main prize of a race is 200 000, 300 000 dollars. An athlete sees that as an opportunity to take a drug, win the race and take the money. Later on, he gets caught, and he is found guilty. Even if he gets banned from sports for four years, he still doesn't care because he got the money.”
Alternatively, Mr Gebrselassie believes if an athlete ends up in prison, he is rather marked as a thief.
“But athletes seldom dope on their own,” is something Sir Reedie pulls out as the main argument against criminal punishment.
“Actually, the WADA encourages countries to impose criminal legislation with criminal sanctions for anybody involved in production, administration and dealing with drugs which athletes take. We are 100% supporting that. What we don't believe in are criminal sanctions for athletes. Because athletes seldom dope on their own.”
Mr Gebrselassie says the situation is quite different in Ethiopia and that he had wanted to send the message that an athlete who dopes is also a criminal.
“We wanted to show that that person works against the Ethiopian culture and the Ethiopian community, not only as an athlete but also as a person. If the WADA said ‘Haile, you have been caught doping’, that day would be the day I die. I mean, how would I show my face up in front of people? You can't imagine how things work here in Ethiopia.”
However, Mr Gebrselassie notes that what goes for Ethiopia doesn’t necessarily count for other countries.
“Every country has its system. Of course, internationally we have very good sporting sanctions, but when it comes to Ethiopia, why not to have stronger punishment?”
Sir Reedie believes that is exactly the problem because different criminal punishment leads to imbalance.
“If you have criminal sanctions, you will have one sanction for the same offence in Ethiopia, you will have another one in France, you will have a different one in Britain, you will have a fourth one in Germany and the whole system will break down. Those people who argue in favour of criminal sanctions seem to me rather to miss that particular point.”
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