With the news of several athletes having their medical records hacked into and then in turn leaked to the press, the debate around theraputic use exemptions (TUEs) has exploded over the usual battle grounds of twitter and Facebook. Depending on what side of the fence you're on, TUEs are either a completely legitimate process that allows athletes who are ill or have chronic conditions to compete at their normal level OR they are a shady loophole in the antidoping structure that allows access to otherwise banned substances.
Although I'm not particularly interested in talking about the individual athletes that have been "exposed", I do want to put my views across about TUEs in general as I disagree that this has been a nothing story as many people have said over the last few days and really think it needs to be looked into further.
My main problem with TUEs is that it blurs what should be a clear line on what is and what is not allowed to be taken during competition. The list of banned substances is there for a reason, they either enhance performance or are hazardous to health, sometimes both. It doesn't take a great stretch of the imagination to picture an athlete or team seeking an unscrupulous doctor willing to write a prescription for non-existent allergies or any other condition that would require corticosteroids.
We've seen that athletes, doctors and even governing bodies don't have a great track record when it comes to being open and honest around doping.
Of course I have no doubt that some athletes genuinely have allergies, asthma etc. But is it fair that they get access to products that are banned for others?
And allowing athletes access to these drugs if they get ill during an event is just grossly unfair in my opinion! Using the tour de France as an example, staying healthy is part of the challenge and if you get ill that's bad luck I'm afraid, the same way getting a puncture or shipping your chain is! If I was challenging for the victory and I found out that my chief rival got sick and was given a TUE I'd be furious and would have to ride on knowing my main rival is getting access to an otherwise banned drug!
We've seen that athletes, doctors and even governing bodies don't have a great track record when it comes to being open and honest around doping.
Of course I have no doubt that some athletes genuinely have allergies, asthma etc. But is it fair that they get access to products that are banned for others?
And allowing athletes access to these drugs if they get ill during an event is just grossly unfair in my opinion! Using the tour de France as an example, staying healthy is part of the challenge and if you get ill that's bad luck I'm afraid, the same way getting a puncture or shipping your chain is! If I was challenging for the victory and I found out that my chief rival got sick and was given a TUE I'd be furious and would have to ride on knowing my main rival is getting access to an otherwise banned drug!
Whilst scrolling through twitter I came across a quote that I think sums up TUEs perfectly. "if you need to take drugs to perform at an elite level maybe you should not be performing at that level."
It may sound harsh but elite sport is just that, elite, the best of the best. If we are serious about clean sport then in my opinion we must remove the TUE system, it just leaves the door open for opportunities to dope. This will of course make lives difficult for athletes with genuine problems that require these drugs but I would rather that than have a system that allows access to banned drugs for anyone with a sick note.
