Aussie rules need a rethink. Scientists and clinicians are in the crosshairs of Australia's top crime fighters as the sports-mad country tries to confront widespread doping.
After a year-long investigation, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) has just released a 44-page report summarising its findings. It notes that entire teams have been doping with the assistance of top sports scientists and doctors. No teams, support staff or individual sports have been publicly singled out yet, although the CEOs of several major sports governing bodies have promised to cooperate with the relevant agencies.
"This is the blackest day in Australian sport," Richard Ings, the former head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), told ABC television.
The ACC report warns that "as professional sports become increasingly complex and reliant on sports scientists and other individuals with specialist skill sets, these individuals will pose a threat to the integrity of professional sport in Australia".
It notes that with the ever-increasing focus on sports science, "remaining competitive at the elite level is now dependent on access to the best sports scientists and use of the latest technology". As a result, it says, sports scientists have gained increasing influence in sporting clubs, and are "pushing legal and regulatory boundaries in relation to sport supplementation programs and medical treatments given to players".
Widespread drug use
The report says there is widespread use of a number of drugs including growth hormone releasing hexapeptide (GHRP), across the major codes. It says Google searches for GHRP are more common in Australia than in the US or UK.
The report also outlines the use of "a range of substances that have [from] limited to no history of use in humans", including Actovegin, which is an extract of calf blood thought to increase muscle absorption of glucose and oxygen. It notes these substances are not prohibited, and that their impact on the health of players is unknown.
Sports economist Ross Booth told New Scientist that the role of sports science in team sports has grown partly because many sports governing bodies impose caps on the amount clubs can pay players. "Some teams have a lot more revenue than others but they can't buy the players," he says. "Where a team or sport gets the edge is spending on sport science."
With that emphasis, the risk of cheating goes up. "You push the boundaries, as close as you can get, and sometimes people go over them either accidentally or deliberately."
He says some people have suggested putting a cap on spending on sports science, but that will be difficult. "Down that path you get to a completely centralised thing where each club has the same funding. There would be resistance to that."
Acknowledging that the fight against doping has become more about intelligence and police work than about testing, the government has introduced a bill into parliament that will give the state-run ASADA police-like powers, with the ability to compel suspects to cooperate.
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