Dara Torres-Amazing

Yes, this was exactly the aspect that I was thinking about, that it is possible for someone other than the athlete to screw up, and while medals or spots on the team may have to be forfeited the athlete isn't necessarily worthy of extreme moral condemnation or, as some have suggested, jail time. In one of these threads George brought up the case of a Canadian rower who took a cold medication that the team doctor said was ok, but turned out not to be. She and her teammates lost their medals, which I support, but she was not banned from competition, which I also support. Some posters are unwilling to draw any distinction based on the circumstances when making moral judgements, that runs counter to my personal sense of justice. Are you suggesting that Jessica's situation could be viewed in a similar vein as Rick DeMont's case..... i.e. with less "moral" judgement? I see some very fundamental differences not the least of which is she was caught for taking a veterinary drug, illegal for humans in the US, unknown to anyone around her on the team, at dosages in her system that were significantly above normal. Rick took a common and lawfully dispensed medication, known to everyone around him at level safely prescribed by his physician. John Smith

Yes, this was exactly the aspect that I was thinking about, that it is possible for someone other than the athlete to screw up, and while medals or spots on the team may have to be forfeited the athlete isn't necessarily worthy of extreme moral condemnation or, as some have suggested, jail time. In one of these threads George brought up the case of a Canadian rower who took a cold medication that the team doctor said was ok, but turned out not to be. She and her teammates lost their medals, which I support, but she was not banned from competition, which I also support. Some posters are unwilling to draw any distinction based on the circumstances when making moral judgements, that runs counter to my personal sense of justice. Are you suggesting that Jessica's situation could be viewed in a similar vein as Rick DeMont's case..... i.e. with less "moral" judgement? I see some very fundamental differences not the least of which is she was caught for taking a veterinary drug, illegal for humans in the US, unknown to anyone around her on the team, at dosages in her system that were significantly above normal. Rick took a common and lawfully dispensed medication, known to everyone around him at level safely prescribed by his physician. John Smith