Another World Class Swimmer Caught Cheating

Lock liars and cheaters like this Brazilian swimmer and Marion Jones up...You’re suggesting that special laws should be enacted to send athletes to prison if they lie or cheat? Should we also presume that they are guilty until proven innocent? And, should we then stone anyone who breaks the 9th commandment (thou shall not bear false witness…) with posts on this forum? :dedhorse::dedhorse:

Gosh Irish: I never said prison for lying. Perjury is a different animal; and yes, prison for that. I never said we should presume that they are guilty until proven innocent. My post never came close to that. I did not bear false witness. I simply said I do not buy it. It is my right to say I do not buy it and I don't buy it. At all! Cheating on a world class stage deprives athletes of rightfully earned endorsements often worth millions of dollars. Please tell me the difference between a thief stealing your car then a cheating drug user depriving you of a life time goal to be the fastest athlete in the world and the monetary gain often realized by that? Theft is theft....regardless of the masks it wears or the forum in which it takes place.

Irish polar bear, I believe what Stillhere is suggesting is that Marion made false representation to corporate sponsors about her true capabilities on the track when she signed large multimillion dollar corporate sponsorship contracts. Why shouldn't Nike or any other company be able to sue her now and recoup parts of their unintended yet fraudulent investment in her talent and performances. In that sense...... she should be prosecuted as she was not as good as she represented herself to be in front of these companies.... at least not legally or "naturally". John Smith

Well put John.... I believe what Marion Jones did is called fraud. Criminal fraud. It rises above civil law in that she knowingly conspired to commit fraud by representing herself as a clean darling of her sport and country, when in reality she was a lying cheating fraud. Why not put her in prison for stealing millions of dollars of her sponsor’s money?

I believe what Marion Jones did is called fraud. Criminal fraud. It rises above civil law in that she knowingly conspired to commit fraud by representing herself as a clean darling of her sport and country, when in reality she was a lying cheating fraud. Why not put her in prison for stealing millions of dollars of her sponsor’s money? Her sponsors probably made millions of dollars thanks to her endorsements. Perhaps the sponsors need to pay that money back to us, the consumers...

I'm wondering if one of the USA woman's swimmers who is getting on in age will ever "test" positive? And, if she does, will she admit it even when tested positive. I personally believe she hid out in USMS while getting back in swimming shape, and then declared she was going to take one more shot at the Olympics. I do not buy the come back for a second....and like everything in life; everyone is entitled to their opinion. Until this picture, Michelle Smith's Olympic pictures set the standard in, "Ya right, you're clean; and I'm the Easter Bunny." :2cents:

just test the top 3 if we want to make it easier on these organizations budgets. John SmithCurrently ALL of the top swimmers in the USA (more than just the top 3) are already tested both in and out of competition. In the case of the Brazilian swimmer, the news reports said that the drug testing officer colluded with her to provide false samples on at least 3 tests. I truly believe that here in the USA safeguards are in place to prevent these actions.

Perhaps we can look at this issue in a different light. The United State Government, state & local police agencies along with hundreds of penal institutions spend billions of dollars each year attempting to stop illegal drug use. Drugs such as heroin, meth, cocaine and marijuana are still easily accessible to anyone who chooses to take these illegal drugs. Stopping the use of these drugs is similar to whizzing in the ocean to raise the tide. In short, it is a complete exercise in futility. Conversely, it has proven near impossible stopping or preventing cheating in organized sports through the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs. Again, the regulatory bodies are all standing on the beach together whizzing in the ocean expecting the tide to rise. It is NOT going to happen; especially if we continue in the current manner. Please do not take my word for this. Simply look at the Federal budget and the billions of dollars allocated to incarcerating criminals who sell and use illegal drugs as well as preventing them from entering the USA. Yet the Dutch Boy still has his finger in the dike and the water/drugs are still pouring into the USA nearly unabated. Perhaps it is time to do one of following: 1. Admit that our actions/policies & methods to eradicate illegal drug use are a complete exercise in futility and make these drugs legal. 2. Change the laws to make the consequences so sever that even the most hardened drug dealers wouldn’t dream of selling, importing or dealing drugs. 3. Make the penalties for performance enhancing drug use so severe that no athlete would dream of using drugs to gain a competitive advantage. 4. Make performance enhancing drug use legal. IMHO performance enhancing drug use is exactly like illegal narcotic drug use in the sense that we will NEVER be able to stop it unless we make the penalty so sever that it goes away. Or, we need to give in and stop whizzing our hard earned money down the drain in a complete exercise in futility, because we darn sure are NOT winning this battle. Think of the good the billions of dollars could do in education, medical care & research as opposed to literally pouring it down a drain we have known we cannot plug for over five decades. Either we get tough or we should all go home and sit on the couch, because what we are doing now is pretty stupid, lame, useless and costly.

Who is this “we” of which you speak/ Are you part of the “we” that every year takes billions of dollars of illegal drugs off the streets? Are you part of the “we” that is selling/using drugs and fighting for their legalization? Are you part of the “we” that is making penalties more harsh for performance enhancing drug users. Isn’t being banned from the sport harsh enough? Are you part of the “we” that is funding with “our hard earned money”. Drug testing for USA Swimmers cost about 3 cents per tax payer. Let me know you social security number and I’ll cover your share. Think of the good the billions of dollars could do in education, medical care & research as opposed to literally pouring it down a drain we have known we cannot plug for over five decades. Either we get tough or we should all go home and sit on the couch, because what we are doing now is pretty stupid, lame, useless and costly. “We” currently spend billions on education, medical care & research. These are also obviously futile efforts; “we” are figuratively pouring it down a drain we have known we cannot plug for over five decades. Either we get tough on education, medical care & research or we should all go home and sit on the couch, because what we are doing now is pretty stupid, lame, useless and costly. And a final though, I doubt you will find any of the swimming related drug testing groups “literally” pouring money down the drain, for one thing money is a solid that isn’t easily poured.

Who is this “we” of which you speak/ Since you want to cut to the quick regarding money being a solid, let us keep the facts straight here. I did not speak, I wrote. Are you part of the “we” that every year takes billions of dollars of illegal drugs off the streets? Sure, I am part of that “we” because my tax money funds that ridicules and futile effort. We cannot stop it, have not stopped it, will not stop it, yet “we” sure as heck fund this madness. Are you part of the “we” that is selling/using drugs and fighting for their legalization? No, I do not sell drugs, use drugs or fight for their legalization. Frankly, I do not care one way or another if they are legal or illegal. What I do care about is squandering billions of dollars attempting to stop something that has been proved impossible to stop under current conditions. Are you part of the “we” that is making penalties more harsh for performance enhancing drug users. Isn’t being banned from the sport harsh enough? Yes, I am definitely one of the advocates for making penalties harsher for performance enhancing drug users. I thought I made that perfectly clear yesterday when I wrote I think prison time should be issued for the fraud and theft associated with this. Are you part of the “we” that is funding with “our hard earned money”. Drug testing for USA Swimmers cost about 3 cents per tax payer. Let me know you social security number and I’ll cover your share. Where did you pull this number out of? Spending one cent is excessive if it is useless and from what I read and hear in all of sports, it is pretty useless. And a final though, I doubt you will find any of the swimming related drug testing groups “literally” pouring money down the drain, for one thing money is a solid that isn’t easily poured. Please excuse the grammatical liberty I took with this statement. I humbly apologize for categorizing money as a fluid when in reality it is a solid. I stand corrected and defer to your superior intellect. That is, unless money is transferred electronically, at which point it comes in the form of electrons.