It seems that Dwain Chambers is working overtime to see if he can get back in competing for Great Britain in time to compete in the upcoming Olympics. But there are people that say that this situation regarding Chambers will “cause more damage” than anything else. Chambers received a lifetime ban when the BALCO scandal started in 2003– and what he is trying to do now is cooperate with the British government by providing them with insight into his regime when he was taking performance enhancing drugs.
I have to agree with this article– Dwain Chambers has done a lot of damage to the overall brand and image of track and field– but I think that the blame does not squarely go on him. Look at what Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin, Barry Bonds, and numerous others have done to their respective sports– they exact same thing. Based on what I have seen, it is hard not to question every athlete at this elite level because of the numerous articles that have come out about which athlete tested positive for this drug and this athlete got busted for this one– fans, the media, and other audience groups really are confused on who is real and who isn’t– and this can cause issues for sports public relations professionals.
What is happening right now is that these athletes like Gatlin and Jones were presenting a false image of themselves that caught up with them, while other athletes that are not using steroids and competing fairly are being branded as being like athletes that do cheat. It is a huge dilemma for everyone in the athletic community, and the sports public relations professionals have to be strategic and proactive in this matter to be the most effective.
I think that these athletes need to be out of the sports completely and face the consequences. They wanted to succeed and do whatever it took to be the best– even if it meant cheating and competing unfairly. Athletics does not need to have these athletes being their brand ambassadors– what we really need are people that represent who they are truthfully and who are honest with their audiences.
These are just a few of my thoughts on the subject. Hope you all are having a great day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen 🙂
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