grolby

Again, in a fantasy world where each person is an island, where The Almight Free Market never fails, where people always receive all the information they need to make an informed decision AND are competent to do so - this is a fine idea. But we don't live in that world. Reality is not going to conform to your foolish ideas, no matter how much you insist upon it.

See, in the Real World, peoples' actions have consequences that affect people other than themselves, the market is ultimately a collection of brains who do NOT always make the right decision, information is often withheld from people who need it, and whether it is or not, many people are not competent to make a good decision with it - see item 1 about consequences to understand why this is a bad thing.

I've given several reasons that free doping is a bad idea, and instead of addressing them, you've chanted "nanny state," which is bizarre since we're not talking about politics of state, or indeed, about politics at all. Sporting organizations need rules in order to survive, and sports need to have certain ethical standards in order to have any credibility with the public and with sponsors and to preserve any sense of fairness or safety for all athletes under their umbrella. Some people have mentioned professional weightlifting, with an "open" class allowing the use of PEDs as an example. Are people not paying attention? That is not a success story. Idiotic talking points aside, protecting athletes is part of what governing bodies are supposed to do. Personally, I'd rather see them do a better job than they are doing now.

Hey, I get it - constantly hearing about doping cases is frustrating when we would much rather be simply enjoying the sport, but the alternative is much, much worse. Fortunately, the people running the UCI, WADA, the IOC, etc, are smarter than the "make doping legal!" bobblehead contingent on at least that one subject. The fight against doping will never end, but it's worth fighting, and it's completely necessary. The argument that we would be better off without it is so much empty-headed, insane nonsense.