Football's worst-kept secret

Football's worst-kept secret : "Out in the ether, it's a totally different ball game."

Ian Thorpe had no chance. He was out in the open and he stood accused. He had to stand there with himself, his credentials and find out what his country and team mates would do to him. He was there taking it in the front line. He certainly taught sports people how to manage a frontline assault. The swimming fraternity showed us how to deal with it. It was there , in the open and we have only now had the result that he was falsely accused, even so, once you say things like that, then some of it sticks and who benefits from sticking holes in Ian Thorpe??For a man who has openly and constantly talked about drugs in sports it was the ultimate challenge. The sport of swimming is better for it and so are we. It's gone through cycling and threatened to upend the Tour de France, but once again , it was out in the open and the battle for integrity was on. We are better for it being in the open. The joke is only the druggers and the drugees think we can't tell, don't notice and don't know. Sports people are ruining their lives over this. The community is suffering because of this. Drugs hide in the corners and cracks of secrecy and privacy. They thrive on protection. Anyone who comes out and makes a clean break needs to be helped and supported because it is our athletes of all types who are suffering and their families will be going through hell. If they break from drugs they are restoring themselves and their lives. They are still performing that public arena stuff of influencing others and this time it's for the betterment of the sport and the young ones coming up through it. Parents stop their kids from playing sport because they are not stupid. They can see what is going on at the top. The players then get caught up in a vicious circle and in the end it will get them. We've seen that. Better for them to get our help and support now because what's the point of winning if you had to poison and pump up your system to do it? Money? Of course. But we are at the stage now where we can see money means nothing when the effect of drugs is totally stuffing people and sports up. Now is the time for a team effort.