Doug Logan: Let’s Overlook PEDs, Dopers

Former USATF CEO wants to give up the fight against doping.

Doug Logan, who served as the CEO of USA Track & Field from 2008-2010, has changed his tune regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports.

Instead of continuing to fight, he thinks we should give up, raise the white flag, and move on.

“Regrettably, I now conclude we should give up this fight and bring the troops home,” Logan writes on speedendurance.com. “Leave the regulation of drugs to governments and their law enforcement auspices. Dismantle the drug constabulary, the ‘ah dahs’ of this world; USADA [US Anti Doping Agency], WADA [World Anti Doping Agency], and all the others.”

Strange words from a man who once made it his goal to rid the sport of track & field of dopers.

Logan starts his piece by outlining PED use across all sports, including baseball, football, golf and track & field. After putting the numbers out there (“Some 20-30 active [MLB] players, including Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun and Melky Cabrera, are rumored to be facing up to 100 game suspensions.”), Logan seemed resigned to the fact that the drug cheats have won.

“We now live in a society where there are medical solutions to just about any physical problem,” Logan writes. “Earlier this year I was plagued with inflammation of my sciatic nerves. My doctor ultimately prescribed a regimen of prednisolone, a synthetic glucocorticoid.

“On two other occasions in the past 20 years I was prescribed steroids as an aid for healing. In all instances the meds accelerated my recovery from injury. These protocols are common in civilian life.”

While we understand where Logan is coming from, we could not disagree more. By giving up the fight against doping, an entirely different door would open up. Athletes and their win-at-all-costs mentality would start to experiment with PEDs and doping. When the people who want to stay clean realize they are falling behind, they’d become users too. It’s a medical fact that long-term usage of PEDs is not good for one’s health.

Is the PED problem as bad as Logan claims it is? He makes a decent argument, but anyone can put together a list of facts and turn it into something believable.

Logan concludes with this: “To those whom I excoriated for drug use while I was in a position of authority I can only say I did my duty to defend and protect the sport to the best of my ability. I have changed my views based on my re-examination of all the factors involved. I have no regrets and offer no excuses. My love for all sports has not changed and I remain fully engaged as a fan of all athletic competition and athletes. And, may the best man or woman win.”

It’s our hope that Logan’s viewpoint is not shared by those who are still in a position of power within the sports world. The fight against doping is an ongoing battle, but it’s one we need to keep fighting.