The first in-depth study of why doping is wrong - and why it matters to the meaning of sports
Why are fiberglass vaulting poles and hinged skates accepted in sport -while performance-enhancing drugs are forbidden? Are the rules that forbid them arbitrary? Should we level the playing field by allowing all competitors to use drugs that allow them to run faster or longer, leap higher, or lift more? In this provocative exploration of what draws us to sport as participants and spectators, Thomas Murray argues that the values and meanings embedded within our games provide the guidance we need to make difficult decisions about fairness and performance-enhancing technologies. Good Sport reveals what we really care about in sport and how the reckless use of biomedical enhancements undermines those values. Implicit in sport's history, rules, and practices are values that provide a sturdy foundation for an ethics of sport that celebrates natural talents and dedication. You see them when the Paralympics creates multiple level playing fields among athletes with different kinds of impairments. They appear again in sport's struggles to be fair to all when an extraordinary woman athlete emerges who appears to possess a man's hormone profile and muscles. They are threatened when the effort to assure athletes a fair chance to win without doping is subverted by cheating that goes undetected or by corruption, such as Russia's state-supported doping operation. Performance-enhancing drugs distort the connection between natural talents, the dedication to perfect those talents, and success in sport. Through understanding the fundamental role of values and meanings, Good Sport shows that we can see not just what we champion in the athletic arena but more broadly what we value in human achievement.