Zero tolerance is Russia’s only way out
Comment: There is some truth to the ‘everyone is doing it’ argument which is used to justify doping in Russia – but whataboutery won’t deflect a scandal of this size, writes Leonid Bershidsky
Two findings stand out in the investigation of blatant corruption and cheating in Russia’s athletics programme: the mindset that doping was acceptable because “everybody’s doing it,” and the willingness of some athletes, coaches and technical staff to speak out, despite Russia’s climate of fear and anti-westernism.
The investigation, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, stemmed from a documentary by Hajo Seppelt, Top Secret Doping: How Russia Creates Its Winners, shown by the Ger ...
