Contador: Positive for Doping at the Tour

In the news this morning was the announcement that Alberto Contador, the winner of this years Tour de France, had tested positive for a prohibited substance. You can read about it here. This seems to be a dietary supplement or other accidental contamination problem due to the low level that was measured and the multiple other tests taken during the tour. The problem is that a presumed clean rider should never be placed in the compromising position of having to defend himself for a substance that he didn't he had ingested. Even with team doctors clearing all supplements and medecine being prescribed there is no sure way to avoid all prohibited substances. In the late 90's when performance enhancing drug use was revealed to be pervasive in sports; the world went about creating a treaty that defined the code of conduct on doping for international sport competitions. We need a treaty that deals with dietary supplements since they are not highly regulated in most countries. If they are properly labeled then athletes will be able to avoid accidentally consuming prohibited substances. Let's all hope that Contador is proven innocent and doesn't have to serve a two year ban.

Concussions in sports

Concussions have become an important discussion topic since it was revealed several years ago that this injury posed a great risk of permanent brain damage if not treated properly. After the initial report and congressional hearings the NFL finally went about implementing a policy that ends players from playing through concussions in games. I applaud the league for having a policy that intends to mitigate any damage from concussions. The end result is that major players have been forced to miss games due to the new policy. I think that we, the viewers and fans, will finally realize the shear amount of concussions that are pervasive in football. There are only so many rules changes that can be used to reduce concussions.
The bigger fear I have is the multitude of young youth who are playing football in pee wee leagues and high school teams. These athletes are undergoing development of their brains and as such brain injuries are capable of more traumatic brain damage. In a New York Times article the quality of medical attention at most high school football games lack certified medical trainers. I understand that this would be an expensive cost for many cash strapped districts and nearly impossible for many rural districts to comply with. In the meantime states should follow the lead of Washington state and pass laws that protect students in high school sports, and mostly football players, from injuring themselves even more when they have a concussion. I think that the end result will be that high schools will be forced to shutdown football teams due to the inherent risk of concussions which may lead to significant brain injuries.