Doping accusations are lobbed around all the time. While I don’t have a lot of faith in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), that’s basically all we’ve got. WADA made headlines several months back when they released their findings about a Russian state-sponsored doping program for their Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Team Russia was light at the Rio Olympics, and Team Russia was banned entirely from the Paralympics. Russia is really, really mad about it too. They’ve been mad about it for months. So a state-sponsored hacker group hacked into WADA and “released” the WADA medical records of several American athletes. Does it mean something specific that the records are all for African-American women? Simone Biles, Serena Williams and Venus Williams were all – allegedly – targets specifically in what’s being called one of the most significant “spear phishing” hacks ever. As in, Russia was looking for specific records of specific athletes. As in, they went in looking for Serena, Venus and Simone.
So, what was found? For the Williams sisters, everything is “alleged” because no one has confirmed that the information released by Fancy Bears (that’s the Russian hacker group’s name, for real) is authentic. What we do know is that all three women are alleged to have been given Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) for banned substances. In Serena’s case, they allege that WADA had given her TUEs for painkillers and anti-inflammatories. The way TUEs work is that – I think? – the athlete’s doctors tell WADA ahead of time what kind of medication is required and normally prescribed, and WADA issues a TUE accordingly. Considering Serena’s history of injuries, I would not be surprised to learn that she could have been on painkillers and/or anti-inflammatories at various points in her career. Fancy Bears doesn’t say when this happened. As for Venus… um, she has Sjögren’s Syndrome. My guess is that she was given TUEs for her medical treatment.
As for Simone Biles, Fancy Bears alleges that she was given a TUE for an “illicit psycho-stimulant.” Guess what it was? Ritalin, for ADHD. Simone did say something about the charge, posting this on her Twitter:
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 13, 2016
Fancy Bears claims that they are merely lifting the veil on “how Olympic medals are won” and that the American team “disgraced its name by tainted victories.” For the record, Serena didn’t even get past a few rounds at Rio and she won nothing. Venus did win a medal in mixed doubles, and we all know Simone Biles is the most delightful fairy princess in the world and of course she won a million medals, although I think it’s a stretch to say that Ritalin would have “helped” her Olympic performance. While WADA is nowhere near perfect, it is the governing system and if they’re issuing these TUEs, then… what is there to be done about it, really? I mean, we can have a conversation about how TUEs are issued, but mostly I just think this is Russia being butthurt that their state-sponsored doping program was so sensationally exposed.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I don’t know – I think Ritalin enhances one’s ability to FOCUS and I can see how it would have a positive impact on one’s training and performance.
Having said that – if they have TUE’s they’ve obviously followed the rules and provided the necessary paperwork/evidence. This isn’t a case of having someone else pee in your cup, so the Fancy Bears can f-k right off.
I don’t know about that. Stimulants also increase heart rate, making it potentially more challenging to train. Further, the focus isn’t so extraordinary as to bring an unfair advantage, more just to level the playing field to pay attention like those who do not have ADHD.
Ritalin is well known as a substance students abuse when doing exams or hitting essay deadlines – of course it gives an advantage or students wouldn’t be using it….
It doesnt give an advantage if you already have adhd.
However, using adderall for tests and studying if you dont have adhd its a big problem.
Ritalin in a person who does have ADHD simply removes the flog of distraction and confusion that can plague them and simply give them normal levels of focus.
I’m on it and while I know some people use it to go above and beyond illegally as someone with the actual disorder it gives me the ability to function equivalent to everyone else – not better than.
Does it cause sleep disturbances?
Exactly.
I take Dexedrine. A stimulant like these for someone who DOES have ADD/ADHD doesn’t work the same as it does on someone who doesn’t. It doesn’t amp us up like it would someone else. It basically just brings us up to a proper functioning level.
Obviously, some doctors are shit, and just hand it out to people who have no business being on it. But I legitimately have my job impacted if I’m not taking my medication. I am no longer on phone support, but when I was, I would have an extremely hard time absorbing what a customer was saying to me, and if I did absorb it, I wouldn’t be able to retain it for longer than a very brief moment. And that’s with me struggling to listen and making constant notes.
I’m on a relatively low dose, and could probably use a slight increase, but I’m in a different position where I don’t have as many distractions as I did when I had to do changes to websites and then get interrupted to take a call about a completely different site.
@Soror
Not unless you’re taking extremely high dosages. In some cases for people with ADHD a very low dose is prescribed in afternoons to actually aid in helping the individual get to sleep.
While these medications can be abused there is a biological deficiency behind an ADHD diagnosis that the medication helps to correct.
Ritalin helps to bring focus to a more stable level. If you ever seen Simone in interviews she’s very up and excited. I can imagine what she’s like off medication. This is probably why her records were leaked so that people can say she cheated.
Ritalin is a stimulant for people that don’t need it. For those who DO it has more of a calming affect. Ie it had a different affect on those with different brain chemistries
+1
I had literally never slept deeply or restfully or for a full night before I went on Vyvanse. I went off it (insurance reasons) but it either kickstarted my sleep cycle in a healthy manner or reset it to one. If you need it, it calms you down/slows you down. if you don’t need it, it speeds you up. Both up and down can have a particular kind of focus but if you need it it is really just setting you closer to normal.
But if you actually have the disorder, it just levels the playing field. Might as well penalize people for wearing glasses or contact lenses.
No, Ritalin in an ADHD individual makes them able to focus to the same extent as NEUROTYPICAL INDIVIDUALS. People who do NOT have ADHD can use it to enhance focus. People who do have it simply get to be on the same level as everybody else. Do not mistake them for the same thing. I have ADHD, and I can assure you that those meds came with a whole host of side effects (increased HR, appetite suppression, insomnia, anxiety) that will offset any “benefit” they give you.
When Serena Williams uses her own personal spy agency to break into WADA to destroy evidence, then maybe she will enter in anywhere near the same league as Russia.
Serena secret head of the CIA confirmed.
Illuminati! Beyoncé! Obama’s birth certificate!
/sarcasm
It’s jealousy. Simple. One of the Russian gymnasts (Komova) accused Simone of doping last year after Russia counted four Falla in the world champ team final (two from Komova herself). This is just as stupid.
Simone ‘s medical history is no one’s business. I think it’s fair to say Russia got more passes than the USA this year, for sure.
I think this hack simply proves that there are a lot of gray areas in both Russia and US.
Not really. Of course there have been some US scandals in the past, too, but this hack proves absolutely nothing about wrongdoing by Simone, Venus or Serena. The difference between an athlete taking ritalin for years prior to becoming an Olympian is a lot different than what happened in Russia this year.
Oh, American athletes have been involved in a lot of doping scandals in the past.
And, personally, I’m glad they exposed a lot of Russians as well!
But this hack only shows us how doping works. Some take prohibited substances with WADA’s approval, some don’t (see Sharapova). But, let’s face it, WADA is one step behind the performance enhancing drugs industry. What’s legal now will be illegal in a few years, after they had done the proper testing and analysis.
I feel bad for the athletes who feel the pressure to do everything that it takes (even doping) to win competitions and to set records. It’s a constant pressure from the media and the audience too. We want to see them performing 100% all the time, but that’s just simply not possible. I’m afraid this doping plague is more common than I could ever imagine.
Grace – the sophistication of doping is why I think random retro-active testing of samples would be the best tool for the anti-doping agencies. The sooner they get on with doing this, the better.
I do have some limited sympathy for the Russians in that athletes from richer countries (because, let’s face it, it’s not just the US) are harder to catch. But y’know. State-sponsored doping is much worse than individual doping and there is no way they can get around that in the court of world opinion, feeble hacking attempt or no feeble hacking attempt.
I don’t see that. I have no problem with any athlete using ritalin or anti-inflammatories and painkillers if they are hurt or have a disease, and it is prescribed by a doctor and presented to the athlete’s governing body as a medicine they need. My problem is the steroid and steroid like drugs used for no reason other than to win a competition, and the hiding of drugs and falsifying specimens. Whereas, I agree the US does have its fair share of doping problems too, in this case and example Russian and the literal peep hole used to change specimen’s in the drug testing area is egregious. These women were upfront and did nothing wrong. Yes it’s racist too. Seriously, we have tons of white US athletes and none of them have ADD and take ritalin or any other disease. I doubt it. My understanding is Michael Phelps had similar issues, not sure he still takes anything at 30, but bet he did younger.
Remember that Russian swimmer Lilly King shaded? I kind of understood what she meant when she asked if it’s completely an athlete’s fault for using a substance that might just recently be banned but has been used for a long time prior to the ban and might still be lingering in one’s system. But then again, i’m not well versed in how these things work so maybe (most probably) i don’t know what i’m talking about. I just don’t like how people are so quick to come up with excuses and defend certain athletes from certain countries but completely discredit others at the drop of a hat.
The reason that particular Russian was allowed to participate was because she did make a good case for herself about the drug she was taking. She actually trains in the US. The first time she was banned she took an over the counter substance with a banned substance and didn’t realize and she was banned for a while, and the second time the drug was a recently banned substance but the specimen was too close to when she took it, so she was exonerated when they took it later. I kind of understood Lilly King’s point, but the reality is if they are constantly putting drugs on the list you are going to have this happen and you want it to be fair for all. Also, with the way these athletes train, as they age they are bound to have to take a few drugs periodically to recover from injury. I don’t think any athletic organization wants an athlete not to have the best medical care used because they may disqualify themselves from their sport. It is a bit more complicated than Lilly King made it out to be. The problem really is with a lot of sports history, East German swimmers, Lance Armstrong, Track and field people, the drug doping bodies have lost the respect of the athletes and fans.
How do we know Fancy Bears are state-sponsored? I didn’t think they were. Russian hackers are doing all sorts of things on all sorts of fronts. They’ve recently busted open the (disgraceful) academic paywall, for instance. Just because they’re Russian, doesn’t mean it’s the Kremlin wotdunnit, any more than any other hacking in any other country is or isn’t sponsored by its government. I imagine it was motivated by resentment at perceived political motivations for penalising Russia at the Olympics, but that doesn’t mean the Russian government is implicated.
As to the actual so-called revelations… I am at the point where I don’t trust any sports star to be clean and fully believe all agencies involved to be either rendered toothless or corrupted themselves, but this information is, well, mild. If that’s the best information the hackers can come up with – a few painkillers and an ADHD drug already infamous for over-prescription – then I really think there is nothing to see here and we can all move along to the next non-scandal.
I think in this instance the Williams sisters and Biles weren’t doping. But, Russia got busted because they dont have enough money. I really think that it’s not that the richer countries are completey doping free, I just think they have enough money to cover it up better.
Russia has money they just keep it within a few of the elite. The divide between the wealthy and poor is shocking.
Yes, Locke. As a devil’s advocate, the Russian point of view goes like this:
Everyone is doping, not just us. We were the ones that got banned in the Olympics because there’s a new Cold War and American political pressure won out. American are just as bad because they are all doping too and get away with it because they deliberately underfund their doping agencies, their sports are drowning in cash, their doping industry is richer and more advanced, and their health system is private, resulting in biddable/bribable doctors. We only got caught and punished because we aren’t as good as cheating at them. This isn’t fair so we’re going to hack WADA and show them up for a bunch of hypocrites.
(This is not me supporting the Russian point of view. Just stating it. I think all elite sport has a problem with doping and hacking the private medical records of individuals is a disgraceful thing to do.)
Is it though? Is tje divide between the rich and poor so much bigger than in America?
@Locke Lamora. Yes, the divide is much larger. In 2013 (sorry for the date but it’s when I last did a report), the top 1% of Americans took in 19% of household income. Remember that 1% of the U.S. means over 3 million people. In Russia, 35% of household income was owned by 110 people.
Russia still has free healthcare, state pensions, partially free college education, maternity leave, sick leave for workers and their children.
The top oligarchs own majority of the country’s wealth but there is much less spread in living conditions among the rest of the population because of the social programs. It is still by far more egalitarian society than the US. Though the gap is getting larger and larger as the social programs which were left over from the USSR times are being eroded. Not everything about USSR was bad.
Russia tried the “Wild West capitalism” in the 90s, as was advised by American economists, and it brought the country to its knees. It is probably a not well known fact outside of Russia but Russians never forgave “the West” for that. It was called “shock therapy”. That is when I left Russia too. I don’t remember such desperate times even in darkest days of the USSR.
“It is still by far more egalitarian society than the US.”
Well, the egalitarian society never worked since Sparta and never will. It is simply silly that a doctor can earn the same as a taxi driver, sorry. The West exposed many of the USSR failures as a system and I guess people who nowadays don’t benefit from it anymore are now resentful. I visited the ex DDR a couple of years ago and there were people who were nostalgic of being under the Russian umbrella, someone even lamented the Stasi wasn’t there anymore. Needless to say, best thing is always going forward instead of reminiscing about the ‘good ole days’ that were only good for a bunch of people.
Good for you you’ve left! 🙂
My country wasn’t in the USSR, but it was in Yugoslavia ( different kind of cummunism, I know) and a taxi driver never earned the same as a doctor. But a manager in a factory had 3 times the salary of a worker, not 300 times. And a lot of people think they lived better during communism. I think we had that discussion already and I mentioned Yugoslav communism was very different and more open, and not influenced by the USSR or Stalin, so I don’t know if people from the former USSR feel the same.
There are pros and cons for every system, but we do have good social policies because of communism, social mobility has gone down after we switched to capitalism, and the working classes did largely live better 40 years ago. That’s simply a fact.
I remember talking about this, Locke. There are quite a few people from the old Soviet bloc who feel that living in a market economy with competition for jobs and resources and greater inequalities is worse than living under communism, with secure housing, jobs and free access to highbrow culture. And I think we here in the Western bloc overestimate the levels of oppression that there actually were and how much they impacted on the daily life of your average person who wasn’t interested in politics.
” It is simply silly that a doctor can earn the same as a taxi driver, sorry”
I still remember the salaries )). The lowest was 40 rubles per month for completely unskilled labor. Engineer salary started from 120 rubles per month. A manager salary was about 250-300 rubles, scientist was about 200-300 rubles.
So there was some incentive to get better. But for comparison, a pair of boots or a jacket cost around 50-60 rubles. You had to work a month to afford to buy one major item of clothing.
Another bad part was you couldn’t fire anyone, you had to “educate” and train them. Even if they slept at their table the whole day. There was a lot of complacency because of that. And a lot of yelling to make people work.
The worst thing about the USSR for me was lack of free speech, and lack of free movement. We weren’t allowed to simply pick up and move to a different place. We were more like serfs. We had a job assigned to us after graduation and that is where we had to stay, whether we liked it or not. Whoever had the best grades had the first pick of the jobs available. So there was an incentive to study well because of it.
Yeah, it wasn’t like that in the former Yugoslavia. Maybe in the first few years after WW2, but later it was much better. Maybe because there were private properties and certain aspect ms of market economy. There weren’t 50 types of chocolates to buy, but people earned a decent living and could afford certain luxuries. My mum ( she grew up in he late 60s/70s) still remembers going shopping to Trieste and stuff like that, and her parents were factory workers. So you could travel abroad. And work abroad too. A lot of people went to temporarily work in Germany. It think the Yugoslav passport was the most expensive one one he black market for a while, because you could travel anywhere with it. And even free speech oppresion wasn’t as bad as people think. I mean, a band like Laibach could exist amlnd they openly mocked totalitarism.
Of course, it was a totalitarian regime and expressing different political opinions wasn’t exactly possible, but it wasn’t like North Korea or even the USSR. I remember my aunt telling me how, when she went on a trip to London with his university, they were horrified that English people thought things were the same as in the Soviets.
I spent the first part of my life in Ukraine (then USSR, but just barely then). I live in the US now. And really, you could not pay me enough money to return, EVER. And no, you do not overestimate the levels of oppression, what you underestimate is the level of freedom you enjoy. This sounds harsh, I know, but it’s true. I know many immigrants from the former USSR and from the post-Soviet Russia/Ukraine (my city has 500,000 Russians, possibly more), and about 90% of the people I know feel the same as I do, so it’s not just my skewed perceptions.
It could have been either, thou Russians are notorious bad losers – they are a very very proud people and don’t react well to being humiliated so something like this happening was only a matter of time. State sponsored doping was legendary within the old USSR.
Just look at Sharapova and the banned substance she’d been taking for years, she still couldn’t beat Serena.
It is probably a quid-pro-quo.
They do something to please the state, the state looks the other way when they steal credit card information.
This is exactly it Sasha. Same thing happening with Chinese hackers.
Sixers they aren’t necessarily within the government but they are agents of Russia and their aim is to please Putin’s regime. Washington Post has done some great articles about how these hackers have been influencing elections and releasing embarrassing information throughout the world in places where it serves Putin’s worldview it’s very scary stuff. Although I see this Olympics stuff as minor.
When I first heard the “state-sponsored” claim, I thought it was some dumb conspiracy theory (especially since Russia seems to be a hot topic this election cycle). I’m still unsure, but after reading up, I’m far more open to the idea.
Have you seen what this specific group is accused?
– In February 2015, scanning 8,536,272 Ukrainian IPs for possible vulnerabilities (that’s nearly every IP address in the Ukraine).
– Breaching the US State Dept computers and using the results for further attacks, netting them info that included Obama’s schedule.
– Hacking computers owned by Pussy Riot (feminist Russian punk band targeted by Russian authorities)
– Targeting attendees of European defense exhibitions, including the EuroNaval 2014, EUROSATORY 2014, and the Counter Terror Expo and the Farnborough Airshow 2014. (Right around the time Russia was building new fighter planes.)
So they’re suspected to be state-backed because it’s hard to see any other explanation for their targets. They don’t go after money like criminal hackers but they rarely release documents so they’re not acting from some kind of freedom-of-information Wikileaks-style motivation. They’re too big to be just a couple of Russian patriot dudes but too focused to be a random collection of individuals like Anonymous.
They’re either state-backed or the security dudes have got it wrong in linking those specific attacks together under the one group. Security types tend to imagine more sophistication than really exists. But they do seem to have found some tangible tracks linking those specific attacks together. I’m not usually one to wear the tin-foil hat, but I’m considering putting it on. Just in case.
Thank you for this.
Fancy Bear, Cozy Bear, and Tsar Team authored attacks on the Bundestag and US Joint Chiefs of Staff, together or apart. They’re behind disinformation campaigns in the Baltic states and republic of Georgia. Cozy Bear was linked to the breach in DNC. The specificity of their attacks makes these group nation-state based, not basement dwelling neckbeards. They could be partially autonomous, and this particular attack could be their hour of fun, here, rebyata, have at it.
What bothers me quite a bit is that they don’t have to prove shit about doping. They just have to sow doubt, and look, we’re already talking about how ritalin would give Simone an edge, and how there’s grey areas in American athletics. To have the innocent prove they’re innocent. Also, sowing doubt and disinformation – classic KGB.
Thank you, too.
How interesting that they specifically targeted black women…..hmmmm…🤔🤔🤔
I think that’s a stretch. They specifically targeted American women.
I don’t think it’s a stretch. All the headlines are about these women.
Out of all the other American women athletes? Just these three black female athletes files were released first?
Yes. Because they are American. And the Russian hackers are cheesed off with America because they blame American political pressure for the Olympics doping bans.
It doesn’t matter whether you think they have a point or you think they are delusional about it. The motivation is to stick it to Americans by highlighting perceived hypocrisy, not to stick it to black women.
It really wasn’t just black women. They are in the news because they are the most popular and well known. A (white) female basketball player also had her info released.
They targeted the best athletes, who happen to be women. It doesn’t taint anything though, we all know and see behind the veil.
Russia has a serious history of public anti-black sentiment in the last four years. Statements were made by Russian officials at the last Winter Games. While I think this attack is mostly jealousy aimed at the American team, I think a strong belief exists in Russia that blacks are more animal than human and that played a role in focusing the release on certain athletes. Serena didn’t even win anything so why highlight her records.
I think we are talking about two separate things. Russia has a racism problem. Russian hackers are trying to demonstrate hypocrisy and political motivations on the part of WADA/Olympic authorities over their bans at the Olympics and Paralympics due to state-sponsored doping. I honestly don’t think these are related IN THIS CASE.
The featured athletes in today’s tranche of leaks are two British white men: cyclists Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/wada-russian-hackers-fancy-bear-bradley-wiggins-chris-froome-medical-records-rio-2016-a7308341.html
They are just looking for the highest profile names with TUEs.
And again, the leaks are weak. Wiggins has been all over the media for years talking about his asthma and the TUEs he has because of treating it. Froome had a 1-week prednisolone prescription for a chest infection. One week.
It’s ridiculous really. They’ll be “exposing” diabetics next.
They didn’t specifically target black women – Elena Delle Donne.
They targeted the three most famous American female athletes. Serena and Venus are the most widely known female athletes currently competing, and Simone was a phenomenon this Olympics. Everyone else is much lesser known outside the US.
Is that the first thought people have? The obsession with race is insane.
They are also all women.
And all American.
But I think the biggest similarity is that they are really really good at what they do. I am assuming that is why they were targeted. And I am assuming others were targeted as well.
I don’t necessarily think this hack was racially motivated. They targeted famous American athletes. However, there have been some high-profile Russian sports officials-like the Russian tennis president- who have made some nasty racist and misogynistic comments about the Williams sisters in the past. So I can understand why some people might have thought these 3 black women were targeted in part because of their race and gender.
It’s insane to question whether race is involved? Or for that matter, gender? Why?
I don’t think this is racially motivated; I think it was an attack on some of the biggest names in their respective sports. But I can’t believe anyone says it’s not worth even considering whether or not there are race or gender motives involved. Of course you should question it and consider all the evidence before deciding whether or not race and gender are a factor.
It’s not insane. All you have to do is watch the news. There are certain people that are held to a different standard. It’s a real issue in this country. I understand not everyone is going to agree. I am just speaking from a perspective of someone that has to deal with this on a regular basis.
The thought certainly isn’t insane if you’d ever been to Russia. I met up with a friend when we were both in St. Petersburg and she was jeered and even yelled at on the street. I can still literally feel sick thinking about how uncomfortable (and honestly, scared) we both felt.
**I will add that I know many Russian people and professors who are wonderful. Acknowledge this is an anecdotal, one day experience. But maintain that having had that experience, I believe that race is definitely a factor.
” I met up with a friend when we were both in St. Petersburg and she was jeered and even yelled at on the street.”
It not uncommon in Russia, though. They will yell if you block the street, if you walk too slow, if you are breaking the rules. They will have no hesitation about disciplining somebody else’s children or you , if they perceive that you are behaving in an unacceptable way. The Russian police is corrupt is useless so the citizens do the “policing” and take a village approach to solving issues and raising children. And they are not gentle about it.
For example, if you left you car running and to drop off your kids at school and blocked everybody else ( a common occurrence in the US), you’d come back to a car smashed to pieces. Or you’d be yelled at , at a very least. They are very intolerant towards inconsiderate behavior.
Without knowing more details, it is hard to tell what exactly happened.
But, if you look at the facts… It wasn’t just black females who had their info released.
Sasha, I lived in Moscow for about nine months, part of a research group. I’d rather not comment on the street behavior of Russians, but I will say that two of my colleagues were physically assaulted, cornered, pushed around, yelled at, one in the metro, the other on the street, in full daylight. Go figure, one was black, the other Gujarati. We made a point to go out in packs afterwards.
“For example, if you left you car running and to drop off your kids at school and blocked everybody else ( a common occurrence in the US), you’d come back to a car smashed to pieces. Or you’d be yelled at , at a very least. They are very intolerant towards inconsiderate behavior.”
Kinda scary but I’d be totally lying if I said that I haven’t fantasized about doing this to people who double-park….
“Go figure, one was black, the other Gujarati. We made a point to go out in packs afterwards. ”
I left 20 years ago, I only visit now. I do see the rise of extreme nationalism . The politicians simply cannot resist using nationalism for their purposes.
This is 180 degrees turn from the policies of the USSR , which stood for equality of all races. Believe it or not, the USSR was far ahead of the US in gender equality and racial equality, because it benefited from it.
There was always rumbling under the surface against darker skinned ethnicities and Jews remaining from Russian Empire days. Russian Empire was racist and unapologetic about it, granted that was a hundred of years ago. There was a lot of progress made in Soviet times toward the unity, though there still remained unspoken policy of anti-Semitism.
Once the USSR fell, all of its legacy, good and bad was thrown away.
Atheism was replaced with religion, equality of all ethnicities and races with nationalism, altruism with a cult of money, free college education is being reduced. It is very sad to see such retrenchment from progress.
@vilebody This is also what I have been told to expect in Russia as a black woman. My best friend is a Russian history professor and spends years at a time in Moscow. When I had planned to visit, my friend really cautioned me about some of the treatment I might endure as a black woman. She did not caution our white friends who were going to visit.
Of course, I get comments and looks around the world (I’ve had some interesting experiences in China and India), and I expect that. This, it sounded like, was on a different level and my friend is not an alarmist.
I have no doubt that most Russians are wonderful and do hope to go there some day.
My parents fled a communist country when still relatively young, and they were indeed steeped in a strong ethos of gender and racial equality… at least in a public discourse sense. At ground level, my father was always reminded he’s Jewish, and my mom was expected to carry the triple burden of being academically accomplished, politically active, but also taking care of the entire housekeeping. Still, even if they hated the chock hold of propaganda and fear, etc., when they finally made it here in the land of the free, they were pretty confused to witness institutional racism or stronger gender-norming than in their homeland. My mom found it particularly vexing.
The hackers showed that prominent black female athletes followed anti-doping rules correctly and thoroughly when they required medical care. Rather than casting doubt on Americans, the hack raises more doubt about the insistence of Sharapova and others that the rules are difficult to follow.
Exactly. This is why I think it’s an exceedingly weak hack and a non-scandal.
They had TUEs, so everything is legal according to WADA’s rules. However, I still find it immoral. Not that it matters, of course.
But if you’re that sick that you can only compete with prohibited substances, it’s best that you withdraw, get better, get healthy, and then return. Let’s not forget that tennis players benefit from protected ranking when they have medical problems that don’t allow them to stay on tour.
This comment demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of the TUE process and the advantages involved with taking certain medications. ADHD is not something you recover from. Neither is Sjogrens. These medications are allowed specifically because the athletes are at a huge disadvantage without them. They help level the playing field, instead of giving them an advantage or even leveling the playing field entirely. There is nothing morally wrong with making the game fair, by allowing athletes with certain conditions to compete taking their medicine. You sound like you think they’re allowing some athletes to take performance enhancing steroids or allowing rampant masking when that’s clearly not the case.
What about Serena? What’s her chronic illness?
In response to grace who is questioning Serena’s chronic illness, well, Serena has chronic problems with her knees that have been going on for years.
1. She has knee surgery in 2003 after years of therapeutic treatments -http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2003-08-01-serena-out-us-open_x.htm
That surgery was over a decade ago and Serena’s knee problems are chronic. The inflammation flares up occasionally and she often withdraws from competition for treatment.
2. A more recent update – http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/11/03/serena-williams-knee-injury-rafael-nadal
In addition, Serena used to take blood thinners due to the PE she suffered after cutting her foot in 2010. I am not sure what she takes now (if anything) to prevent blood clots with all the long-distance travel required in tennis.
And that’s not including all the other injuries Serena has accumulated over the years.
Regarding TUEs though, really, the athlete submits their medications and dosage information, the prescribing physician would likely justify the need, etc. All of this is done prior to submission of blood samples in order to be exempted.
When WADA tests, any anomalies from the therapeutic levels or whatever can still lead to a ban. TUE simply allow for therapeutic use of a drug.
WADA TUE – https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/science-medical/therapeutic-use-exemptions
For example, Petra Kvitova a tennis player from the Czech Republic has asthma. She likely has a TUE.
If Sharapova had been under the supervision of a doctor the entire time she was using meldonium and had gotten exempted via a TUE (assuming there was any merit to her health claims), she would not be in the position she is now.
I totally agree with you, I would think the point of having a banned substance list is to prevent others from having advantages over other (medical exemption or not). If you are ill, step aside and take your drugs rather than perform with those who are not on anything.
So, if you have a mental health problem that you appropriately take medication for and that in no proven way enhances your performance, you should never be allowed to compete at an elite level?
Child, please. Take your nonsense somewhere else.
Child,Please
LMAO
Girl,Bye
I was talking about the purpose of the list and what I think should be the solution for people who do not suffer from chronic illnesses.
But of course, rather than ask me what I mean, it’s better to distort my opinion, call it nonsense + condescending tone and the ‘child please’ and ‘girl bye’. Typical.
I would imagine given the years she’s spent practicing and playing, her joints/shoulders/ muscles hurt like a son of a bitch….
Chronic pain is an illness, tho I suspect she isn’t under the influence while playing, as someone on patches—all pain meds do is keep the hurt down to a tolerable level.
These women aren’t doing anything immoral 😒
I find it immoral to release people’s medical records with no authorization to do so.
Can’t speak for TUES but the hubbub I’ve heard on social media from Russian individuals about the ‘speed freak’ given special enhancement has been laughable at best and embarassing at worst.
If they were looking to embarass Americans with Simone being on ADHD meds they wasted their time, but at this point time to waste is all they seem to have.
On my social networks, Russians mostly discuss Norwegian skiers, who, according to hackers, to a high extent suffer from asthma, and as such are on meds, which help them with breath problems. This I find curious.
Ummm….there are no protected rankings in tennis.
There.have been attempts to implement.it, Nadal with his oft injured self tried to.shoehorn it in and there.was talk about it.after Seles.got.stabbed, but it is not part of the WTA or ATP
you.get sick or injured, your ranking.falls, period.
You may be confusing the.fsct.that you.cant lose.points until whatever tournament where you have points to.defend is actually.played, but that.is.not a protected ranking.
At.one.point.in.Serena’s career.after knee.surgery and time missed from the.tour,.Serena had to play satellite.tournaments( the tennis.equivalent of.the.minor leagues) as she worked her way back up the rankings
Not true. Juan Martin Del Potro and Laura Robson have benefited from protected ranking.
I hope it’s OK to add some sources to my claim.
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/15493002/tennis-another-setback-juan-martin-del-potro
http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/15203500/laura-robson-uses-protected-ranking-qualify-french-open
This is pure BS.
Serena never had to play “satellite tournaments” to get her ranking back up after injuries; she was never out of competition for that long.
And they absolutely targeted the WS in retaliation for Sharapova
It’s no secret Serena makes it a point to beat.Sharapova……and utterly destroy her if possible, whenever they play.
Hence.why.she.hasnt lost to her in 12 years.
Lol this hack did nothing but expose Russia as big babies with a STATE SPONSORED doping program. Venus has a medical condition. One that sidelined her as she fought back to the level she is at again. Serena got injured and got clearance. Simone has adhd and Ritalin helps focus her energy which would be the opposite of performance enhancing with her brain chemistry.
Do some athletes dope? Probably but so far no one has found a country wide doping issue like Russia had using the substances they did.
No wonder Russia and Trump have such a strong mutual admiration-this is straight out of the Trump playbook (“look, she did it too!!”).
With all due respect, Kitten, there is no Trump’s admiration in Russia. I mean, may be it exists in some pro-Putin media but overall I haven’t noticed it. I do read/listen both Russian and US media daily and have to admit that there is so much bs from both side. I’m especially impressed by UK Guardian, which cooks quotes on a daily basis…oh well.
Let me correct myself then: “This explains Trump’s admiration of Russia.”
Better? 😉
I wasn’t trying to dog on Russian people so apologies if it came out that way.
It’s just that the sheer brattiness and butthurtitude that provoked this hack really reminded me of Big Orange.
That’s fine, Kitten 🙂 I don’t think Russians got their feelings hurt anyway…I’m just tired of hearing that every bad thing, including Trump, is somehow getting associated with Russia…
You’re absolutely right, Nina–nobody except sorry-ass Americans should be associated with Trump. That asshole is entirely of our making and whatever laboratory that monster was created in should be destroyed.
I feel that I, as a long-suffering Britisher, have earned the right to associate Donald Trump with Boris Johnson.
If we could perhaps find some maximum security facility to confine them both in, I would be good with that.
It’s all very cutthroat and invasive. I feel bad for Simone, who is still young and not as experienced in dealing with this crap.
Well, for someone who is somewhat inexperienced, she sure handled it like a pro.
That last pic of her is everything. How can anyone look at that photo and not smile?
I look forward to them releasing info about male athletes.
Word! I’m sure is just as common in their case too.
Actually I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they chose African American athletes. Russian culture is horribly racist towards people of color.
As a couple of people have already pointed out… It wasn’t a coincidence, because that isn’t what happened. It wasn’t just black females who got their info released.
My first thought was “Did they run out of US politicians to hack?!?”
The silver lining is that all this should be a big boost to computer security development…. And it’s been educational for the many folks who think when you hit SEND, the mail goes straight from your computer to the recipient’s computer rather than the true winding path it takes through cyberspace, hopping from server to server, falling into black holes along the way sometimes and never really secure unless you take special measures.
serena’s hair in the buffalo plaid pic is so delicious.
Ain’t it? I love big, fluffy, curly hair. It always looks so joyful.
Pharma Psycho Drugs for kids suck. Put kids in sports, give them free time, boundaries and love, then they won’t need Ritalin. It all boils down to bad/lazy parenting.
Yep! I would say that there are many people who should not be having kids.
Yeah as someone with ADHD all the free time and open fields in the world wouldn’t help me and didn’t help me until I got on medication. I was a very bright student who was struggling with focusing and attention and having my grades impacted as a result.
My younger brothers were close to being left a grade behind in school until they were given medicine, now they’re top of their class.
You should actually look up the biological components behind ADHD because all the love and hugs in the world won’t change a deficiency in the production of chemicals in your brain.
@kate: I’m sorry, but your comment is ridiculous. As the mom of an 8yr old with ADHD who requires medication to FUNCTION–and the wife of someone with ADD–I find your stupid comment to be ignorant and hurtful. We tried EVERYTHING with my son. He is well loved, listened to and nurtured. He has tried sports, playing outdoors, playing indoors, a variety of reading, games, toys, activities, therapy, foods, etc etc etc. I was unwilling to medicate him so young (because like you I thought I knew everything), but when your 6yr old is coming home from 1st grade saying things like, “Why can’t I just act like other kids?” or “My brain keeps telling me to be crazy and I can’t stop” or “I wish I weren’t alive. What’s wrong with me Mama??” you stop being a self-righteous pretentious fool and give him medication. And it changed his life.
Scarlet Vixen, that really got me in the feels. I just wanted to give you a virtual hug and tell you I’m so glad to hear that your little guy is doing well.
@Kate
That doesn’t even make sense. How much more involved in sports is Simone Biles supposed to be? I mean she has only dedicated most of her young life to it.
Please stop talking about things you are not educated about. Those of us who aren’t neurotypical or who are mentally ill deal with enough problems without having to persistently counter false preconceptions from uninformed people. While I do think younger children should be given behavioral and environmental treatment before resorting to stimulant medications, sometimes it is unavoidable. We do not live in a society that values either empathy or non-traditional thinking. Unfortunately, those of us with neurological disorders still have to learn and thrive within that society. Sometimes that means medications, sometimes it doesn’t.
If you really want to support a less drug-reliant society, stop telling people to “hug” their kids more and start supporting programs that work on better social inclusion of the neurologically atypical and encourage your local governments to put more funding into schools so that they produce programs specifically designed for ADHD and spectrum disordered children. While you’re at it, you might want to support wage increases so that impoverished families can stop being “bad” parents and spend time with their children instead of working two jobs to put food on the table.
You sound like the doctor, some 40 years ago, who told my mother that she was a bad mom because both I and my middle sister had ADHD.
In other words, you sound judgemental and lacking in education or empathy.
One look at either of these two should tell you that they do performance enhancing drugs.
yes. because a woman can’t be strong and muscular without drugs.
Its called training, dear. If you lifted your own body weight 40 hours a week, you would be strong, too. These comments are ridiculous. Simone had a 6 pack when she was 12. Go take that trash talk elsewhere.
They hacked the records of a non-black WNBA player as well. I think her last name is Delle Donne.
If they were going after famous athletes, how come they didn’t target Michael Phelps? 🤔
Anyways, I’ve tried Aderall as a study aid – I don’t have ADHD – it didn’t work for me. It didn’t make me focus it just made me talkative.
It’s not likely to make you focus if you don’t have the need for it. If you don’t have ADHD or ADD, it will only act as a a stimulant.
It is relatively well known that Venus Williams has an autoimmune disease, Sjögren’s syndrome . So I’m not surprised she has a therapeutic exemption. But it clearly hasn’t helped her game since she frequently looks fatigued.
I am sorry to hear that V.Williams has that disease. But why does everybody think that that should legalize her participation in professional sports? If the drug doesn’t just treat a disease but also works as a performance enhancer then – and I am sorry for the athletes – then the athlete must be considered to be drugged.
See, Lance Armstrong lost part of or all his testicles due to cancer (?) and testicles are (partly?) responsible for hormone production in men. As a consequence he was allowed to substitute the hormone by injection (?). But it also enabled him
1. to push his hormone levels to a maximum which hardly any other man could reach naturally (slight overdose) and
2. to time his hormone levels optimally according to his needs in sport.
And no, a healthy men just can’t compete with that. Consequentially this is no longer a fair competition. See my posting below #24.
I find it ridiculous that people in this thread are even entertaining this bullshit.