Gary Player on drugs in golf

[mat562]

Having an enviable record in a particular sport does not give you any implied right to make sweeping statements or upset any applecarts.

 

Gary Player is a great golfer, but has a track record of, frankly, being a bigmouth.

 

And that's the issue as I see it.

[salmotrutta]

The thing that bugs me about the drug testing talk on the PGA Tour (and I assume that this will have to include the PGA Tour sanctioned Nationwide and Champions Tours) is that none of the pressure to test seems to be coming from the players themselves. I would think that if it were any sort of a big deal, then either the most recognizable players would be demanding it, or at least that the player's representation to the Tour itself would be pushing for it. Because of this lack of pressure, it seems to me that most, if not all or virtually all, players do not see the other guy using "performance enhancing drugs" as a threat to their careers. Of course the other option is that they are all using them, but I don't think that this is a plausible scenario. The responses that I recall by players when asked about testing mostly seem to be of the vein of "whatever" or "it's fine with me."

 

I suspect that the "me too" syndrome is in play here, as well. "Hey, all the other cool kids (sports) are testing for drugs, so let's do it too!" I think that the International Anti-Doping Agency probably is pushing any sports organization in this direction because hey, that is why they exist. Their credibility rises with each sport that follows their lead.

 

I will say that I tend to think drug testing should be used only as kind of a last resort in any situation, and that in sports especially, the bar should be pretty high before it is instituted and then it should be as narrow and specific as possible. Baseball, cycling, and many Olympic sports seem to meet this criteria. Golf does not, in my opinion - especially if the "banned substances" list includes a plethora of stuff that people use in everyday life, including in injury rehab.

 

With regard to Player's comments specifically, I agree with many here in thinking that they were made at the very least at the wrong time. It is interesting to see that Goosen, Els, and Aliss did not hesitate to throw him under the bus.