Returning to matters at hand, this weekend (June 17, 2001) the soccer (football for those of a European bent) season came to a close with AC Roma's victory over Parma, which allowed them to clench the Scudetto, Italy's title. Tremendous festivities throughout the Capital, which were all the sweeter for Roma's fans because they took the Scudetto from hated archrival Lazio, which is also based in Rome, though its supporters live around rather than in the city. Last Sunday (June 10) was supposed to have been happy, too -- an Italian was expected to win the Giro D'Italia, the round-the-country professional cycling race whose leader wears a pink shirt (this is why Italy's major sporting daily is pink) and the guy in second place was also Italian. However, the week before the finish, on the eve of the race's toughest Alpine leg, 400 Police officers raided the hotels where the cyclists were staying, knocking on all the doors occupied by team members, friends, hangers on, retainers, team managers and so on, while more policemen watched from outside. I don't think that even they expected quite what happened next: Boxes of drugs flying out the windows, together with syringes and vials that shattered in the parking lots. One officer had a syringe land on the visor of his cap, fortunately for him plunger end down, while two others caught one of the cyclists by the feet as he tried to leap from a window. There was a bit of everything, from portable labs for doing full blood workups to the whole gamut of steroids, stimulants, painkillers, growth hormones, and a great many vials whose labels were ripped off; the first thought was that they might be drugs that mask the traces left by some of the other things. Almost all of the stuff was found in the rooms of the team managers or other hangers on (including relatives), though Frico, who was in second place, had drugs in his room and was therefore expelled from the race and fired by his team.

As one might expect, there was a huge outcry, with much use of the word "shameful" by the press, coupled with tremendous disgust on the part of the fans. Some of the racers, on the other hand, complained about the police tactics and privacy violations, and threatened to stop the race. Excuse me? The raid was planned to coincide with the tough leg because suspect vials were found in the rooms where the racers stayed on the eve of a difficult early leg, and at that point the authorities began to wonder -- were racers helping themselves up the hills? The sheer volume of material found shows that the answer was yes, and that the practice was widespread. As for privacy violations, frankly, if an athlete is doped up he should get the book thrown at him -- on the same day this all happened a 14-year old amateur cyclist was hospitalized after drinking down a handful of pills given him by his coach. It's the pros who set the example, and if they're all juicing themselves up the amateurs will follow.

So how did things work out? The teams threatened to fire anyone who quit, so the race resumed, though to be frank nobody gave a damn. And now that it's over, about 70 people are under indictment, while the Italian cycling authorities have suspended all professional competitions until a code of ethics can be adopted. Let's hope the first provision be mandatory drug and blood tests, not just for the leaders, but for the teammates as well, because in many cases these slower guys need help to keep the pace set by the top cyclists. For those found guilty? Bye. Pros set the example for the kids, and even one 14-year-old who ruins his or her health in the pursuit of a medal (many of these drugs do serious, permanent damage) is one too many.

A presto,
Kyle Phillips
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