‘Pool of responsibility’: A new approach to doping prevention

Doping has been an issue for the greater part of a century. Current anti-doping policies involve punishment and chemical testing aimed at a single individual. Doping scandals show that it is rarely the fault of only an individual athlete, particularly in a team scenario. Coaches, sports scientist and other athletes may all contribute to an athlete’s decision to dope. A novel solution has been formulated, a ‘pool of responsibility’; the idea that responsibility for doping is borne by all team-members not just the individual athlete. Case studies and examples from organisational and legal literature were used to justify the concept.