Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-14-Speech-4-056"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2004-10-14"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:European Union strategy to combat the use of drugs in sport (continuation)2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20041014.6.4-056"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2004-10-14-Speech-4-0572
lpv:speaker	lp:Marios Matsakis2
lpv:spoken text	"Mr President, doping is the cancer of modern sports. It invades, spreads and destroys the healthy spirit of competition and fair play amongst our athletes. Despite the brave efforts made by the World Anti-Doping Agency, its incidence appears to be growing faster and faster, especially amongst professional sportsmen. As the number and sensitivity of drug-screening tests increases, athletes discover new, undetectable drugs or combinations of drugs, or other ways of avoiding being caught. Faced with this malignant state of affairs we must seek to discover the root cause of the problem. We do not have to look very far or think very hard to find it. It is the same root cause that so often turns individuals into criminals. The same one that often leads people to kill each other and, sometimes, even causes whole nations to fight one another. It is called money. As sport becomes more and more competitive, there are ever more material gains to be made by winning. Competition is often not about winning an event or a game, but about winning the sometimes unbelievably lucrative contracts that come with that. The crucial question is whether we can convince our athletes to dissociate sport from money. In my view the answer is unfortunately ‘no’, because athletes are only human and greed seems to be an inherent human weakness. In conclusion, I disagree with the Commissioner that this is a public health problem. In my view it is mainly a socio-economic problem. Sadly, I consider that the only way to keep drugs away from sportsmen is to decommercialise sport. While the chance of that remains remote, the prospect of truly drug-free sport remains bleak."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; Delegation to the EU-Bulgaria Joint Parliamentary Committee (2004-09-15--2006-12-31)3 unknown; Dimokratiko Komma (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3 member; Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (2004-09-15--2009-07-13)3 member_of_the_bureau; ALDE (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3 member; ENVI (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Matsakis (ALDE )."1

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