Primary Source Analysis Essay

1454 Words6 Pages

After examination of primary sources and comparing them with the secondary source arguments, there are three main findings. The three main results have to do with the suggested time period studied, what events spurred change, and for what category the policies should be regarded as. This section is broken down into three sub-sections, with each based on the type of primary source examined. The sections are newspapers, governmental records, and an investigative report. The first section is very important to set the timeframe of the argument, as well as view how public opinion evolved over a long span of time. Three newspaper articles prior to 1960 were examined. The first article is from 1913, titled “To Detect Horse Doping: Immediate Examination …show more content…

In a 1998 article “IOC Moves to Consolidate its Anti-Doping Efforts,” published by The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post staff writer Amy Shipley discusses the IOC. Shipley mentions the IOC had plans to create independent regulatory agency. An IOC member was quoted as saying “’speaking on behalf of all athletes who did not cheat, it’s about time.’” Noting this, it seems the articles and author’s general view is that doing is cheating, or unethical behavior that creates an unfair environment in competition. The issue of health was again left out, bringing further credit to the purity of sport as a key reason policy was needed. This article is also helpful to give validity to the argument that anti-doping policy emerged out of scandals and not scientific advancement. Shipley mentions in the later part of the article that there was a call to harmonize policy from athletes after public violations like the 1998 Tour de France. Reference to this scandal is also in many of the scholarly works. In his book, Houlihan says that that scandal in 1998 was key because of size and status of the Tour. The reason this scandal was a major event is because the World Anti-Doping Agency was established after the scandal. Both Hoberman and Houlihan credit the scandal with the founding of the WADA, now one of the leading organizations in anti-doping regulation. This finding is key, making it easier to understand how major events shaped