Austria’s Tamira Paszek is currently under investigation after allegedly violating anti-doping rules.
According to the Associated Press, the eighteen-year old from Dornbirn received a blood injection after a back injury, a procedure that is prohibited.
“During Paszek’s treatment earlier this month, blood was taken for enrichment and later injected, which is not allowed under international anti-doping rules,” stated the AP on Thursday.
To her credit, Paszek alerted her local anti-doping agency after being informed that the injection was possibly prohibited. She has been inactive on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since retiring during the opening round of Wimbledon against Virginie Razzano.
Paszek reached a career high of No. 35 on the rankings in July 2007. She won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title at Portoroz in 2006.
This is ridiculous, and the headline defamatory.
Andrew, I’m certainly not trying to defame anyone’s character, hence the inclusion of words such as “according to” and “allegedly”. Paszek is innocent until proven guilty, but regardless, she is currently under investigation for violating an anti-doping rule.
Yes, but those softening words don’t appear in the headline. I don’t have a problem with the way the article itself is written, but those who read just the headline may go away with the impression that Paszek took performance-enhancing drugs.
The headline is clear it says, she “is being investigated”…Is English your first language Andrew Broad? and I don’t mean that in any sort of disrespectful way.
Saying that a headline is “defamatory” simply because it states someone is being investigated makes it difficult to see how the sports writer, Aaress, should communicate that an investigation is ongoing. How would you word a headline about a recently launched investigation?
I admit Aaress could have inserted the word “allegedly” before violating. Still, the headline, to me, reads similarly to what I would expect a news commentator to say if they were introducing a breaking story to a television audience. Aaress comment does not seem grossly disproportionate to the way the story has been handled by the leading tennis sites including MSN sports and Wtawomenstennis as well as the Canadian Press. Those news sources word the headline of the story the same way, “Tamira Paszek investigated for violating doping rules” -Canadian Press.
Andrew Broad you seem to be a very insightful contributer to this site and I often enjoy reading your posts. So, again, I respectfully ask what is your first language?
Of course English is my first language.
I have a problem with headlines that tell the harsh side of the story, leaving those who don’t bother to read the article with an unfair impression of Paszek’s integrity. Not only on this site, but on others such as Yahoo! Sports – and my comment is the same there.
I would word the headline something like this: “Paszek in trouble for having her blood replaced”, which states what she actually did whilst avoiding harsh words such as “investigated”, “violating” and “doping”.
Oh – and add “after back-injury” to make it clear that this was medical treatment as opposed to blood-doping.
Well, Andrew, I definitely think you may have a point about one thing. A headline that says “Paszek in trouble for having her blood replaced” would get WAY MORE clicks than mine and just about any other I’ve seen about the topic.
As always, I appreciate the constructive feedback. I’ll try to keep your thoughts in mind in the future.
Yes, who hasn’t had their blood “enriched” and reinjected into their body in order to treat a back problem? What a common procedure. Why should anyone be suspicious of such a logical excuse? Most back problems are caused by unenriched blood, right? Leeches are also helpful. Are they going to ban players for leeches, now?
http://www.tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.com/
i once i heard that lance armstrong hurled his innerwear on the anti-doping agents and said “check it u mutts” ………if these people ban every drug then how can an athlete get cured from his ailements/injuries.so i think the anti-doping governance should give green signal for certain drugs.And in the case of paszek she has left an note on the local anti-doping body ………