Comments on: Austrian Tennis Star Tamira Paszek Being Investigated for Violating Anti-Doping Rules

By: sharan

sharan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:51:54 +0000

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 ………

By: Tennisroids

Tennisroids — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:20:44 +0000

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/

By: Aaress Lawless

Aaress Lawless — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:21:10 +0000

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.

By: Andrew Broad

Andrew Broad — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:12:42 +0000

Oh – and add “after back-injury” to make it clear that this was medical treatment as opposed to blood-doping.

By: Andrew Broad

Andrew Broad — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:09:20 +0000

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”.

By: anythingbutlove

anythingbutlove — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:47:28 +0000

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?

By: Andrew Broad

Andrew Broad — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:30:59 +0000

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.

By: Aaress Lawless

Aaress Lawless — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:07:17 +0000

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.

By: Andrew Broad

Andrew Broad — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:13:26 +0000

This is ridiculous, and the headline defamatory.