This is tragic. A talented German professional basketball player is facing the ruins of his career. Jason George has tested positive for a disinhibiting, stimulant that is banned in sports. The suspended man faces a four-year ban for doping – at the age of 21. The winger's career, which FC Bayern loaned him to Chemnitz and the national team coach recently called up twice, seems to be over before it has really picked up momentum: young, talented, but already poisoned. How sad.
Is there anything positive to be drawn from such a story? At first glance, nothing. On the second, a lot, even if it does not help the young person for the time being. Then, perhaps, other, potentially endangered. Because this case, also that of the ice hockey player Seidenberg and that of the footballer Vuskovic, proves progress in the arduous fight against doping. It is true that the German law against performance manipulation is one of the strictest in the world because it criminalizes not only dealers, but also doped athletes.
Residues of a hazardous substance
But it has little effect as long as private institutions (the National Anti-Doping Agency NADA) and the police and public prosecutors do not work hand in hand. This is becoming increasingly successful. Not least because NADA is looking for an exchange and is in talks with the Federal Criminal Police Office and public prosecutors' offices. In this way, reaction gaps are closed and the search is accelerated. If there were more than three specialized prosecutor's offices in the country, the success rate would be higher. That must be the goal of politicians if they are as concerned about the well-being of young talents as they claim.
The story of an athlete being led away in training may seem terrible to sports fans, but they offer the chance of a deterrent. It is also necessary to look into the privacy of an athlete while urinating, as has now been shown again in the face of cover-up attempts. Unfortunately, the inspector has to look very closely, even if that went too far for some loud athletes, such as basketball player Per Günther.
Even for Jason George, despite all the gloom, the proceedings that have been initiated have something positive in store. Should he be guilty and admit it, his ban would be reduced to three years. For information on backers in criminal proceedings, part of the impending sanction in sport could be suspended on probation. There would be time to make the most important thing out of this crash: George, who, like his lawyer, could not be reached on Tuesday, would get the chance to get rid of a problem that could do more than jeopardize his career in the long run. In a sample of him, residues of a dangerous substance were discovered. It may be his luck that NADA found what it was looking for so early. That is to be wished for him.