The National Anti Doping Agency of Germany (NADA Germany) is clearly opposed to the organisation and media staging of the so-called ‘Enhanced Games’. The planned event format, in which the use of performance-enhancing substances and methods is deliberately permitted and even advertised, stands in stark contrast to all the fundamental values of sport, such as fairness, health and integrity.
"NADA Germany considers the idea of the Enhanced Games to be misleading and fundamentally wrong. The organisers' promise of safe and fair sport by means of experimental doping for athletes is a very dangerous fallacy. A competition that deliberately relies on the use of doping substances is ethically and morally absolutely reprehensible," explains NADA Germany Chairman of the Executive Board Dr Lars Mortsiefer.
NADA Germany expressly emphasises the considerable medical and psychological dangers associated with the use of performance-enhancing substances. The scientific evidence is clear: doping substances have considerable side effects and endanger the health of athletes. The German-German history still shows us today the consequences of such a practice - for the athletes personally, but also for the state in terms of compensation payments and costs for the health care of the athletes who have suffered massive damage.
"Such formats create false incentives, trivialise the health risks and pose a serious challenge to clean sport. We are also concerned about the effect on young athletes in particular - because the Enhanced Games not only convey false ideals, but can also create role models that negatively influence the decisions of young athletes," says Mortsiefer.
NADA Germany will continue to take a firm stand against any form of trivialisation of doping and, together with athletes, associations and partner organisations worldwide, stand up for clean, fair and healthy sport.
The values that sport stands for must not become arbitrary - they must be protected.