Calluna Running: That's Not Fair!

“That’s not fair!”

“Yes, it is she broke the rules!”

We have been hearing those phrases a lot lately in the wake of the suspension and banning of several Olympic athletes. In fact, there is a list 15 pages long of banned athletes. Are all the suspensions and bans fair?

thesource.com

Sha’Carri Richardson won’t participate in the Olympics in the 100-meter race or the 4×100 relay. She was suspended for testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana. She smoked some marijuana after hearing of the death of her biological mother.

“Rules are rules,” and it appears Sha’Carri understands that. To her credit she did not give an excuse (blame someone or something else) for her bad choice but she did give a reason (explained her choice).

“I want to take responsibility for my actions. I know what I did. I know what I'm supposed to do. I know what I'm allowed not to do, and I still made that decision.” - Sha’Carri Richardson 1

Marijuana does not enhance athletic performance. 2 So why the prohibition? Who is being “cheated” in this situation?

Then there’s Caster Semenya, who was banned from running 400 - 1500 meter events in the 2021 Olympics because she did not meet hormone requirements. Caster is an intersex cisgender woman - her birth certificate says “female,” she was raised as a girl, but she has an XY chromosome. To compete again in her 2012 and 2016 Gold Medal event, the 800 meter, she was told that she would have to take testosterone suppressants, which she refused to do. 3

Obviously genetics and physical characteristics play a role in athletic ability. Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Michael Phelps has a lung capacity that is twice that of a normal man. 4 Clearly, this gives him a competitive advantage, but is it unfair? Was he required to remove one of his lungs to “level the playing field” for the other swimmers? Where do we draw the line?

runnersworld.com

“God made me the way I am, and I accept myself. I am who I am, and I'm proud of myself.” - Caster Semenya 5

In Caster’s case, she was penalized for something she had no control over, how she was born. She did not create her own body. Yet, she accepts her body, embraces it by being physically fit and active, and she addresses her situation in a way that honors her moral values - by declining to chemically alter her body. Is it fair to penalize her for how she was born or her choice NOT to ingest chemicals?

“But,” you might ask, "Isn’t it unfair to the other runners since Caster has a naturally higher level of testosterone?” Here is what Ajee Wilson, USA’s best 800 meter runner, has to say about Caster and “fairness.”

Throughout her career she ran in the shadow of Caster. Caster always won and Ajee consistently came in second. Once, after coming in second, again, Ajee was asked by a reporter, “Do you think it is good for the sport if Caster is allowed to run?’

“Absolutely, I think she should be allowed to run,” answered Ajee

Another reporter asked a slightly different variation of the same question, to which Ajee, losing patience, replied, “I think everyone should be allowed to participate. I definitely think Caster should be allowed to to do what she loves.”

Then came, what I think is the most important question, “Do you think having her in the race helped push you?”

Ajee smiled and replied, “Absolutely!”

“BINGO! The competitor in Ajee wanted Castor in the big races because the ultrarealist in Ajee cared more about getting the very most out of herself than about winning. And she was right to believe she was a better runner with Caster to vie against than without her.” 6

The reporters' questions and Ajee’s responses illustrate the two competing notions in sports that make the fairness debate so troublesome. First is the idea that the point of sports is the outcome — who wins and who loses. Winning is a fundamental part of sports competitions. Fans want to watch the best athletes perform. Sport competitions are BIG business. Everyone loves a winner and that’s why we have rules and everyone agrees to the same set of rules – in an attempt to create “fairness.”

The second notion is about “the journey” - everything leading up to the competition. Simply having the opportunity to train and compete creates “fairness.” Even recreational runners know that in order to better your performance you need to train no matter what genetics or physical characteristics you possess. The time, energy, and effort athletes must put in before a competition are worthy of our admiration. Putting worth your best effort is the most important aspect of sports, regardless of the outcome. 7

The tension exists, then, between whether we think sports are about the outcome ... or the journey - about winning ... or putting forth your best effort - about an individual achievement ... or a societal good. “Fairness” exists somewhere along this spectrum.

Finally, there was a time when "fairness" meant women could not run marathons, people with disabilities were excluded from sports, and professional sport teams were segregated. Now we are in a particular cultural moment which is redefining “fairness.” I have a feeling that rules will change and our concept of fairness will be reworked, once again.