What's+in+the+news?

Drugs in sport has been a big topic in the news this week. Watch the YouTube clip and read the following article and complete the activities below.

media type="custom" key="22136892"

media type="custom" key="22137476" Kennett advocates zero-tolerance on drugs

Former AFL club president and Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has called for an immediate ban on the promotion of sports betting and a zero-tolerance policy on drugs in the AFL. Kennett said he was not aware of a great deal of match-fixing in AFL, but he was worried by the clear influence of money and betting on sport. "I have argued for a long time now, and I've written to federal members of parliament, I would like to see an immediate ban on the promotion of sports betting, the immediate ban throughout the country on sports betting," he told ABC 24. Advertisement  "Because we are now educating a whole group of young children, not only to bet on sport, but during a game of football you might have multiple bets as the game's fortunes swing from one side to the other. "Now if the federal government's serious, they have a role in this too, and while some have argued 'ban sports betting'. "I'm not sure you can do that, but you can certainly ban the promotion of sports betting." Kennett said he was extremely disappointed, but not surprised, by a 12-month [|Australian Crime Commission report] that found coaches, sports scientists and support staff of elite athletes have orchestrated the use of prohibited substances and that match-fixing may have also occurred. The former Hawthorn Football Club president said the AFL drug code was unenforceable and "obviously abused and evaded and misused" and it was time for a major change. "The only policy that will work in the interests of the clubs, the AFL and the players, is a zero-tolerance policy to drugs, be they illicit or be they performance-enhancing," he said. Kennett said if a player tested positive to illicit or performance-enhancing drugs, they should be suspended for a year, rehabilitated and their salary reduced to a recruit level. After a year they can return to the game but if they produced a second positive test they should be banned for life.

Activity 1. What are performance enhancing drugs? 2. Why are performance enhancing drugs illegal? 3. Why shouldn't athletes use performance enhancing drugs? 4. What does Jeff Kennett mean by a 'Zero tolerance policy'? 5. Write a letter to the editor explaining what you think should happen to athletes who are found guilty using performance enhancing drugs