One of those small one paragraph blurbs appeared recently in the New York Times Sports Section (Yes, Virginia, there is a NYT sports section.) The piece mentioned that Olympic and world champion sprinter, LaShawn Merritt has accepted a provisional suspension after testing positive for using an over-the-counter male enhancement product. Merritt admitted the use of the product and stated that he hoped his family would forgive him for a, “foolish, immature and egotistical mistake.”
Let’s praise an athlete who admits to a mistake, identifies the source of his weakness and simply asks for forgiveness. No spin doctors creating ridiculous commercials with deceased parents, so scripted, insincere apologies, just acknowledging a deficit, taking a consequence and being better.
Isn’t that what we train athletes to do within their sport?
Dr. John Mayer, President
Tags: Dr. John Mayer, Dr. Mayer, International Sports Professionals Association, International Sports Professionals Association-ISPA, ISPA, John Mayer, New York Times, Performance Enhancing Drugs, President-ISPA, Sports Careers, sports injuries, Sportsmanship, the International Sports Professionals Association, Tiger Woods