Shannon Hartnett And Losing Idealism

The drug suspension of Shannon Hartnett prompted a thread at Power and Bulk about letdowns members have felt from icons in the sporting world. Some of these moments center around the uncovering of performance enhancing drug usage. Other times it's a case of discovering the reality of the icons actions differs significantly from their public image.

Cayvmann waxes philosophical in responding:

You put people up on pedestals and they tend to fall.

The thread takes a detour though and addresses the question of when and why powerlifting has lost its innocence.

I think that powerlifting is in it's death throws, and that's really causing a lot of disallusionment for me. It's the sport I love.

El Pampero affirms the loss of idealism:

Powerlifters have always been saying that only lifts done in a competition count.
Now it seems that lifts done in comp have become as questionable as "gym lifts" - with lax judging, changing rules, equipment, etc.
I think it's going to be very hard to fix this sport.

Many other posts refer to equipment and steroids as a prime cause for their loss of idealism towards powerlifting.

I was embarrassed to bring people to meets when the first single-ply poly BP shirts came out and I had to explain why everybody was walking around like mummies.