Lance Armstrong and Drug Use in Elite Sports is Topic of Lecture by Renowned Authority on Doping in Sports - Sept. 10, 2010

Armstrong in yellow jersey surrounded by other bicyclists

EVENT: Dr. Verner Moeller, a top international scholar at Denmark’s Aarhus University, will be guest speaker at The University of Texas at Austin’s first McCraw Lecture of 2010-2011. Moeller will discuss doping and the media in elite sports, focusing on whether or not media allegations that seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has used performance-enhancing drugs to boost his physiological capacity have been fair and balanced.

WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m., Friday, Sept. 17

WHERE: Bellmont Hall, room 328 – Bellmont is located on the west side of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. (View a map to Bellmont)

Dr. Verner Moeller

BACKGROUND: Moeller, a professor in the Department of Sport Science at Aarhus University, has written or co-authored several books on drugs and sports, including “Elite Sport, Doping and Public Policy,” “The Doping Devil,” and “The Essence of Sport.” He also has lectured widely at academic gatherings throughout Europe and is regularly engaged by the media as Denmark’s leading public intellectual on doping in the sports world.

"The issue of athletes using performance-enhancing drugs is a murky area that is characterized by rumor, innuendo and whispering campaigns,” said Mike Cramer, director of the Texas Program in Sports and Media. “Appropriate media response and reporting about the issues is a challenge to even the most ethical journalist. Dr. Moeller's comments should present an interesting, thought-provoking perspective on this fascinating subject."

Moeller currently is in the U.S. teaching a course at George Mason University and will be at The University of Texas at Austin for several days, speaking and meeting with students and faculty.

"When we heard that Dr. Moeller would be in the country for over a month, we decided to try to bring him to the campus so that our students would have an opportunity to interact with an authority on a subject so much in the news these days," said Dr. Jan Todd, co-director of The Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports. “Lance Armstrong seems to be a particularly compelling topic, and rumors about his drug use persist even though he has never been banned by his sports federation for testing positive.”

The Sept. 17 McCraw Lecture is co-sponsored by The Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports, the College of Communication’s Texas Program in Sports and Media, and the College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education.

The McCraw Lecture is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served shortly before the lecture begins.

—Kay Randall, University Communications, 512-232-3910