Preliminary communication

https://doi.org/10.21464/fi46103

Exception as Practice – A Bioethical Critique of the Contemporary Anti-Doping Order

Nenad Dikić ; Univerzitet Singidunum, Danijelova 32, RS–11010 Beograd *
Marija Anđelković ; Univerzitet Singidunum, Danijelova 32, RS–11010 Beograd
Nebojša Visković ; Sport klub, Bulevar Zorana Đinđića 8a, RS–11000 Beograd

* Corresponding author.

Abstract

This paper analyses contemporary anti-doping from the perspective of the bioethics of sport, starting from the understanding of sport as a normative practice with internal goods. In dialogue with the bioethical framework developed by Matija Škerbić, anti-doping is examined not merely as a technical-legal mechanism for substance control but as a moral institution whose legitimacy depends on normative consistency and procedural equality. The central thesis of the paper is that the key problem of contemporary anti-doping does not lie in the presence or absence of intent on the part of athletes, but in the institutional logic of exception that suspends the universality of rules. Through a philosophical analysis of responsibility, institutional power, and biopolitical regulation, the paper demonstrates that exception as a practice leads to the erosion of trust and undermines the “spirit of sport”. The case of Jannik Sinner is examined as a diagnostic example that reveals the tension between the bioethical ideals of sport and actual anti-doping practice, pointing to the need for a restoration of the system’s normative coherence.

Keywords

bioethics of sport; anti-doping; ethics of exception; responsibility; institutional power; fair play; spirit of sport; normative equality

Hrčak ID:

351141

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/351141

Publication date:

20.9.2026.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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