A Bad Dream? - revisited
Below is an editorial I wrote back in October 2004 after Tyler Hamilton tested positive for blood doping. I'm sure the last two years have dragged slowly for Tyler, but for me it seems like yesterday I heard the news. As I reviewed some old pages within my site I noticed how appropriate this editorial is in regards to the Floyd Landis scandal. Deep down we all want to believe the riders are clean and honest, but Tyler and Floyd have made it impossible for us to put faith in their proclamations.
Floyd's recent request to have the case dismissed is the latest joke to come from him. What an embarrassing longshot idea. Maybe in October 2008 I'll revisit this then four year old editorial after Floyd's ban is over, but let's keep our fingers crossed another American isn't facing the same steep uphill battle of proving himself clean.
Insert Floyd's name whenever Tyler is mentioned and it'll have the same effect.
A Bad Dream?
2 Oct 2004
Say it ain't so.
If you were like me your heart sank into your stomach when it became known Tyler Hamilton tested positive for blood doping. My exact words were, "You're kidding me." Of all people, Tyler. Not only once, but twice at two different events. Our small minds can get our hands around a testing mistake once, but regardless of your admiration none of us should disregard two positive results . I respect Tyler for maintaining his innocence, but he's facing his steepest battle ever on or off the bike.
Tyler now faces a climb with a summit he likely will never reach. The summit is called Absolute Truth. The only person who knows with 100% certainty is Tyler himself, and it is up to you and I whether or not to believe him. From this day forward many people will trust him when he claims innocence, but others will always point a finger and question his abilities. No wonder he won the Olympic Gold, no wonder he's been able to compete against Lance and Jan, etc. Life was simpler before this massive ambiguity.
Since the testing methods corrupted his blood samples neither the doctors nor governing agencies can state unequivocally that Tyler is absolutely guilty of blood doping. Where does that leave us? At the bottom of Absolute Truth. So again we begin peddling up the mountain, winding through switchbacks, sorting through fact and fiction, but never quite reaching the summit. Sadly we never will.
Professional cycling as a whole had better form a more congruent view of how to best approach drug testing. There must be uniform guidelines about how to appropriately administer tests. Currently too many governing bodies are involved and each takes a different approach. Professional cyclists who choose to cheat can easily figure out how to beat a system with no checks and balances. A more thorough systematic testing procedure must be designed, implemented and adopted by every cycling governing agency on the planet. It now appears more like a free for all.
Moreover, professional cycling will continue to endure incidents of this nature as long the athletes themselves allow it to happen. Unlike the NFL, MLB and NBA professional cyclists have not formed a cohesive union that will stand up to protect the rights of riders. Say what you will about the player's unions of US professional sports, but the unions have saved the careers of many athletes who could have easily been wrongly accused through mismanaged testing procedures.
Unions realize that without strict guidelines and precise documented testing methods the players will be thrown to the wolves. It's this reason alone that MLBPA has fought hard against steroid testing. It would take only one incorrect test to ruin the career of someone who might have the opportunity to earn millions of dollars on their next contract. Players never lose the stigma as someone who tested positive for drugs even if the truth later reveals drugs were not taken. The seed of doubt is already planted.
One doctor recently summed it up by saying, and I am paraphrasing here, "I'd rather see many guilty cheaters go free than to falsely accuse one innocent athlete." The vampires owe it to everyone to get it right the first time.
Floyd's recent request to have the case dismissed is the latest joke to come from him. What an embarrassing longshot idea. Maybe in October 2008 I'll revisit this then four year old editorial after Floyd's ban is over, but let's keep our fingers crossed another American isn't facing the same steep uphill battle of proving himself clean.
Insert Floyd's name whenever Tyler is mentioned and it'll have the same effect.
A Bad Dream?
2 Oct 2004
Say it ain't so.
If you were like me your heart sank into your stomach when it became known Tyler Hamilton tested positive for blood doping. My exact words were, "You're kidding me." Of all people, Tyler. Not only once, but twice at two different events. Our small minds can get our hands around a testing mistake once, but regardless of your admiration none of us should disregard two positive results . I respect Tyler for maintaining his innocence, but he's facing his steepest battle ever on or off the bike.
Tyler now faces a climb with a summit he likely will never reach. The summit is called Absolute Truth. The only person who knows with 100% certainty is Tyler himself, and it is up to you and I whether or not to believe him. From this day forward many people will trust him when he claims innocence, but others will always point a finger and question his abilities. No wonder he won the Olympic Gold, no wonder he's been able to compete against Lance and Jan, etc. Life was simpler before this massive ambiguity.
Since the testing methods corrupted his blood samples neither the doctors nor governing agencies can state unequivocally that Tyler is absolutely guilty of blood doping. Where does that leave us? At the bottom of Absolute Truth. So again we begin peddling up the mountain, winding through switchbacks, sorting through fact and fiction, but never quite reaching the summit. Sadly we never will.
Professional cycling as a whole had better form a more congruent view of how to best approach drug testing. There must be uniform guidelines about how to appropriately administer tests. Currently too many governing bodies are involved and each takes a different approach. Professional cyclists who choose to cheat can easily figure out how to beat a system with no checks and balances. A more thorough systematic testing procedure must be designed, implemented and adopted by every cycling governing agency on the planet. It now appears more like a free for all.
Moreover, professional cycling will continue to endure incidents of this nature as long the athletes themselves allow it to happen. Unlike the NFL, MLB and NBA professional cyclists have not formed a cohesive union that will stand up to protect the rights of riders. Say what you will about the player's unions of US professional sports, but the unions have saved the careers of many athletes who could have easily been wrongly accused through mismanaged testing procedures.
Unions realize that without strict guidelines and precise documented testing methods the players will be thrown to the wolves. It's this reason alone that MLBPA has fought hard against steroid testing. It would take only one incorrect test to ruin the career of someone who might have the opportunity to earn millions of dollars on their next contract. Players never lose the stigma as someone who tested positive for drugs even if the truth later reveals drugs were not taken. The seed of doubt is already planted.
One doctor recently summed it up by saying, and I am paraphrasing here, "I'd rather see many guilty cheaters go free than to falsely accuse one innocent athlete." The vampires owe it to everyone to get it right the first time.
posted by NashvilleCyclist.com at 9/29/2006 07:48:00 AM
1 Comments:
Nice editorial - wrt Tyler. But Floyd's case is different, as you yourself make clear in your first paragraph:
"Our small minds can get our hands around a testing mistake once, but regardless of your admiration none of us should disregard two positive results."
In Floyd's case, there was one positive test result - and a questionable result at that.
That's why I still believe him. If his case WAS in fact similar/identical to Tyler's, I wouldn't.
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