Fairness for Floyd et al
Trust But Verify (TBV) alerted me to the initial launch today of the expected initiative Floyd Fairness Fund . The fund is hoping to raise $2 million in order to cover the legal and other professional expenses associated with the defense of Floyd Landis. Anyone can donate to the fund online via PayPal.
Not only do they plan to defend his case against what they term as unsubstantiated charges, but also to gain fairness for Floyd in his defense and bring justice to those responsible for misconduct in the case. I would argue against their unsubstantiated comment, but I am all for the rest of this initiative. I realize fairness is fairness, which means both sides have potential to "win."
In Thursday's Roundup from TBV there are highlights from Dr. Arnie Baker's defense of Floyd; primarily changes that Dr. Baker suggests for transparency and fairness in the testing of athletes. I am in complete agreement with Dr. Baker and have a hard time understanding why governing bodies will fight these recommendations in order to improve the decline of drugs in cycling. However, I also think they'll likely dismiss them out of hand.
I have been preaching testing consistency, accountability, documentation and universal standards for quite some time. Dr. Baker takes that strategy several steps further and offers ideas on how to actually go about doing it. Dr. Baker created these suggestions after studying the documentation from Floyd's tests. Unless ideas like his are practiced then cyclists are not going to trust the testing procedures.
After soaking all that into your system now go read this article from the LA Times - "Athletes' unbeatable foe".
The LA Times article has been out for some time now and I have read it twice so far. It's a must read for anyone wanting to participate in the drug testing debate. It's a two part in-depth story into the treatment of over 250 athletes in anti-doping investigations. This problem with transparency doesn't affect just cyclists, no, it is hitting swimmers, runners and tennis players to name a few. The findings from writer Michael A. Hiltzik are startling, but for fans of cycling it should come as no surprise that athletes are treated in this manner.
Hiltzik should be commended for his work because he uncovered a lot of information that many of us have wondered about. We now know that WADA works within a closed system, and there's even a quote from Nashville based doping lab Aegis Sciences Corp saying as much. CEO David Black of Aegis has a quote in part one that should give you an idea of what athlete's are up against. The bottom line is, if someone tests positive for both the A and B sample they are just plain screwed regardless of any other circumstance involved.
After reading the LA Times article and viewing Dr. Arnie Baker's slide show of evidence it's easy to understand how and why Dr. Baker developed his "Improving Fairness" initiatives. Dr. Baker isn't just interested in defending Floyd, but also wants to see athletes get a fair shake in the future. Professional cyclists everywhere should have Dr. Baker's phone number saved in their cell for reference and support.
I do have one suggestion for whoever is the webmaster at FloydFairnessFund.org. I'd replace the far left photo of Floyd's emphatic punch because if ever there was a poster shot of 'roid rage that would be it.
Not only do they plan to defend his case against what they term as unsubstantiated charges, but also to gain fairness for Floyd in his defense and bring justice to those responsible for misconduct in the case. I would argue against their unsubstantiated comment, but I am all for the rest of this initiative. I realize fairness is fairness, which means both sides have potential to "win."
In Thursday's Roundup from TBV there are highlights from Dr. Arnie Baker's defense of Floyd; primarily changes that Dr. Baker suggests for transparency and fairness in the testing of athletes. I am in complete agreement with Dr. Baker and have a hard time understanding why governing bodies will fight these recommendations in order to improve the decline of drugs in cycling. However, I also think they'll likely dismiss them out of hand.
I have been preaching testing consistency, accountability, documentation and universal standards for quite some time. Dr. Baker takes that strategy several steps further and offers ideas on how to actually go about doing it. Dr. Baker created these suggestions after studying the documentation from Floyd's tests. Unless ideas like his are practiced then cyclists are not going to trust the testing procedures.
After soaking all that into your system now go read this article from the LA Times - "Athletes' unbeatable foe".
The LA Times article has been out for some time now and I have read it twice so far. It's a must read for anyone wanting to participate in the drug testing debate. It's a two part in-depth story into the treatment of over 250 athletes in anti-doping investigations. This problem with transparency doesn't affect just cyclists, no, it is hitting swimmers, runners and tennis players to name a few. The findings from writer Michael A. Hiltzik are startling, but for fans of cycling it should come as no surprise that athletes are treated in this manner.
Hiltzik should be commended for his work because he uncovered a lot of information that many of us have wondered about. We now know that WADA works within a closed system, and there's even a quote from Nashville based doping lab Aegis Sciences Corp saying as much. CEO David Black of Aegis has a quote in part one that should give you an idea of what athlete's are up against. The bottom line is, if someone tests positive for both the A and B sample they are just plain screwed regardless of any other circumstance involved.
After reading the LA Times article and viewing Dr. Arnie Baker's slide show of evidence it's easy to understand how and why Dr. Baker developed his "Improving Fairness" initiatives. Dr. Baker isn't just interested in defending Floyd, but also wants to see athletes get a fair shake in the future. Professional cyclists everywhere should have Dr. Baker's phone number saved in their cell for reference and support.
I do have one suggestion for whoever is the webmaster at FloydFairnessFund.org. I'd replace the far left photo of Floyd's emphatic punch because if ever there was a poster shot of 'roid rage that would be it.
posted by NashvilleCyclist.com at 1/04/2007 11:02:00 AM
2 Comments:
in my opinion there are two issues here: WADA's policies, and floyd's case. i personally think, and the author of this article certainly seems to agree, that someone needs to be supervising what goes on at WADA. that will have to come from the UCI, correct?
as far as giving money to floyd, all i can say is: believetyler.org
I honestly believe that Floyd should foot the bill himself....he does make a little more money than most of us..
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