US Anti-Doping Agency charges Armstrong
- Thread starter steve williams
- Start date
Bingo!
In 1998, in Canada, we went through a similar thing with Ben Johnson. Fastest guy in the world. The best. A hero. Bam, gets nailed for drugs. At first there was the denial, which lasted about a week. Then the huge inquiry to find out that, lo and behold, Ben used drugs. Then we said "well, everyone else did too." We tried to make ourselves feel better. Many still say the same thing. You know why? It's true.
What I think is unfortunate, though, is that culturally, cheating and lying has not only become the norm, it's condoned through the "well, they're doing it, too" attitude.
I coached people for many years, cleanly, and faced the issues of drugs head on. I kept the athletes clean because to me, integrity had more to do with winning. We won more than we lost, which was good, but even when we lost, that was OK, because to me it was more important to do things cleanly. Drug us was (is) rampant.
Unfortunately, what I think is lost is integrity in sports. It's all about the winner, no matter how they win.
Doug
Cycling in europe has its origins as being the people sport as to for example hockey which is considered "elite" sport , it has always had an aura around it as in :
We cyclists do what we want , not to strict a regulations , to make cycling clean you might need another generation , as was stated today by robert geesink , a top rider from the previous rabobank team (which has stopped sponsorship last year).
We cyclists do what we want , not to strict a regulations , to make cycling clean you might need another generation , as was stated today by robert geesink , a top rider from the previous rabobank team (which has stopped sponsorship last year).
I think it's probably gone. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it's hard to put it back.
I'm not naive -- drug-testing, although admirable, is flawed. Many, many ways around it. People talk about "beating" the tests. The assumption is that everyone is tested, every place, all the time. Hardly the case in most sports.
Drug use is rampant in cycling, as in many sports, and as long as there is a significant reward, the win-at-all-costs attitude will prevail. Of course, cycling is now a tarnished sport, like others, but the incentives are still there.
The answers aren't clear. Some argue to just let drug-users go at it and not try to police it, but do you really want deaths just to win? That's not the answer either.
Doug
I'm not naive -- drug-testing, although admirable, is flawed. Many, many ways around it. People talk about "beating" the tests. The assumption is that everyone is tested, every place, all the time. Hardly the case in most sports.
Drug use is rampant in cycling, as in many sports, and as long as there is a significant reward, the win-at-all-costs attitude will prevail. Of course, cycling is now a tarnished sport, like others, but the incentives are still there.
The answers aren't clear. Some argue to just let drug-users go at it and not try to police it, but do you really want deaths just to win? That's not the answer either.
Doug
Well, they have. I'd have to look at the numbers, but at one time or another I believe that all the team members were busted on drugs. He wasn't the first one -- he was the last.
Doug
Doug
Basically the drug testing is dependent upon the individual countries sport. The three most rigorous testing countries are the US, Canada and GB.
There were provisions talked about entailing suspending whole teams if two athletes tested positive but we know what became of that. Hell the IWF let's countries buy themselves out of suspensions from the sport
I thought passport testing was the best option but that's voluntary. Second best is keeping the 'B' samples for eight years. Third is the IOC lying to the athletes and telling them they've developed a new drug test eg for HGH as happened in Athens. It was funny looking at those athletes who mysteriously disappeared.
Its not easy , but what makes it difficult in the armstrong case is that he never tested positive so where do you draw the " guilty line ", besides that i read that USDA has promised former teammates privileges if they would testify against him !!
Its stinks and worst its not even the way forward if you wanted to clean up the sport , it hurts US cycling and worst the millions who benefit from his foundation...
The USDA , really pulled a wanker on this one ....
The USDA , really pulled a wanker on this one ....
Easy ...
We can start by adding the names of the members of the COC who helped doped Ben, ban the whole canadian Olympic team , managers trainers, everyone for 10 yrs , that would clean it up in a heart beat , instead they make the athlete the scape goat with smoke and mirrors while the real basturds get a away to dope others for more glory ..
---- And what about the 'tumults' (extremely negative disruptions) right now surrounding the NHL?
Sport organisations aren't perfect because they are run by people and money.
You gotta start at the real cause of the cancer first, then from there the chain reaction should follow course.
No sir, the 'cause' starts with who decides to infringe first on integrity. ...Then all the suppliers, in the name of greed (money).
There isn't anything more simple than that.
* The drugs are easily available, for all. But it is our 'own' ultimate choice at the end to follow that path or not. That's what integrity (or not) is all about, and it always starts with us (me, you, him, her) first.
All I'm saying is that Armstrong is being made a scape goat by an organization that looked the other way. Go after the whole lot of them then. They won't because it will destroy the sport.
Myles, Lance was the kingpin, not some goat. He led the way, he mislead the UCI, when people began to figure the mess out suddenly, it all was hushed up... to save the sport. Which as far as I am concerned is forever ruined. Just to type about the whole affair hurts. LA is the biggest fraud in sport. Ever.
If you want to have a " clean" world then there is a LOT to do .
First thing i would clean out is politicians not athletes.
Dope was in cycling long before lance armstrong arrived from the USA, and it highly likely still is
First thing i would clean out is politicians not athletes.
Dope was in cycling long before lance armstrong arrived from the USA, and it highly likely still is
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