• The Cycling News forum is still looking to add volunteer moderators with. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

Clinger

Bummer about David Clinger. Not a bad or evil guy, regardless of his having raced for USPS once. His sanction hardly seems like a victory for clean sport, though I would have liked to have seen him get his TUE paperwork in order before he went off and finished top-3 at nationals. Oh well, no mercy, I guess.
 
Aug 27, 2009
33
0
0
Visit site
Its a real shame to see. More disappointing than anything for me. Dave raced with us here locally in Salt Lake all last year. He was always a super nice guy to me, but that is no excuse for doping.

I wont lie, I was pretty suspicious by the end of the season. He went from a good 40 pounds over weight to one of the leanest guys in the state in a matter of a few months. I had hoped it was a tremendous amount of dedication and work, but it seems that it really was a too good to be true scenario.

Shame. :(
 
2394726454_3585c85f3a.jpg


In this article http://velonews.competitor.com/2009...ry-continues-as-his-tattoos-slowly-fade_99132 from October 12, 2009 it states: “I’ve learned my lesson,” Clinger said. “That’s not something I want anymore. Whatever I do, I just gotta stay off the drugs.”

And with the exception of one time — a particularly stressful day nearly eight months ago — Clinger said he’s been clean and sober for 13 months."

What kind of drugs was he referring to? Mind altering or performance enhancing?
 
May 6, 2009
8,522
1
0
Visit site
I would love to have known whath e was smoking or had been drinking when he got that tattoo. Way to never ever get a proper decent paying job over cycling. But hey, continue working for $5.25 an hour, or whatever min. wage is.
 
craig1985 said:
I would love to have known whath e was smoking or had been drinking when he got that tattoo. Way to never ever get a proper decent paying job over cycling. But hey, continue working for $5.25 an hour, or whatever min. wage is.

I believe it was coke. Went into a complete downward spiral. I thought I had seen in another Velonews article that he wasn't supposed to be training or racing too much because they thought it was part of his addictive lifestyle.
 
El Oso said:
I believe it was coke. Went into a complete downward spiral. I thought I had seen in another Velonews article that he wasn't supposed to be training or racing too much because they thought it was part of his addictive lifestyle.

Coke, Crack, x, etc...think Chad Gerlach but w/ a facial tattoo. I'm not excusing David's having doped, but knowing what he's gone through since his breakdown (which included a lot that wasn't reported in VeloNews), I can't help but feel for the guy. Just hope his support system is still in place to help him survive this.

As for the guy who was ragging on him for having a facial tattoo and that condemning him to earning minimum wage - bravo for being both compassionate and empathetic - jerk. :mad:
 
Mar 13, 2009
16,854
1
0
Visit site
joe_papp said:
Coke, Crack, x, etc...think Chad Gerlach but w/ a facial tattoo. I'm not excusing David's having doped, but knowing what he's gone through since his breakdown (which included a lot that wasn't reported in VeloNews), I can't help but feel for the guy. Just hope his support system is still in place to help him survive this.

As for the guy who was ragging on him for having a facial tattoo and that condemning him to earning minimum wage - bravo for being both compassionate and empathetic - jerk. :mad:

sounds like there may be a disconnect between actions and consequences re: tattoo. May be symptom of a mental illness. (not being facetious, quite serious, just layperson armchair psych here)
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
joe_papp said:
Coke, Crack, x, etc...think Chad Gerlach but w/ a facial tattoo. I'm not excusing David's having doped, but knowing what he's gone through since his breakdown (which included a lot that wasn't reported in VeloNews), I can't help but feel for the guy. Just hope his support system is still in place to help him survive this.

As for the guy who was ragging on him for having a facial tattoo and that condemning him to earning minimum wage - bravo for being both compassionate and empathetic - jerk. :mad:


Craig's pointing out what should be obvious. Clinger made a decision. That decision has had, and will continue to have, consequences. I think you understand this better than most.
 
Jul 14, 2009
2,498
0
0
Visit site
Joe what social circle was he in? He was riding for a pro squad!As part of any new contract I would put a no tat section in there somewhere.Allen Iverson had to wear arm warmers because his ink had words that most people would find offensive.NBA,NFL,NHL,MLB all have wording that call for the coverage of bad tattoos. What do you really think the outcome of this type of body art? Go into schools and talk bicycle safety? The 5.25 an hour thing was harsh but come on. This type of body art takes 90% of the logical job prospects off the table.Look at it this way, if he wakes up Saturday and says I am going back to college.I want to be a....teacher,lawyer,doctor,technician, pharmacist, dental assistant, whatever those tats are going to make it way harder for him to have a clear head.What team director approved his face as a good idea?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
fatandfast said:
Joe what social circle was he in? He was riding for a pro squad!As part of any new contract I would put a no tat section in there somewhere.Allen Iverson had to wear arm warmers because his ink had words that most people would find offensive.NBA,NFL,NHL,MLB all have wording that call for the coverage of bad tattoos. What do you really think the outcome of this type of body art? Go into schools and talk bicycle safety? The 5.25 an hour thing was harsh but come on. This type of body art takes 90% of the logical job prospects off the table.Look at it this way, if he wakes up Saturday and says I am going back to college.I want to be a....teacher,lawyer,doctor,technician, pharmacist, dental assistant, whatever those tats are going to make it way harder for him to have a clear head.What team director approved his face as a good idea?

He was tattooed while a member of the Prime Alliance Team. He was fired for it.
 
Dec 24, 2009
60
0
0
Visit site
employment ops

Maybe in the middle of the country he's only gettin'a 5.25/hr job ;but on the west coast there are jobs that don,t preclude facial tats.I imagine he could work online, wouldn't he be a scary bouncer at a club, or a barrista,could be a wicked fast bike messenger,how bout a bartender at a at some hipster joint...well maybe not that ONE:(
 
Jun 21, 2009
847
0
0
Visit site
craig1985 said:
I would love to have known whath e was smoking or had been drinking when he got that tattoo. Way to never ever get a proper decent paying job over cycling. But hey, continue working for $5.25 an hour, or whatever min. wage is.

he's certainly facing a hard time :(

sorry :eek: was that too in your face like
 
Feb 2, 2010
79
0
0
Visit site
joe_papp said:
Bummer about David Clinger. Not a bad or evil guy, regardless of his having raced for USPS once. His sanction hardly seems like a victory for clean sport, though I would have liked to have seen him get his TUE paperwork in order before he went off and finished top-3 at nationals. Oh well, no mercy, I guess.

A real bummer about Clinger, but what did he expect not getting a TUE lined up for syn T of all things??
 
May 6, 2009
8,522
1
0
Visit site
joe_papp said:
Coke, Crack, x, etc...think Chad Gerlach but w/ a facial tattoo. I'm not excusing David's having doped, but knowing what he's gone through since his breakdown (which included a lot that wasn't reported in VeloNews), I can't help but feel for the guy. Just hope his support system is still in place to help him survive this.

As for the guy who was ragging on him for having a facial tattoo and that condemning him to earning minimum wage - bravo for being both compassionate and empathetic - jerk. :mad:

I would think you are the last person to throw judgement around. But hey, I will let it slide since I have enjoyed reading your posts.
 
He has the same posting style as the various "hombre" members from many months ago. "Hombre" would do stupid things to annoy like make visitor messages of "smack smack" and make stupid regular postings that are similar to what Krap Police does.

It is likely OAR from DPF.
 
No time to write. Just want to say sad for David, I hope he can get his life in order.

His tattoos won't eliminate 90% of possible jobs. Maybe 50%. There are still tons of computer or phone related jobs he could do where he works mostly alone or in small groups, outside the public eye. Or he could just have them removed. It would be painful and may leave minor scarring, but he'd be okay.
 
Sep 25, 2009
7,527
1
0
Visit site
tattoo is a personal choice. even a radical facial one. don’t see a problem there.

the problem is the way he explained his doping - ‘prescribed medication declared on the doping control form’. if an elite licensed racer is not using an official therapeutic use route, he is one of the three things:
(i) unaware
(ii) aware but negligent
(iii) vaguely aware but miscalculated the consequences (intentional cheating)

you decide which one it was.I suspect (iii) but can’t bet on it.
 
Aug 6, 2009
1,901
1
0
Visit site
Alpe d'Huez said:
No time to write. Just want to say sad for David, I hope he can get his life in order.

His tattoos won't eliminate 90% of possible jobs. Maybe 50%. There are still tons of computer or phone related jobs he could do where he works mostly alone or in small groups, outside the public eye. Or he could just have them removed. It would be painful and may leave minor scarring, but he'd be okay.

Even for phone and computer related jobs he has to get the job first. If you walk into a job interview and the first thing your prospective employer sees is a radical face tattoo, I don't think that improves your chance of getting the job. It's his choice to make, but it's also his responsibility to live with the consequences. Or as you say to have it removed. No skin of my nose either way.
 
Nov 17, 2009
221
0
0
Visit site
Damn, thats one ugly tattoo.

Sometimes you gotta wonder who on earth wants to be a pro. There are so many sad stories around. I mean, most of the guys don't earn a whole lot of money riding and when the time eventually comes that you have to stop, you don't have any real job skills when you have spent your whole life just riding.