Re: Re:
Anaconda said:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...g-scandal-corruption-blackmail-athletics-iaaf
Well written piece describing the drama as it unfolded within the IAAF. Appears without 4 key Russian whistleblowers none of this scandal may have seen the light of day. Russia deserves its ban for it's fake anti doping system. But this corruption within the IAAF and it's shady anti doping practices just seems so much....dirtier.
That is a great article and it brings up some very profound truths that need analysis in the context of the timeline.
I think the critical thing to take away from this is that in February March 2014 Nick Davies has been told by Wallace Jones that Papa Diack (Diack Jnr) and Gabriel Dolle are engaged in corrupt practices.
I think we then have three avenues that lead from this, two going forwards and one backwards.
The first is Davies' subsequent actions. (1) We have the indescribably idiotic email sent to Papa Diack some 3 to 4 months later, advising how to construct a counter narrative in the press and dribble out the positives they have to release, so as not to cause a furore in the press. There is also "plan B to do the tests in Lausanne instead (Gabriel confirmed this to me yesterday).
[OK we know that this brings us back to Saugay's lab and is another pointer that this lab facilitates corruption of test results - and begs the question why does "Mr Clean and Transparent" Cookson still allow any testing from the sport of cycling to be conducted there - how high does the column of dense black smoke need to be before he works out there is a fire at the bottom of it ?] Then as news of the leaked list of Passport violations comes out in December 2014 what does Davies do ? Instead of working with the various bodies he goes full on aggressive. He makes a public announcement that the list is the property of the IAAF and nobody has the right to view it, let alone share the contents with the public. It belongs in the safe at Monaco. He goes on Let's run with, what in hindsight is an awful attempt at a cover up. It could only be written by someone who still held the belief that non of the dirty washing would make it into the public forum. The arrogance that is necessary to place that belief at that point in time, given what we know he knew about events unfolding, is breathtaking, truly astonishing. Blazered officials have a reputation for being both stupid and arrogant, Davies takes it all to a whole new level. He then works with Diack Senior to facilitate the smoothest of exits from the presidency, knowing full well that Seppelt, Baranov, Wallace Jones and Bellof have discovered the cess pit just below the surface of the executive Board of the IAAF, and compently ushers in the new regime - Seb Coe, such that Davies gets an increase in pay and status (Aug 2015).
(2) is again going forward and relates to the relationship between Coe and Davies. As Diack Snr moves to step down only two replacements are in the running, Coe and Bubka. Coe was always going to be a shoe-in but now we know the extent of the mess around Russian athletics and although Bubka competed for the Soviets but is Ukranian, his presidency was highly unlikely given his origin from a country about which the impartial observer would be hard to evidence a different moral set from that which generated the Russian debacle; he was unlikely to get the job. Undoubtedly, Davies and Coe work closely together during his candidacy application and the process of succession, why else would one of the first actions Coe takes as President be to promote Davies to be his full time right hand man? This promotion takes place a full 16 months after Davies was aware that those outside the IAAF Board were digging into corruption within the IAAF Board. Now place the factual statement Coe came out with in August 2015 that "this is a declaration of war on my sport" against the timeline of events.
Does Coe really not know what is going on ? If we follow that as a truth, then the guy can barely be given the responsibility for checking his own shoelaces are tied up. Errr your right hand man knows you are both sat on top of the biggest pile of steaming excrement and he has not briefed you ! If that is because he has deceived you or deliberately kept matters of such enormous nature from you, then your ability to select people to roles is not fit for purpose and the only conclusion from that is that you, Lord Coe, are not suitable for the role you hold.
But I rather doubt that Coe didn't know, in fact I find that a very unrealistic state of affairs. I rather think that Davies did brief Coe and had briefed Coe for many many, months. Coe would have viewed those revelations in the UK Press in Dec 2014 with great concern given his run at the President's job was just getting underway. He would have undoubtedly been in touch with Davies to discuss strategy on how to handle the press, after all, Davies could put pen to paper to do exactly that with Diack Jnr, surely he would do far more to keep Coe informed, particularly as Coe was favourite to be his next boss. Then, a few months later, Coe would have been well shaken that the normally passive and fully compliant BBC had actually aired a program that had exposed one of his contemporaries - Alun Wells and put an large question mark over the attainment of the current biggest star of UK T&F. Davies and Coe would undoubtedly have been talking about the route ahead. And so in August Coe decides the best course of action is to shoot the messengers. They have declared war on his sport. It beggars belief.
(3) is to look backwards from Feb/March 2014 the point in time when we know for a fact that Davies is informed about IAAF board members extorting bribes. We can see his actions going forwards. How he behaved going forwards is going to be influenced on what he understood about the nature of events previously. If he knew nothing and this was a bolt out of the blue, a complete revelation to him, he had no idea up until that point in time that positives were being covered up and had no idea his Board featured members who extorted bribes to keep positives covered up, then were his subsequent actions compatible with his comprehension of the administration of the sport at that that time? It is very hard to make any sort of case for an innocent and decent man behaving subsequently as he did, given the magnitude of what was revealed to him at that time. At the very least, by the time Coe was newly in post, a very different rhetoric would have been coming out of Monaco in relation to all the accusations. "We have to clean this mess up and we have to be ahead of the game" could be the only sane strategy. Exactly the opposite strategy has been executed. Tactics at every level have been only in support of a wider strategy that is to deny and obscure. The petty support of Paula, posting up his own snaps on the IAAF website in a pathetic attempt to be a counter "good will" gesture when he knew full well a load of journalists had seen the list with her name on, is a keen marker for his mindset.
So that then casts complete doubt on any narrative that what was told to Davies in 2014 about the nature of the cover ups and that Board members extorted, was something that shocked him. He may well not have known the full detail, there are plenty of sports officials who hold positions were they receive significant remuneration for holding positions in which their major function is that of ensuring compliance with policies to support clean athletes and yet they have perfected the art in looking away at the right time or telegraphing their inspections.
[Cycling is the embodiment of that - Cookson employing Lance's drug courier Lilistone, long term at BC - who goes onto become manager for Cycling at London 2012 - is but one example.] If Davies did not know the full detail, he undoubtedly had knowledge of enough and had known enough for a long time before March 2014. That "enough" was such that he had three choices. (i) This sport stinks, I am walking away. (ii) This sport stinks, I love my sport and I am in a position of great responsibility and influence, we have a new president coming on line in a couple of years, I am going to do my utmost to ensure the right guy gets in and together we clean it up. (iii) This sport stinks, but if I always defer the responsibility, pass the buck and lie low most of the time, I can take one hell of a cut and yet, if the *** ever hits the fan, I can hold out my finger, point and say "Well those guys there were a lot worse than ever I was."
Davies obviously took the third choice.
Thursday should be another good day.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram