Allright, I have watched this for a few days now and have to admit that this has not gone in any direction I would have thought when I first read the story (or at least the possibility thereof). Unfortunately, just skimming the thread, you see those who are conviced Lance is guilty believing anything Landis says and those who believe Lance is innocent who downplay everything Landis says. To put this in proper perspective, I have always viewed Lance's doping allegations as a legal issue. If the proof risen to the point of provable conviction (whether I agree or not) then Lance doped. If it doesn't, having daming it appears, than Lance did not dope. Therefore evidence and court rulings have always mattered more than speculation or even the volume of evidence. THe question is always: Can you get a conviction?
Hopefully, that'll steer off some of the Lance bashers.
As someone who admired Landis, whether he doped or not the man could definitely ride a bike, I find what is coming out to be alarming on many different levels. First, I am again reminded of Landis inability to handle the press or the politics of cycling. His reaction when he first tested positive after the Tour was bungled and inept, and his attempts to find diverse reasons for the positive couped with a less than professional appearence showed a man that was clearly out of his depth.
We can again see this quality in Landis. The love-hate Lance fest generally focuses on LA doping, but the reality is that Floyd accussed just about everyone. Dave Z? George Hincapie? Allen Lim (WTF?)? Levi? His former managers from Phonak? And even the UCI itself? All of it without proof. We have already had categorical denials from just about every party to the Landis accusation. By the time we turn to Lance and JB's response we are left wondering what the intent is behind all this. If the intent was to be credible, astute, and focus attention on doping or even to just do damage, there would have been no reason to go beyond Lance. There would be no evidence required in accussing Lance and JB, and the suspicion alone would have done damage. Instead, he went, quite literally after the entire system including people whose reputations, even if the accussations are true, are high enough to cast serious doubt of Landis's accussations so long as his word is not backed by proof.
I honestly cannot tell at this stage whether the intent is to caste light on the doping practices in the sport, simple revenge against a once loved system that screwed him, or both? I know the method he chose to air these details, especially given his past, have essentially shreaded his credibility. Perhaps he was hoping that hsi attack would shack loose a few branchs and the branches of evidence would fall from a sufficiently shaken truck?
Instead what we have is a lot, and I mean a lot, of accussations and no proof. However sensational Landis's attack, at the moment nothing he has done rises to the benchmark of a conviction. If the rumors of Landis's emails are true, and we will begin to see these emerge in the coming days, then I think it is time for someone to extend a helping hand to help him work through some very difficult issues.
Whether his accussations are true or not, the methodology he chose to air them castes serious doubt on his own truthfulness. Additionally, by casting such a large net, he has taken a huge risk as any one of them could stand up to take legal action against Landis. Whether true or not, Landis, more than anyone at this point, should understand that there is a system for doping violations and that system cannot produce a conviction based on finger pointing.
I think it is clear, even if the accussations are true, that Floyd is having some serious anger issues as evidenced by the sheer volume and timing of his accussations. Hopefully, there is somoeone out there that can bring Floyd back to the fold so to speak, but as it is, it appears these latest alegations are going to fade in a few weeks time.
The only change?
Floyd is now definitely a doper.
Not good.
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