Mark French wins $175,000, a second pay-out in defamation case

[DAOTEC]

AAP

Olympic cyclist Mark French has been awarded $175,000 in damages after he sued the Herald and Weekly Times for defamation.

The former junior world champion was banned from cycling for two years in 2004 and also suffered a lifetime Olympics suspension because of doping offences but was cleared on appeal the following year.

Mr French, 25, sued the Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for damages in the Victorian Supreme Court over two articles published in the Herald Sun newspaper in August 2004, which he claims labelled him a disgraced drug cheat.

On Tuesday, Justice David Beach awarded Mr French $175,000 in damages, plus costs.
Outside court his solicitor, Michael Main, said Mr French was happy with the outcome.

"He was very relieved that the case was over and that he had been vindicated," Mr Main told reporters.

Mr French had also successfully sued radio station Triple M in 2008 for defamation after he was described on air as a "dirty, stinking, dobbing cyclist".

In that case, he was awarded $350,000 in damages, plus costs.

© 2010 AAP http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/27/2883529.htm

 

[buckwheat]

AAP

Olympic cyclist Mark French has been awarded $175,000 in damages after he sued the Herald and Weekly Times for defamation.

The former junior world champion was banned from cycling for two years in 2004 and also suffered a lifetime Olympics suspension because of doping offences but was cleared on appeal the following year.

Mr French, 25, sued the Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for damages in the Victorian Supreme Court over two articles published in the Herald Sun newspaper in August 2004, which he claims labelled him a disgraced drug cheat.

On Tuesday, Justice David Beach awarded Mr French $175,000 in damages, plus costs.
Outside court his solicitor, Michael Main, said Mr French was happy with the outcome.

"He was very relieved that the case was over and that he had been vindicated," Mr Main told reporters.

Mr French had also successfully sued radio station Triple M in 2008 for defamation after he was described on air as a "dirty, stinking, dobbing cyclist".

In that case, he was awarded $350,000 in damages, plus costs.

© 2010 AAP http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/27/2883529.htm

God Bless America.

In 2004 he was a disgraced drug cheat. He was found not to be a drug cheat in 2005. No disgrace in that.

Too bad there's no free speech in Australia.

When Floyd overturns his case with his double secret appeal, I don't think he'll be able to sue all the news outlets that called him a disgrace.

 

[Ferminal]

Sounds like doping can be a profitable business?

Wasn't French involved in the AIS track doping ring? Typical Australian treatment of dopers... "dirty, stinking, dobbing cyclist".

 

[Master50]

Looks like the second test better come in before you call someone a doper. There has been such a hysterical rush to bury every accused rider and the sport in general. Maybe a few actual facts need to be proved first?

 

[Ferminal]

He never tested positive - just banned for posessing naughty substances.

 

[PACONi]

Sounds like doping can be a profitable business?

Wasn't French involved in the AIS track doping ring? Typical Australian treatment of dopers... "dirty, stinking, dobbing cyclist".

From memory he was implicated along with Graeme Brown, Jobie Djaka (spelling?) and Sean Eadie. The most anyone ever admitted to was self injecting vitamins (not illegal, but against the AIS 'ethics code'). Jobie got booted from the Athens Olypmic Squad for this as he initially denied injecting anything. So he was penalised for lying.

Mark French was set up as the scapegoat because all the evidence was found in his room at the cycling academy. The idea was that as a 19ish year old he was selling PED's to established riders (Eadie was a world champ by then I think). . Hence the lifetime ban for trafficking.

Upon further investigation (the appeal) the suspect vials were found to not contain whatever illegal substance he got banned for. Turns out the vial had the substance printed on the label, but didn't actually contain it. Someone got ripped off. So Cycling Australia banned him on that basis, but never got the vial tested. My understanding is that the French family paid for this themsleves by sending the vials to Malaysia, as the Australian authorities refused to test it themselves!

Don't know enough about our defamation laws to comment on his sucessful law suits. But I do remember that the media had field day with it, so good on him for sticking it to those basterds! Now if only he'd sue 60 minutes for the hatchet job they did.

 

[BroDeal]

From memory he was implicated along with Graeme Brown, Jobie Djaka (spelling?) and Sean Eadie. The most anyone ever admitted to was self injecting vitamins (not illegal, but against the AIS 'ethics code'). Jobie got booted from the Athens Olypmic Squad for this as he initially denied injecting anything. So he was penalised for lying.

Mark French was set up as the scapegoat because all the evidence was found in his room at the cycling academy. The idea was that as a 19ish year old he was selling PED's to established riders (Eadie was a world champ by then I think). . Hence the lifetime ban for trafficking.

Upon further investigation (the appeal) the suspect vials were found to not contain whatever illegal substance he got banned for. Turns out the vial had the substance printed on the label, but didn't actually contain it. Someone got ripped off. So Cycling Australia banned him on that basis, but never got the vial tested. My understanding is that the French family paid for this themsleves by sending the vials to Malaysia, as the Australian authorities refused to test it themselves!

Don't know enough about our defamation laws to comment on his sucessful law suits. But I do remember that the media had field day with it, so good on him for sticking it to those basterds! Now if only he'd sue 60 minutes for the hatchet job they did.

It sounds like he was doping but got lucky and got off. Maybe the Malaysian testers found what the people paid them to find.

What 19 yr old decides on his own that what he really needs is a good vitamin injection? The whole defense sounds like BS.

What is he doing today (other than suing people)?

 

[craig1985]

He rode at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

 

[bicing]

It sounds like he was doping but got lucky and got off. Maybe the Malaysian testers found what the people paid them to find.

What 19 yr old decides on his own that what he really needs is a good vitamin injection? The whole defense sounds like BS.

What is he doing today (other than suing people)?

As I understand he was framed. It was very political among the Aussie track cyclists, the drug culture was bad (and apparently he didn't support it), they didn't like him, he was also very talented at the time, so voila!

Can understand why they didn't like him since he snitched...

 

[PACONi]

It sounds like he was doping but got lucky and got off. Maybe the Malaysian testers found what the people paid them to find.

What 19 yr old decides on his own that what he really needs is a good vitamin injection? The whole defense sounds like BS.

What is he doing today (other than suing people)?

What I found amazing was that Cycling Oz was able to sell the story that of the 4 guys implicated it was the 19yo junior rider who was the bad apple and that he was selling drugs to his much more experienced teammates. It defies logic. This certainly makes me wonder about the Oz track program and the guys running it.

Other than covering up the test results, he got off because the substance that he got banned for simply wasn't present in the evidence.

I think he turned sprinter (was kilo guy) after they ditched the kilo from the Olympics. I don't follow him much, but do wish him all the best after being screwed over like that. Especially being made public enemy no. 1.

 

[BroDeal]

What I found amazing was that Cycling Oz was able to sell the story that of the 4 guys implicated it was the 19yo junior rider who was the bad apple and that he was selling drugs to his much more experienced teammates. It defies logic. This certainly makes me wonder about the Oz track program and the guys running it.

Other than covering up the test results, he got off because the substance that he got banned for simply wasn't present in the evidence.

I think he turned sprinter (was kilo guy) after they ditched the kilo from the Olympics. I don't follow him much, but do wish him all the best after being screwed over like that. Especially being made public enemy no. 1.

What about the riders he accused of injecting stuff? Those accusations turned out to be lies. He hardly sounds like a poor soul who was screwed over.

 

[auscyclefan94]

What about the riders he accused of injecting stuff? Those accusations turned out to be lies. He hardly sounds like a poor soul who was screwed over.

Who said they were lies? (Sorry, Just trying to get a grasp of the story)

 

[BroDeal]

Who said they were lies? (Sorry, Just trying to get a grasp of the story)

Two of the accused were never in Adelaide where the AIS facility is located during the time French was at the facility. DNA testing showed two DNA profiles on the hundreds of items that were tested, and the second profile was only on a handful of the items. The fact that there were so many items to test is probably an indication of what was really going on.

 

[PACONi]

Two of the accused were never in Adelaide where the AIS facility is located during the time French was at the facility. DNA testing showed two DNA profiles on the hundreds of items that were tested, and the second profile was only on a handful of the items. The fact that there were so many items to test is probably an indication of what was really going on.

I don't recall anyone being accused by their fellow cyclist. For that matter I don't remember how Browne, Eadie and Djaka got implicated. All the gear was found in French's room, so he's immediately suspect. Whether he's actually innocent or not, I don't know (but I'd hardly be surprised if he was doing something), I just find hard to swallow that he was the ringleader, being a junior and all. Still none of them ever tested positive so they must all be innocent, right?

I also found it odd that they could never actually catch anyone. So much DNA, and its all within the one jurisdiction, unlike Puerto for example. They're all Aussies, with the offense being committed and uncovered in Oz. I guess, that where there's a will, there's a way ....... or not as the case may be.

 

[Nick777]

I don't recall anyone being accused by their fellow cyclist. For that matter I don't remember how Browne, Eadie and Djaka got implicated. All the gear was found in French's room, so he's immediately suspect. Whether he's actually innocent or not, I don't know (but I'd hardly be surprised if he was doing something), I just find hard to swallow that he was the ringleader, being a junior and all. Still none of them ever tested positive so they must all be innocent, right?

I also found it odd that they could never actually catch anyone. So much DNA, and its all within the one jurisdiction, unlike Puerto for example. They're all Aussies, with the offense being committed and uncovered in Oz. I guess, that where there's a will, there's a way ....... or not as the case may be.

I wasnt following the case word for word when it happened, but remember chatting to some cycling buddies & the general word was that the youngest guy's room was chosen as the 'storage facility', using the logic that if caught, the authorities would go the lightest on him. When the bow broke, French was hung out to dry.

 

[BroDeal]

I don't recall anyone being accused by their fellow cyclist. For that matter I don't remember how Browne, Eadie and Djaka got implicated.

From the stories on CN, French gave testimony, which was supposed to remain secret, and named five or six other riders that had been injecting stuff in his room. The accusations were leaked to the press. Some of those riders were never in Adelaide during the time that French was at the AIS facility. The judge in charge of the matter said that French was either a liar or had trouble with the English language.

I did not really follow the matter when it occurred, but from reading the CN stories it looks like French attempted to save himself by giving false testimony about other riders. DNA testing found only Djaka and French's DNA profiles on the hundreds of items that were tested, and Djaka's DNA was only on a handful of the items. The obvious implication is that nearly all the injecting being done was done by French himself.