Media amnesia and reactions

[stefank]

4 Corners

THe ABC "4 Corners" program promises to be interesting:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-15/australian-legend-witnessed-armstrong-bribe/4312558

 

[sairyder]

Just saw an interview on Abc24 Australia with Phil Bates (UCI rep in AUST).

He disagreed on air with Cycling Australia head Muellers comment that Matt White has to go for good. It was clear that the reporter was incredulous - he pushed it but Bates just dug his heels in -

these guys are part of the problem - unbelievable. Turtur, Bates they clearly have not been answerable to anyone for years - they are out of touch with reality.

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Just saw an interview on Abc24 Australia with Phil Bates (UCI rep in AUST).

He disagreed on air with Cycling Australia head Muellers comment that Matt White has to go for good. It was clear that the reporter was incredulous - he pushed it but Bates just dug his heels in -

these guys are part of the problem - unbelievable. Turtur, Bates they clearly have not been answerable to anyone for years - they are out of touch with reality.

If you get a chance - please let me know if this interview will be on iView, I'd like to see it?

 

[summerhill]

Sherwen's retweet implies he ought keep his job...

owenslotTheTimes ‏@owenslot
Now, if ever, is the time to be open and find a cure. If people being outed means they lose jobs, the omerta continues
Retweeted by Paul Sherwen

 

[Freddythefrog]

do you have a link to the no needle policy and its revocation?

Rob hayles: 50.3% hct 2008 wchamps. 45% 2 weeks of suspension later. Not. Normal.

I have a hunch, but the clear points to a pattern of sophistication that is nigh on impossible to beat. Why worry if you have access to undetectable stuff that is not on wada's banned list, and therefore not doping per se?

interesting piece - peter keen calling for a truth & recon process
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/201...ance-armstrong-truth-commission?newsfeed=true

particularly of interest is the fact that he had a strict no needles policy at bc - this is no longer the case

Well done Dear Wiggo. ............... Rob Hayles .... Sutton.

Peter Keen - guru of all things. Not too sure about that, just like I am not too sure about the enforcement of the no-needle policy, during his time. If Keen is on about "truth and reconciliation" I think I would widen the brief beyond PEDs and for starters I would put a wad of the forms in front of him and give him a box of pens. He would be needing them.

 

[DominicDecoco]

ESPN's Howard Bryant's reaction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v13jHM1fn7w

 

[sairyder]

Samantha Lane restores integrity to Australian cycling journalism.

This journalist looks like she won't stop until she gets to the bottom (top?) of things. Well Done! You go girl = there are plenty of fans out here who are over the whitewash. (See today's letter SMH)


http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/can-of-worms-open-its-time-to-come-clean-20121014-27l0j.html

 

[sairyder]

Hats off to you too Rupert

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/tour-down-under-needs-to-open-up-20121014-27l04.html

 

[PCutter]

Samantha Lane restores integrity to Australian cycling journalism.

This journalist looks like she won't stop until she gets to the bottom (top?) of things. Well Done! You go girl = there are plenty of fans out here who are over the whitewash. (See today's letter SMH)


http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/can-of-worms-open-its-time-to-come-clean-20121014-27l0j.html

Maybe she should ask her colleague Rupert Guinness why he brushed Walsh after his book so that he could suckle at the teat of Lance, only now to come out high and mighty about how riders knew 'back then' and kept silent. How about journo's Rupe?

 

[Dear Wiggo]

This is gonna get buried now - I might post it to the blog with comments, but still.

If you want to read an example of how farcical you can make a doping investigation, in Australia, this is recommended reading:

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2004/s1072143.htm

2 snippets from same:

GAYELENE CLEWS: I gave him a copy of the documents and I believe that he then wrote a report.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: But a week later, events became farcical. Another Sports Commission official, this time a human resources officer, came to interview her as part of an internal inquiry into how the matter had been handled. He told her he didn't have the documents. Could she send him copies? So she had a sealed set hand-delivered, only to be told that, for legal reasons, they weren't going to look at them.

GAYELENE CLEWS: I...I was absolutely baffled. Here we were, it's a situation where I'm trying to hand these documents over not to be held legally responsible for the fact that I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing and also because I felt that I had a professional responsibility to do so, and it was as if nobody within the organisation wanted the documents.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Lawyers acting for the Sports Commission then interviewed Clews yet again as part of the internal inquiry. Again she handed over the documents.

GAYELENE CLEWS: And it was very fortuitous that I had legal representation there, because, as it turned out, there was a false record of interview placed on the official file at the Australian Sports Commission that I only found out about because it was sent to me by accident.

...
PETER BENNETT, VICE PRESIDENT, WHISTLEBLOWERS AUSTRALIA: I think it's been terrible. It's...it's an abomination. Any organisation that is set up with statutory obligations to actually investigate a matter and has handled it as badly as the Australian Sports Commission has handled this should be reviewed.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Months after she first went to the authorities, lawyers acting on behalf of Athletics Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee finally began a formal review of the evidence. They were the fourth and fifth sporting bodies to get involved.

SIMON ALLOTSON, CEO, ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA: And we do that through an independent process. That's in the best interests of the athlete but also in the best interests of the organisation and the sport.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: But the Australian Sports Commission wasn't making the job easy. Athletics Australia's lawyer, with a note of desperation, wrote to Clews's solicitor, "It's apparent that I am not in possession of many of the documents that your client says she previously provided to the ASC."

GAYELENE CLEWS: In the end, despite the fact that I'd handed them over five times, I had to hand them over a sixth time so that Athletics Australia could get the matter dealt with.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Clews says she's content with the way Athletics Australia handled the matter but is highly critical of the Sports Commission's inquiry.

How would you characterise this investigation?

GAYELENE CLEWS: An absolute shambles. Severely incompetent. The number of people who were involved in it, you know, middle-management people who were involved in it in one way, shape or form, I don't think they should've been. I think that this should've been dealt with by the heads of the organisation and I think it was a serious enough matter for it to warrant their attention.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: She has told us it was a shambles.

SENATOR ROD KEMP: Mmm.

QUENTIN MCDERMOTT: Now, she's right, isn't she?

SENATOR ROD KEMP: Well, I'm faced with, as I understand it, a full audit by the Australian Government Solicitor, which has ticked off the processes. Now, uh...this particular person may...have complaints and concerns, but as I said, the processes that were followed, my understanding is that the Australian Government Solicitor conducted a full audit and gave them a tick.
...

 

[sairyder]

This is gonna get buried now - I might post it to the blog with comments, but still.

If you want to read an example of how farcical you can make a doping investigation, in Australia, this is recommended reading:

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2004/s1072143.htm

2 snippets from same:

Good spotting - we need to keep posting this stuff. Get it out. I am also writing to John Faulkner and the Sports Minister Kate Lundy to make sure it is dealt with seriously by ASADA . Kate Lundy is a goer - I don't think she will agree to a whitewash. The cycling mandarins have a lot to answer for

 

[sairyder]

Kate Lundy Australian Minister for Sport contact info:


Please contact me at any of the following:
Phone: 61-2-6230 0411
Fax: 61-2-6230 0413

Email: Senator.Lundy@aph.gov.au

Street & postal address:
Law Society Building
11 London Circuit
Canberra ACT 2601

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Good spotting - we need to keep posting this stuff. Get it out. I am also writing to John Faulkner and the Sports Minister Kate Lundy to make sure it is dealt with seriously by ASADA . Kate Lundy is a goer - I don't think she will agree to a whitewash. The cycling mandarins have a lot to answer for

I tweeted it to Sam Lane - her twitter account was at the end of that article. I also tweeted the story of the 2 AIS scholarship holders caught for doping 5th July, 1999.

ETA: I don't want to rain on your parade. But.

When journalists trailblaze unpopular topics (eg: Kimmage), I believe they are worthy of adulation.

When a journalist jumps on the current bandwagon, I believe you need to wait and see. This was an easy story for Sam to write on - no research required, no danger of being villified. I look forward to her going for it, but my gut says she will let it die - this is not her battle.

 

[I Watch Cycling In July]

Kate Lundy Australian Minister for Sport contact info:


Please contact me at any of the following:
Phone: 61-2-6230 0411
Fax: 61-2-6230 0413

Email: Senator.Lundy@aph.gov.au

Street & postal address:
Law Society Building
11 London Circuit
Canberra ACT 2601

Kate Lundy is also on the WADA Foundation Board, representing (indirectly) the Australian Govt. You could lobby her to make sure Pat is watched carefully at WADA and maybe she can lobby to keep Pat off the WADA exec. I sent a letter along those lines to the NZ minister of sport before the USADA report came out.

 

[sairyder]

I got a personal reply from ASADA a day after mailing a request for info. about the old Matt White investigation ("no case to answer" - who does Peter Kogoy have for a source?.) A personal reply with the general media release attached. They are certainly on their toes at the mo:

14 October 2012
MEDIA STATEMENT
ASADA is aware of the media statement issued by Matthew White regarding his doping activities while a member of the US Postal Service team.
The confession of doping by Mr White is indeed a serious matter. The action of peer pressure to force any athlete to dope is abhorrent, but does not excuse the choice made by an individual athlete to participate in a team strategy that sets out to deceive the sport and its fans.
ASADA pursues every case of doping as is its obligation under the World Anti-Doping Code and its legislation. In 2010 ASADA became aware of allegations of doping made against Mr White by the American cyclist Floyd Landis. Due to the Federal investigation in the United States and subsequent United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation ASADA was unable to obtain information to pursue a thorough investigation.
Due to the extensive nature of the USADA report and the latest admission by Mr White, ASADA will be seeking further information from USADA and Cycling Australia as the relevant national sporting organisation. This may take some time, but ASADA has a duty to be both thorough and accurate in its investigation.
Until this process is completed ASADA will refrain from making any further comments.

 

[sittingbison]

Maybe she should ask her colleague Rupert Guinness why he brushed Walsh after his book so that he could suckle at the teat of Lance, only now to come out high and mighty about how riders knew 'back then' and kept silent. How about journo's Rupe?

Not really fair. Rupert has outed HIMSELF which as far as I'm aware nobody or very few have done. As Dear Wiggo says its easy to jump on the bandwagon now, all across the world journos are sinking the boot, but not so easy at the time.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/i-was-wrong-and-others-must-come-clean-too-20121011-27fr9.html

 

[sairyder]

I tweeted it to Sam Lane - her twitter account was at the end of that article. I also tweeted the story of the 2 AIS scholarship holders caught for doping 5th July, 1999.

ETA: I don't want to rain on your parade. But.

When journalists trailblaze unpopular topics (eg: Kimmage), I believe they are worthy of adulation.

When a journalist jumps on the current bandwagon, I believe you need to wait and see. This was an easy story for Sam to write on - no research required, no danger of being villified. I look forward to her going for it, but my gut says she will let it die - this is not her battle.

Whose battle is it then? Don't journalists have a part to play now?

 

[Dear Wiggo]

Whose battle is it then? Don't journalists have a part to play now?

ie she is not going to pursue it and bug the heck out of people if it's not dealt with exhaustively.

Yes, it should be journalists doing this, on behalf of the people / citizens of the country.

But journalism does not require you to be a journalist any longer. To investigate. To dig up. To pursue, relentlessly. No longer required. It's entertainment now. PR. They are more reporters, reporting the news.

And I guess I should clarify by saying - investigative journalist. This:

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism is a primary source of information.[1][2][3][4] Most investigative journalism is done by newspapers, wire services and freelance journalists. Practitioners sometimes use the terms "watchdog journalism" or "accountability reporting."

is not what Sam is doing. She is merely jumping on the bandwagon.

 

[The Hitch]

In the daily fail today there is an article by this moron who they call the best sports writer in the world

In it, the clueless tosser says that Pantanis alpe d huez time must be obvious doping because he beat Hinault 1986 by 10 minutes, and says that you could maybe expect someone to beat Hinaults Alpe d huez time by 3 minutes, but to do it by 10 is obvious doping.

He then declares Sastre as the clean winner of the 2002 and 2004 tours.

Hey bozo, Sastre did Alpe d huez in 39 minutes. If you think anything under 45 for Alpe is suspicious, then, do some flipping research

He also says he finds Ye shewin suspicious, but declares Zubedlia, Evans and Wiggins clean (as well as Sastre), and says he feels sorry for wiggins being asked doping questions when he has just won clean, (though once again- Chinese swimmer - suspicious, whether positive test or not).

Im guessing he doesnt find anything suspicious about Bolt either based on the fawning articles about him.

He also says Contador lost his 2007 Tour title for doping. Absolutely no research. And yet when cycling gets into the papers, these ****s are the ones who get the double page articles and not anyone who actually watches the sport.

Best spors writer indeed

 

[bobbins]

You're joking aren't you? Smith has been one of Armstrong's biggest apologists. At the ToC last year when the news of the FBI investigation opening broke, he was all 'move along there's nothing to see here, I'm a mate of Lance and rode with him on Motorola, nothing happened'. Now he's flip flopped because the wind's changed. He's pathetic.

If anyone bothered to do a bit of digging it would be clear how strange it is for Brian to any any of this.

Make a career out of being Lances team mate then throw him under the bus and come out with a story that many will find incredulous.

 

[Bala Verde]

Best sports writer indeed

Best sports writer they have on staff. Oh, and probably a bad batch of interns

 

[Mellow Velo]

Listening to Tyler now.
2 hours is pretty "in depth".

 

[Dead Star]

And the presenter Mark Chapman like he said at the start of the show always presents the Monday Night Football Show(I listen to myself some weeks) at this time so to drop that for this, means they must have a good programme set up.

So far so good. Much of it is information and knowledge we already knew, but it's important that this is on a mainstream station for the wider general public to listen to.

 

[Dead Star]

Think someone should bring these people together to talk and discuss their experiences. i remember they did it in Germany a couple of years ago. Matthias Frank, Joerg Jaksche and that anti-doping activist whose name I've forgotten (also German).

 

[summerhill]

Also good to reach out to the bigger football fanbase. Joey Barton and his commenters want to learn...
http://www.joeybarton.com/armstrong-the-fall-of-an-iconic-sporting-superstar/