Well, for some odd reason I feel the need to wade into this muck. Here goes:
JRTinMA said:
I doubt that you are evil at all, just another individual complicit in the doping culture of cycling. You had a chance to take some pictures, unplug the refrigerator, grab some docs with code names and expose one of the biggest frauds in cycling but you chose to look the other way at the time.
In a way you're right about complicity on my part, hence the shame. The reality was that I had a mortgage, a new son, and a friend who I believed was effing up his life monumentally. I learned very early in the game what happens to people who got on the wrong side of things with him, and to be perfectly frank, I was scared. Still, I counselled LA on a variety of moral issues, all of which fell on deaf ears. Take your pick. Cheating is cheating, in my book, and I made it abundantly clear that I did not approve, whether in marriage or business or sport. Therein lies the source of the friction between him and I.
Sure, I could've taken photos or whatever. Yes, it would have been a far more faithful exposition of my own moral grounding, but I really was conflicted.
He was my friend. I didn't know the whole story, but was pretty sure what was going on. It was only later when I was labelled the "disgruntled employee" which painted an entirely different and inaccurate picture of the relationship.
If a friend murdered his wife, you can be sure that I would turn him in, but this stuff...tough call. Again, shame on me.
Still, you have demonstrated a lot of ignorance of the case.
JRTinMA said:
You had a lot in 2003 and 2004 and probably would have taken it to your grave except that idiot sued you over a couple of outdated laptops.
Once again your ignorance is showing. What he did was a preemptive legal strike to cower me into not filing a suit for wrongful dismissal and breach of contract. Remember, I was fired unceremoniously, had an attempt made at forcing me to sign a non-disclosure agreement which would have made me liable to pay a million dollars for even saying that I worked for the guy. When I refused, the defamation and threats started. They started what Stapleton called WWIII. I was scared ****less. No money. A family to support. A mortgage. And my reputation. It was me against a force of nature in the bike industry and in Austin where I called home.
The laptop was very valuable to him for some strange reason. I'm sure you can figure it out. Or maybe not you, but many of the more thoughtful folks around here can, I'm sure.
JRTinMA said:
To be fair I don't claim any high ground, not sure I would have had the guts to do it any different, probably would have rolled just like you. I know I wouldn't have agreed to a VN story in 2011 and admitted my shame. The shame is you didn't act when you had the chance isn't it? I hope this doesn't come across as an attack, its not my intent. Since you come on and post, I think that leaves you open to criticism.
Well, I had done a really good job of rebuilding my life down here. Very few people knew of my history, but I carried a heavy burden which was quite liberating to unload to Neal Rogers. It was catharsis.
Maybe you know no shame. If so, please accept this nomination for beatification. Congratulations.
The shame is that I didn't leave the job earlier when I knew that things were not on the up and up. Extenuating circumstances will do that.
The shame is that I was mixed up in the whole affair, which I believed at the onset would have set me up with the shop I wanted, and the credibility to go with it.
The shame is the irony of it all.
Again, I should have done a lot of things differently, like never quitting graduate school for a life in the glamourous world of cycling. I'll always wish that I'd had the balls (and money) to bail out at the first sign of trouble, which was about six weeks into the job, but there was a contract that we had agreed on.
JRTinMA said:
He was not an accuser, he was complicit. Lance was the accuser, accused him of stealing laptops and clothing. Stop protecting your hero LA.
Really, I don't know why I bother. Where have you been Rip Van Winkle?
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