The Hitch said:
How about not say things that are clearly lies.
You think a guy for whom Ivan Basso was for years his closest friend and mentor, who's manager is Alexander Vinokourov, and ridden on teams where everyne was doping really believes that drug tests catch all dopers? Please.
That is such an obvious lie and cop out from Nibali or any athlete who says that.
The "what is he supposed to say" argument is weak.
Its also another example of fans giving riders way more liberty to lie to people and hide behind supposed ignorance, than they would in normal situations.
If you were a teacher and a child told you the dog ate their homework, would you believe them or would you conclude that a stupid explanation like that which has historically only been used by liars, is bull****.
Why then is it wrong to do the same for Nibali when he comes up with similarly dumb and exposed arguments?
What did he
actually say that is 'clearly lies'?
He doesn't say that he believes drug tests catch all dopers. He says, and I quote:
“I hope that they catch all the dopers,” Nibali added. “If they catch another 10, I’d be pleased. It means the controls are in place and they are working.”
Now, maybe you don't believe he wants all dopers to be caught; but I'm not so sure it's 'clearly' a falsehood.
Are any of the attributed statements 'clearly lies', in fact:
“If people want to associate me with these cases, they don’t understand anything,” the Sicilian and 2014 Tour de France winner told Italy’s sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“They are four idiots that have nothing to do with me.”
“The problem is certainly not mine. I think about myself and I have a clear conscience. I certainly can’t give answers for their problems,” Nibali said.
“Also, the two riders race for the continental team and I don’t even know who they are.
“Maxim Iglinskiy? In a team there are those you have to live with regardless. He was not part of my group and between us, there’s no link.”
Those latter two should be easy to test. I just don't know whether he knows them or not.
As for the others, I've already said I found the only other attributed statements in the article - those regarding the team and the sponsors laughable.
Perhaps I should have said 'what do you expect him to say' instead of 'what's he supposed to say'? But I'm not giving him undue latitude or getting him off the hook; this is just the predictable stuff they all come out with. As I said - on the juice or clean as a whistle, this is just predictable.
The trouble is, if you believe everyone is doping and cannot entertain a 1% anyone is clean, you start with the position that they are all lying from the outset. Given such a perspective, it's pointless for a rider to say anything at all because you wouldn't believe him unless he out and out confessed to doping or something similar.
If - and I said if - Nibali is not a doper, then all of the attributable statements are plausible, even if Ivan Basso was his boon companion and Vino is his manager.
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