I hate hearing this…
OK, I’m going to argue against you on this one. In this particular case, the rider took a tea bag from the hotel. It was coca tea, which caused the Canadian rider to later test positive for benzoylecgonine, a chemical produced when the body metabolizes cocaine. It went so far as the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland exonerated the rider and ruling that they inadvertently ingested a cocaine metabolite by drinking South American tea. Under FEI rules, they were still temporarily suspended as a positive test is a positive test, regardless of how it happened. In my opinion, this is a very different scenario than the positive tests for EL.
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Regardless, it shows that the contention by Lamaze that they were on a witchhunt to go after him personally is completely unfounded. They tested other riders, including other Canadian riders. And when there was a positive test result, for whatever reason, they took action based on the test results.
My previous post was completely factual in that a Canadian rider had a positive test result, which kicked off a chain of events that resulted in the Canadian team missing the next Olympics.
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Except those what, 3 or 4 times he got caught red handed with it in his system? Cocaine is not a part of my life and I have the track record to prove it (I get drug tested frequently at work).
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So, there are people saying he has mental health issues. Mental health issues and mental illness sometimes coincide with SUD and substance abuse. However, there are people who have PERSONALITY disorders and sociopathic traits–these are NOT mental illnesses and cannot be changed, cured or treated with medication. These are personality issues. I think ELs constant need to see himself as a victim no matter how many lies he has potentially told, how many people he has manipulated and how many people he has potentially hurt would reflect not mental illness but instead sociopathic personality tendencies. If he really were being falsely accused of misrepresenting an illness the first thing he would do would be to present factual evidence of said illness to put all the rumors to rest. He learned long ago–most likely–with his charisma and charm how to con and manipulate, and now how to plant seeds in his supporters that he is again being wronged. I work in a profession that sadly has a high rate of drug diversion and addiction. I have seen first hand all kinds of addicted behaviors. I have also been falsely accused of using narcotics myself, and I can tell you I would pee in a cup in a second or give up a hair, blood, whatever it took to clear my name and have done. People like EL make normal people suspect. They create a scenario where no one knows who to believe. It is a horrific and toxic dynamic that causes, in my experience, waves of harm that radiate far from the individual. It is sad that so many still support him, and sad that no one is digging through the sludge to get to the final, absolute truth so the whole thing can be laid to rest. People out there actually suffering and overcoming real
disease, mental and physical, would appreciate it I am sure.
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As someone once said to me, a person can be an *sshole AND an addict - even if you remove the addiction, the *sshole is still there.
There are plenty of people with addictions who may not be shining beacons of noble behavior but their negative actions are only addiction driven and they really are good people if they can leave the substances behind.
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Great post.
And he admits to trying to dodge testers so that when he does tell them where he is, he can have a clean test? Because he needed drugs for the cancer and/or something else “medical”? Um what? I think he tried the whole innocent ingestion thing before with the diet pills and cold medicine. Remember the one gymnast who got disqualified at the Olympics because a doctor told her to take cold medicine and it had a banned substance?
Lance was always on about the witch hunt and claiming he was the most tested athlete ever and that he “never had a positive test”. He was a lot better at cheating at the WADA game and evading doping controls. EL isn’t even doing it for performance purposes. He seems to be much better at cheating at business.
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The first thing I did when I was put on my migraine meds and then my estrogen blockers for breast cancer, was find out if I needed an exemption to compete! I did not as in Canada, we only test riders in FEI classes ….which is what EL competes in! No way would he be exempt from testing, and no way would he not have to get medication exemption signed! So……is this what the FEI is investigating him for? Did he use forged docs for that too? Or just refuse to be tested because he had no paperwork? Enquiring minds want to know!
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I’ve read and re-read that meandering post, trying to make some chronological sense of it.
Was it 2021 when he dodged the drug test because the tester was well dressed, but didn’t look like a drug tester? Allegedly the person also lacked ID, and wasn’t following COVID protocols, so EL felt it was “scary” and “looked more like a kidnapping than a drug test.” That was also in the same time frame when his “brain was bleeding so much” that he’d spent a month in bed (?). Was that at Aachen? Tokyo? The Rolex Grand Slam?
I am so confused.
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Oh, dammit! You will absolutely win!
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nobody, but nobody, believes that story.
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I do…and so does the Court of Arbitration for Sport (regarding Nicole Walker). I have several acquaintances that are arbitrators for the organization. Appeals are not taken lightly and are thoroughly vetted and investigated. If you don’t believe the story, that’s your choice.
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This reminds me of someone else, and an ongoing disruptive, divisive situation in the US.
“waves of harm that radiate far from the individual. It is sad that so many still support him”.
Yes, and yes. Sorry for the side bar, but I can’t help but see the parallels.
Back to EL.
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Link to the Kindle version of the Belle Gibson book, if anyone is interested in a similar case. Quite a good yarn.
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I have to say that I’m surprised to occasionally see a reference to that Livestrong organization, which seems to still be in existence. It seems remarkable that they managed to continue operations following their origin with Armstrong.
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Well… it’s actually a pretty good organization and supports people with cancer. And Lance did have VERY real cancer. And his recovery journey back to competitive cycling was actually pretty amazing. I read his book years ago. The blood doping and cheating he did after he was back competing at the top tier is shameful… but it’s also a major issue throughout that sport… not specific to Lance.
Honestly, one of the thing that irritates me the most about Lance is the TERRIBLE way he has treated multiple women in his life who stood by his side and supported him through a lot of tough stuff. He’s a grade A @$$hole.
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He’s a top drawer jerk. I read his book, too. He treated everyone poorly - nurses, doctors…everyone. I threw his book in the trash. I’m a 2x cancer survivor; I thought it would be inspirational…not.
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I’m guessing the book came out before he was busted for doping, so he did not address his fall from grace?
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Yup. It came out before. And he was still married to his wife when he wrote it, so it was also pre Sheryl Crow. He treated both his wife AND Sheryl poorly. Apparently also Lisa, who was the girlfriend who stood by his side through much of cancer treatment. He glosses over their breakup in the book.
Anyway… as a cancer survivor myself who went through a platinoid chemo regimen (I did a carboplatin regimen that caused me serious anemia… it was brutal).… I am impressed by his recovery from chemo and return to being a competitive athlete. But… he is a horrifyingly selfish human being.
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