It seems like EL is claiming that the tester didn’t follow protocol when identifying themselves. And then trying to claim that this is why he refused the test…
I would imagine the tester has a different version of events.
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But a laryngectomy would involve a hole in the throat. So I don’t really see how someone would confuse it with face or nose reconstruction.
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Equestrian Canada needs to remove EL as their feature Jumper on their home page.
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I guess this is what I was getting at. A habitual cocaine user can definitely do damage to their nose, septum, palate, etc., all potentially requiring reconstructive surgery. But a laryngectomy? That’s an entirely different area.
Unless EL was trying to claim that his facial surgery of whatever sort, or some other kind of facial disfigurement he has suffered, was due to a laryngectomy. Maybe he thought no one would figure out that he was, dare I say, lying.
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"Yikes.
Struggling with substance use doesn’t make you a terrible person. I’m willing to look past that."
I remember thinking back at the time, I would be outraged if a trainer was riding my horses over grand prix courses while high on drugs. I’ve had a very low opinion of Mr. Lamaze ever since. I guess my low opinion of him is justified. I’m not surprise by any of this.
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This makes sense.
All of this is assuming that the photos are real (actually of him, or not photo shopped of him).
I mean, liars are not known for being honest.
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Fired. Totes fired from COTH informant role.
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I can totally understand this perspective… I wouldn’t want anyone driving my car high on cocaine with a loved one as a passenger, and I wouldn’t want anyone riding my horses high on cocaine (or anything else), especially if they were jumping large obstacles or galloping over terrain or doing something else with a significant risk of injury…
However…
I think it’s likely that if used in moderate amounts, the cocaine acts as a performance enhancer for the athlete in certain key respects. It’s primarily a stimulant. Using it regularly over multiple decades of someone’s life? It trashes them as a human being… in many ways. But using it in smaller quantities immediately preceding competition? It probably gives the rider a certain edge. Thus the WADA having a strict ban (in addition to the fact that it’s an illegal narcotic in many countries around the world).
The elephant in the room with this story, when you get past how outrageous the faked cancer diagnosis is, is the continuing cocaine use. The whole public narrative around EL was all about how he overcame his past substance abuse issues and went on to win a gold medal and have a great athletic career. And that narrative now lies in tatters… and with the benefit of hindsight, it seems that lifting the lifetime ban and reinstating him way back in the early aughts was a mistake. Because here we are.
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So this is all very reminiscent of Ben Johnson and the 88 Olympics - Canadian glory turned to dust from drugs. So I did some googling and stumbled across this very long list - I couldn’t even scroll far enough to get to the bottom.
Total aside, but maybe not really because it would appear it is super duper common in high level athletics to put something other than gatorade in your body prior to competing.
There was a documentary on Johnson - I hope they wrap this up quick and get one on Netflix about this situation!
It will take me a long time to accept all the sh*t I’ve read about my heros in this thread 
OH wait - that above list was only athletics! sports in general does have Lamazes name on the list
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I don’t remember the exact numbers now, but at one point I was extremely shocked to find out how ineffective rehab programs are for drugs and alcohol. It is so common to have a celebrity hit a snag and then go to rehab, as if that was the end of it. But apparently most of the time it’s not even close.
I knew someone many years ago who had an alcohol problem. Unfortunately she passed away in a car accident as a result, which I believe was 10 days after she got out of her most recent stint at rehab.
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I’m not sure why multiple people keep quoting my post and leaving out the parts where I said that EL has done plenty of things that do make him seem to be a terrible person, so it looks as though I’m excusing his behavior.
My point was that the drug use history was, in my opinion, one of the milder bad things he’s done, and something he could potentially come back from. If he’d stopped there and gotten some help for his addiction rather than (allegedly) defrauding horse buyers and lying about having cancer to the point of forging documents, this conversation wouldn’t be happening.
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Rehab is a big business. There are many Club Med type centers that seem to function in part as a sort of “public relations repudiation rehab” for high profile people struggling with addiction… be it celebrities, athletes, politicians, etc. An alternative are more plebeian 12 step programs with all volunteer local support groups. These programs are not a big business and not particularly fashionable these days. But they have worked for many many people for decades.
I have an uncle who has a profound alcohol problem. Years ago, during his freshman year at college, his parents (my grandparents) were traveling to visit him for parent’s weekend, and had a fatal accident en route. He blamed himself for their deaths and the resulting challenges all his siblings faced, and was emotionally devastated by the situation, and nearly drank himself to death before the age of 30. Then he joined Alcoholics Anonymous. He is now in his early 70’s. And been alcohol free for decades (although he does still smoke cigarettes and drinks Coca Cola daily). He’s devoted his entire life to helping others struggling with alcohol addiction. It’s a sad life in some ways, but in other respects, he’s an inspiration in terms of how he crawled his way back from a crushing tragedy instead of drowning.
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Because to clarify the position for the next person, you have to check the screen every 30 seconds, 24/7/365. That’s 365, not 364 or some other number. 
We can set up a resupply of the refresh key to deliver on a regular schedule.
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This has nothing to do with Lamaze, but it’s sort of an interesting look at what happens when a lawyer and client split after a long association. In this case, it certainly sounds like the lawyer was trying to be politically correct until he heard about his client’s comments.
Gift link:
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Wonder what Trump owes Guiliani in legal fees? If Trump pays Guiliani, maybe Guiliani will pay his former representation.
The problem with these outstanding bills is that they are continually adding interest and maybe penalties for non-payment. Whatever was originally owed, it can balloon insanely.
As I understand it, legal billing is regulated and everyone has to be treated the same. They can’t give Guiliani a break on the interest and penalties that they don’t give all of their clients – I think this is the case.
What a time of life to have everything coming apart the way it is with Guiliani. If ever there was a key case study of what not to do to help some prominent jackass, just for the publicity and the association, this is it.
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That is not correct. An attorney can write off fees that are owed by a client for any reason or none at all. It happens all the time. And it does not mean that that same attorney will write off fees for the attorney’s other clients. There’s no law that says you have to collect on a bill that is due and owing to you. Obviously, it is not good business to work on behalf of clients and go unpaid, but it happens all the time.
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And clients don’t have to be charged the same fee structure either. I can decide that I really like to do certain types of cases, and as a result, discount my fees for those types of cases, but charge the full fee for types of cases that I less prefer. And I can have different structures as well. Some clients might be paying a flat fee, and other clients are paying an hourly fee.
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And now, not surprisingly, he is “hurt” and somehow the victim.
“I can’t express how personally hurt I am by what Bob Costello has done,” Mr. Giuliani said. “It’s a real shame when lawyers do things like this, and all I will say is that their bill is way in excess to anything approaching legitimate fees.”
Gee, I wonder where he learned that tactic? Maybe the same place he learned not to pay his lawyer.
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Back on topic? Any news regarding Lamaze?
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