runnER/DR wrote:
I was hoodwinked by Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong. They spoke so convincingly and empasssioned about being clean.
Now they both openly admit they were dirty. That dichotomy will stick with me forever.
We can't put any weight on an athletes adamant, emotional denial. Every single doper that's ultimately admitted to it acted exactly that way. These emotional press conferences mean nothing.
We have to rely on reliable testing. In my review of the results, it's pretty obvious she doped. The "just 5 ng/dl" PR spin is working though. I've seen journalists unquestionably take Schumacher's word that this is a tiny amount. Where's the critical thinking among these journalists? The odds she could have blood levels this high from oral consumption are far, far less like than the "1 in 10" number Jerry gives(more PR spin).
This. To take athletes at their word is to be willfully naive. Because they have everything to lose, of course they're going to lie and plead persecution and unfairness and all the rest.
And the thing is, there is probably some level where they truly don't think they did anything wrong, so in their mind they aren't lying when they say they didn't cheat. Dopers don't just one day decide "Im gonna cheat." It's incremental steps, toeing the line, playing in that gray area with TUEs and testing windows and substances that aren't banned but are suspect, and then it's just another small step to go all the way into actual doping. I think on a level Houlihan genuinely believes she's not a cheater. She's just doing everything she can to win, in a sport that is really dirty. And maybe we need to have that conversation about just allowing all the substances to be legal. Let them all dope. Who cares? She may actually think she's doing her best. And now that she's been caught, she's trying to come up with any way to sow doubt, because she's trying to justify her choices in her own mind..
Frankly, I think a 4 year ban isn't enough. Anyone caught with a doping positive should also forfeit all their past results and any winnings, because it's all suspect and potentially ill-gotten.