Should we just give up and find a new sport? Gabby Thomas - formerly of Harvard - receives doping ban for missing 3 tests

The blatant systemic racism against Kenyans and other blacks is sickening!!

As long as there is money in the sport their will be cheating. It is unavoidable and unstoppable. Many things in life are not black and white with easy answers. You just have to accept the uncomfortable truth that some problems have no solutions.

anonn wrote:

I know Gabby and she didn’t understand all of the rules. Her WhereAbouts were updated, but she was unaware that of the 60 minute window rule and thought that testers could come whenever they wanted throughout the day.

And she thought correctly: testers could indeed come whenever they wanted throughout the day.

Scroll down about halfway through the article to the paragraph that begins "Cantwell has never tested positive..."

oddly albo wrote:

If world class athletes like Jenny Simpson think missing 3 in a year is unacceptable and suspicious, then I believe her. ( and I’m not even a Jenny stan, but in this case/Coleman’s case think she is absolutely correct )

Of course. That Coleman got away with that is scandalous.

Here it would be hilariously poetic justice if she dodged the testers the first two times because she was glowing, and then missed the third test accidentally, just because her ten friends were so loud that she couldn't hear the doorbell like Mo pretended too (not that I believe that to be likely).

Does she have a faulty doorbell like Sir Mo?

She was in Mexico eating beef in restaurants each time.

Drug testing agents are not required to call. Which I feel like is so stupid because how are they making an honest effort to try and locate an athlete. If an athlete is sleep a knock may not suffice

runrunsrun wrote:

Drug testing agents are not required to call. Which I feel like is so stupid because how are they making an honest effort to try and locate an athlete. If an athlete is sleep a knock may not suffice

Drug testers are not bounty hunters. It's the athlete's responsibility to be very accessible.

Why isn't there an app for this? Require the athlete to let the app track geographic location, athletes don't have to do anything except own a phone.

That wouldn't help if the athlete doesn't "hear" the tester...

At the least, Thomas is really, really stupid. The next level up is that she might be a cheater. Still not to the level of the East Africans though where literally every single one of them are cheating with EPO. At least paying public in Europe and the USA would enjoy or remember her performing. Not so much with 15 Kenyans running in my local 10k.

You know as well as anyone else that Ivies are chock full of moral bankruptcy and cheats.

anonn wrote:

She has been tested a lot more than other elite athletes as well.

Per USADA.org website:

2017, 0 tests

2018, 1 test

2019, 3 tests

2020, 0 tests

I don't know if the 3 tests in 2019 are successful efforts or total attempts by USADA.

CAVEAT: "This resource is intended to be used to determine the number of times USADA has organized a test on an individual athlete and is not an accurate representation of USADA’s total testing numbers or the total number of anti-doping tests an athlete will undergo by other and all testing and sport organizations. "

If she wants to be a pro the onus was on her to get tested, no excuses.

If she wants to be a hobby runner like most of us not eligible for cash awards, shoe contracts or making national teams then they should leave her alone --- no suspension but no goodies for her.

Alabama BSS wrote:

At the least, Thomas is really, really stupid. The next level up is that she might be a cheater. Still not to the level of the East Africans though where literally every single one of them are cheating with EPO. At least paying public in Europe and the USA would enjoy or remember her performing. Not so much with 15 Kenyans running in my local 10k.

How is it stupid if you are with 10 friends relaxing in the offseasson and don't hear the tester because they don't knock or bang on the door and all of your friends and no one hears the phone at 6 am as it's on silent?

Now I don't know if the person knocked or not. That's why we need video moving forward.

But your Kenyan comment is absurd. So the USA which had Justin Gatlin, Marion Jones, ARod, Lance, Regina, test positive gets a pass but you think every Kenyan is dirty? Are you crazy?

phone tracking data only reveals where your phone was. You can leave your phone and go somewhere else! And really, you should.

It's incredibly stupid because she knew one more missed test would result in a suspension and essentially losing her job and pro career. If I was her I'd make sure to have my phone ring on 24-7. I'd set my mattress up by the door to be sure I'd hear the door. Hell, I'd sleep outside and have a 100 foot sign above me that says "GABRIELLE THOMAS IS RIGHT HERE." I'd have a doorbell cam installed that sounds off an alarm anytime anyone even gets within 200 yards of my house.

casual obsever wrote:

rojo wrote:

For the third, it's the off-season and she's with 10 other people it sounds like at some sort of house in New Haven. It sounds like she and her housemates say the tester didn't knock - and she missed the call.

“And there were 10 people in the house that she was at and not one of them heard any knocking on the door [from a doping control officer].”

Sounds like Farah's lame doorbell excuse, while trying to shift the blame to the tester.

Stuff like that - not opening the door to the tester while present - should be treated as evading a test.

Or could it be the tester knocking on the wrong door? That would certainly be a possibility. I've had mail and packages delivered to the wrong house. And remember that police woman who shot and killed some dude that she thought was in her apartment, when she mistook the dude's apartment for her own?