SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT!!! - Shelby Houlihan is running in the Olympic Trials! (Yes, Really)

When it comes to the psychology of cheating, look at how many 'good people' cheat on their spouses.

Humans will often act very selfishly. And they will ... rationalize it. Create a narrative in their end that makes them feel ok.

Cheaters are rampant everywhere in all parts of human society.

.[/quote]

Yeah she just posted a story and came out pretty strong saying that she trained with Shelby for 3 years and she has a pure love of the sport and she believes her. I think a lot of people are struggling to come down fully on one side or the other because most people who know her well seem to be saying that she would never dope and they believe her. I respect Kate more than the other BTC women so her opinion on it does hold a bit of weight with me. However, she could have done this as a one-off and no one really knew about it, people do change under the weight of pressure. Who knows.[/quote]

Ahh yes, the old "she seemed like a good person" defense. This is Lance Armstrong 2.0. Kill your heroes kids. People are complex and it's possible to do great things in one respect while doing not so great things in another. There is no black and white, just shades of gray

Are You Serious wrote:

"I don’t think this is a Nike issue...more of a BTC issue and the fact that she’s the best runner in her events.

Clayton murphy is still Nike sponsored but isn’t the best in his event. If he was in the same situation I don’t think USATF would let him run.

"

I don't think that USATF is LETTING Houlihan run. I think they are being legally FORCED to let Houlihan run.[/quote]

I don’t think USATF is under jurisdiction to be “forced” to do anything. Houlihan does not have a right to compete. USATF can deny entry to anyone, even though they meet criteria- they just don’t do it because there’s no reason to. However this is different.

Ite ad Joseph wrote:

Good news for Christian Coleman

Hahaha yes.

Actually Rollins-McNeil gets to run despite her ban while waiting for CAS, but nobody else...

Houlihan of course already had her CAS decision.

A few days ago, the radio silence from athletes outside BTC about Shelby was deafening and I thought it meant something different than what it does.

Now Emma, Colleen, Kate Grace, and Alexi Pappas at least have come out in support of Shelby. It's hard to understand given the flimsy defense she has, and the facts of the case which absolutely are set against her.

"I know her" seems to be the main reasoning from Jon Gault to Shalane to Kate. But that seems so weak.

It has me thinking about Ruth Jebet. I have always thought that the reasons Ruth has been treated differently was because she tested positive for EPO, which you can't fake, and had suspicions around her. That enabled the distance running world to dance on her grave as it was definitive. But thinking about Emma's post "cheater cheater pumpkin eater" now, it's like...

Really Emma? You have empathy for Shelby, a white American girl because you "know her" but Ruth--a teenage athlete who was clearly exploited and a lot less advantaged than you tests positive and you rub it in her face. Your bronze will always shine brighter than her gold? You have no idea what she's been through, what about sympathy and understanding there?

I stand corrected:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31652538/shelby-houlihan-allowed-run-us-track-trials-doping-appeal-pending%3fplatform=amp

Makes no sense to me. She will not be running in Tokyo. It will be an unpleasant experience for her as maybe half the people there will be disgusted by her being allowed to run

What have Colleen and Emma said in support?

letsbang wrote:

Ahh yes, the old "she seemed like a good person" defense. This is Lance Armstrong 2.0. Kill your heroes kids. People are complex and it's possible to do great things in one respect while doing not so great things in another. There is no black and white, just shades of gray

You're not wrong at all, but as for the Lance thing, I don't remember people coming out and defending him? I could be wrong. I mostly remember a LOT of former teammates/athletes coming forward and citing specific stories that they felt meant he DID dope.

So far, haven't seen any of that with Houlihan.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

I stand corrected:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31652538/shelby-houlihan-allowed-run-us-track-trials-doping-appeal-pending%3fplatform=amp

Makes no sense to me. She will not be running in Tokyo. It will be an unpleasant experience for her as maybe half the people there will be disgusted by her being allowed to run

I hope somebody tackles her at the start line, I really do. I hope every other coach protests every race she runs. I hope the fans boo her and throw stuff at her. This cannot be allowed to happen.

If I’m an against or a coach I am demanding a public explanation if her running and/or I am protesting the race and/or working on preventing Houlihan from starting.

Barry Badrinath wrote:

I hope somebody tackles her at the start line, I really do. I hope every other coach protests every race she runs. I hope the fans boo her and throw stuff at her. This cannot be allowed to happen.

Kind of seems the opposite right now. Seems like her competitors are coming out in support of her. Will be really interesting to see come race day, though.

I hope she gets Boo'd off the track! This is so wrong. She lost her appeal and they are going to let her run. Why? Is it because she's a Nike athlete, or a female, or who in the heck knows. But, this is wrong on every level.

Its pretty obvious usatf is not fighting doping and is actually actively helping doping. As such should be rated not compliant and banned from international competition

real q124 wrote:

Hejendo76 wrote:

she is going to get spat on or pushed at the start line. Her competitors will not stand for this

If someone spits on her purposefully, that is considered assault. She would be well within her rights to retaliate how she saw fit. If someone spit on my daughter I would tell her to aim for the nose and put her weight behind the punch. Doping or not people are entitled to a certain level of human decency.

Whoa Horsey. Both of you need to take a chill pill. Violence will not resolve this problem or any imagined assault which has yet to occur. Yes, there are women who stand to miss going to the Olympics. But everyone deserves to have their day in court to clear their names.

If her lawyer got a injunction under American law she gets to have her day in court.

For the record I'm not taking sides. I wasn't in her circle so what the hell do I know what she did or did not do.

However when I read 2 posters advocating violence on the track, I find this behavior more reprehensible than that of athletes of any sport doping to try to keep up with the rest of their peers.

If you have children try being the grown up in the room.

I’m super surprised no woman competing against her tomorrow(in the same event) other than her teammates because they will support her, have said ANYTHING.

I guess they are focusing on the race and don’t want to get into it, but not one of them is furious enough to let it rip on Twitter/Instagram? Do they believe her?

The US Olympic Trials should be one of the greatest T&F events on the planet. Some events will be stronger than the Olympic final. This ruling makes the whole thing a circus. If this happens, US athletes and US authorities have no moral authority to pass judgement on dopers from other countries.

I feel really sorry for everyone at the trials, especially in the women's 1500, the event will be forever tainted.

Good on the athletes calling this out: Molly Seidel, Molly Huddle, Des Linden - there's your role models

Seems pretty clear they are LETTING her run, without any legal or judicial ruling. Is there a precedent for a national sporting organization ignoring a CAS ruling?

Are You Serious wrote:

I don't think that USATF is LETTING Houlihan run. I think they are being legally FORCED to let Houlihan run.

RunRaider wrote:

https://twitter.com/des_linden/status/1405568545120043019

Love it!

NBC has a news item to confirm this...

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2021/06/17/shelby-houlihan-olympic-trials-doping-suspension-track-and-field/