Steven Francis who coaches the MVP Club in Jamaica (Powell, SAFP, and a bunch more) is one of the most successful and most respected people in sprinting. And it is worth noting that Steve Francis himself is thus far clean in this doping episode. The MVP Camp itself was not raided, MVP trainers were not arrested or visited. Apparently, the police raid centered solely on an individual that was hired by Asafa Powell or his agent over Steve Francis' objections.What follows here are tweets from a radio interview with Steven Francis on 7/15, which was linked by Ato Boldon. I am going to try to copy all of the Francis tweets from the interview because I don't know how long they will keep it up, but as of 7/15, the twitter source is here:https://twitter.com/grillhitz92If you want to know where all of the amazing performances SG talks about are coming from, this is Francis' answer:
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis - WADA has no clue on how to catch cheating athletes. There are 2 new steroids out there that they cannot catch
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
The more people get caught the better it looks for WADA as they focus on people who take painkillers rather than new steroids. Francis
If Francis is even close to correct, there are new steroids out there that they cannot catch, and they are setting athletes up with meaningless doping "positives" to cover this up.
Below are the tweets from the Francis interview. I'm trying to not put my own opinion here, and I have no idea how much of this is accurate, but my total disgust with the whole situation is palpable, and Francis is not someone I would reject out of hand even with some of his athletes testing positive for what appears to be a minor stimulant offense:
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 5h
Chris Xuereb is the trainer at the centre of the doping controversy involving Asafa Powell & Sherone Simpson
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Those who are seeking to get close to you now are up to no good - Stephen Francis
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis says he has warned Asafa about dealing with people who are only just getting close to him. Stick with those coming from far
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Paul Doyle has taken Asafa to meets that the Coach didn't want him to run. Stephen Francis
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis says he has spoken to Asafa before about the people who work on him. Trainer has arrest record
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis - we are not disowning Asafa but this is his personal employee, he wasn't employed by MVP
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis - police didn't raid MVP camp, raided & seized property belonging to Paul Doyle & trainer
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
WADA makes the sport more unfair, WADA is taking 3 years to catch steroids, they are catching stimulants which harm rather than help Francis
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Steroids have no name but have chemical properties of steroids - Stephen Francis
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis says there are people who can overturn tests in labs
3:35 PM - 15 Jul 13 · Details
Eduardo Melido @edumelido 6h
RT @grillhitz92: Stephen Francis says there are people who can overturn tests in labs
3:39 PM - 15 Jul 13 · Details
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
The more people get caught the better it looks for WADA as they focus on people who take painkillers rather than new steroids. Francis
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis says the substances have just returned to banned list & WADA only trying to prove they are working
3:31 PM - 15 Jul 13 · Details
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis - WADA has no clue on how to catch cheating athletes. There are 2 new steroids out there that they cannot catch
RETWEETS Hrh Robert FergusonDOMINIQUE BLAKEMR NOBarbara PowellAnastasia Le-Roy
3:28 PM - 15 Jul 13 · Details
Hitz92 Sports Grill @grillhitz92 6h
Stephen Francis says the substances the athletes have tested positive for have no performance enhancer capabilities.