In the fallout of the release of the medical records of thousands of sports people, by the Russian hacking group the Fancy Bears, the BBC has proceeded cautiously.
Understandably the BBC do no wish to find themselves before the courts or wish to unfairly tarnish the reputation of any of Britain’s major sports stars – including Olympic Gold medalist and Tour De France winner Bradley Wiggins – whose medical files have been released and which show his use of therapeutic use injections(TUEs).
And the BBC, has, to be fair, given a healthy quantity of coverage to the issue, including lengthy features on Newsnight and on the Andrew Marr show.
In their summary of the situation, http://www.bbc.co.u
“There is no suggestion that either he or Team Sky, his former team, have broken any rules.”
But I’m afraid the BBC seem to have parachuted that conclusion into the middle of their summary without regard to the facts that they themselves have presented in the same piece. In a linked story http://www.bbc.co
“I was surprised to see there were TUEs documented”
“I was surprised to see there were TUEs documented for intramuscular triamcinolone just before three major events – two Tours de France and one Tour d’Italia. You do have to think it is kind of coincidental that a big dose of intramuscular long-acting corticosteroids would be needed at that… exact time before the most important race of the season.I would say certainly now in retrospect it doesn’t look good, it doesn’t look right from a health or sporting perspective.”
The BBC also quotes Hugh Robertson, vice-chairman of the British Olympic Association
“Whatever you think about whether he should have been allowed to do this, the fact is the anti-doping rules at the time allowed him to do so.
“There was a set of rules in place with which he complied entirely.”
Is it possible that the BBC and Hugh haven’t read the rules governing TUE use below (taken from the same BBC article)
“A TUE allows an athlete, for medical reasons, to take a banned substance or have treatment that is otherwise prohibited.
The Wada rules for obtaining TUEs include:
the banned drug can only be used to treat an acute or chronic medical condition
it must be highly unlikely to produce any additional enhancement of performance
and that there’s no reasonable therapeutic alternative. “
So, we have one of Bradley’s former cycling team doctors telling us that it doesn’t look right from a health or sporting perspective and the Wada rules stating there had to be a justifiable acute or chronic medical condition.
We also have Bradley’s former cycling team refusing to confirm the exact process of the sign off for the TUEs and the(BBC’s) ‘understanding’ that the then Sky team doctor Dr Richard Freeman, who is now team doctor at British Cycling made the TUE applications.
…and if that is not (more than) a ‘suggestion’ of rule breaking – then I’ll be wearing the yellow jersey in Paris next July.
You need to bury this subject. The narrative must be that big bad Russia are the cheaters, the rest of the civilised world is as honest as the day is long. The civilised athletes take, which just happen to be performance enhancing drugs not to enhance performance but rather to treat some ‘chronic’ ailment or another. Russia Olympic Games ban was at no time a political move. Every athlete is equal; but some athletes are more equal than others.
Brailesford and Wiggins have an awful lot to answer. Arrogant Sir Bradley and Sky who constantly poured scorn on other cheats, have been extremely economical with the truth. Wiggins tour victories are tainted. He can continue to call himself Sir, if he really wants.
Sports, especially Olympic sports, are for the most part corrupt in the quest for financial gain.
It’s expedient for an athletic to win a gold medal and many of them will do anything to achieve that end.
If that means cheating, so be it. The monetary rewards are worth the risk.
The world and their dog knew what Wiggins was up to, but hey, he didn’t break the rules that were in place at that time.
Bradley Wiggins is blowing smoke up everyone’s ass.
Oh, excuse me, Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Being knighted in this day and age is like getting a gold star on your grade 2 report card for not farting in class.
Sammy, you state that Fancy Bears are a Russian hacking group – that is the word being put out by the US and UK, but to my knowledge nobody actually knows where they originate.
‘There are a set of rules, with which he complied entirely’.
These new rules on TUEs were presumably drafted by Brian Cookson, UCI president, who smeared his predecessor Pat McQuaid, accusing him of going easy on drug cheats.
But did Cookson deliberately draft rules with built-in wriggle room?
Team Sky, during Cookson’s presidency, always seemed to get preferential treatment, even to the extent of riders getting retrospective permission for exemptions, in situations where riders from other teams were banned from competition.
Part of the connection is also the fact that, on his elevation to president, Cookson’s son got a job with Team Sky – purely coincidental, I’m sure.
Bradley Wiggins did an interview today explaining how, due to his health problems, he needed these otherwise illegal drugs to ‘give him a level playing field’ – but that level playing field enabled him to beat the best in the world on a number of occasions.
Surely that’s a more than generous level playing field.
Also his former mate Chris Froome makes liberal use of these TUEs which have helped him win the Tour de France on a few occasions.
A few years ago he was spotted using an inhaler, at a time when his medical statement did not indicate any medical need. Was he suspended? No way, as far as I remember he got a retrospective exemption.
It seems, under the leadership of Brian Cookson, there are certain teams and riders more equal than others!
I think there’s a fair chance it is Russians and fair play to them, they’re taking down some bi names. Having said that, you wouldn’t know that they did as the media is completely ignoring who has been exposed, out of hypocrisy and commercial interests, I’d imagine.
I’m a massive fan of hitting the rewind button when looking at an issue, be it this or Syria or whatever issue in this increasing mad times. It wasn’t so long ago that Russia was one of the BRICs, the economies on a dramatic rise, threatening the power of the established west.
We know how the west works, we’ve seen it in South and Central America, as we as in the Middle East and Asia. Russia has some serious resources and is beautifully located for so many commercial and security reasons and I am sure that they would like the WADA report and the current sanctions to cause Russians to turn on Putin and his party.
Channel 4 did a recent report on his opposition and the range from cynical crooks to well intentioned thickos, with neonazis in between, the corrupt to the corruptible.
Sherdy,
I wasn’t aware that the origins of the Fancy Bears was in dispute – but I take your point. They appear to have done the world of Sport a good service where ever they are from.
I don’t think there is much doubt about McQuaid’s overseeing of drug misuse?
The position of Dr Richard Freeman, who is now team doctor at British Cycling looks a bit tricky – he seems to have questions to answer. Not sure who gave the British female cyclist a free pass on missing 3 doping tests before the Olympics – if that was a National or International decision?
When Pat McQuaid took over as president of the UCI drug taking was the norm in all the teams, and he did make a start at trying to clean up the sport, but people were finding it difficult changing the habits of a lifetime, so he had an uphill struggle, so yes, in his time there was drug cheating, but he was the first to try to change the culture.
In the case of Lizzie Armistead missing three doping tests, which should have brought a mandatory ban, the British cycling federation intervened directly on her behalf.
They apparently accepted that she had deliberately missed/dodged the second and third tests, but in the first test, although the tester, having previously arranged when and where to see her, she was not to be found.
The tester tried to find her, but the British authorities decided that person had not tried enough!
This excuse was then accepted by the IOC – Dodgy or what!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/37472728
I think Dave will have to do a little better than that. We really need to know what evidence there is that Bradley was sufficiently ill to warrant that dosage. Wonder how they can then detect if he has then taken more of the same (banned) substance?
Sherdy, re. “British cycling federation intervened directly on her behalf
Presumably Dave Brailsford – who is understood to have signed of on the TUEs for Brad gave the nod for that?
Dave Brailsford now appears to be saying(Newsnight has added in exra bit of his interview) – that the TUE was preventative. That seems to be contradicting Bradley’s interview – and is surely not consistent with the rules on TUE use?