Pound To Sally Jenkins

From today's Washington Post. Recall that this is the same Sally Jenkin who
co-wrote with Armstrong and who when asked to comment on the deaths of 10+
cyclists from heart attacks in the past year said she was unaware of those
deaths.

Please direct all flames to WADA.

WADA Chairman States His Case


By Richard Pound

Monday, August 23, 2004; Page D13


ATHENS -- I write in response to Sally Jenkins's article of Aug. 13, titled
"The Difficulty of Watching Pound Throw his Weight Around."

I believe in the concept of a free press and the opportunity for diverse
opinion to be expressed on a wide variety of subjects. I do not believe that
concept provides a license for vicious and uninformed attacks on
individuals. I am disappointed that The Washington Post permitted an article
to be published with relentless disregard of the facts.

If I am able to discern a theme in Jenkins's article, amongst the
proliferation of prejudicial and intellectually lazy assertions, it seems to
amount to this:

1. There is a serious drug problem in sport today, including track and
field;

2. This problem affects U.S. track and field athletes;

3. One such athlete on whom the media have recently concentrated is Marion
Jones, who has not been charged with any doping offense;

4. I have commented on the Jones case, apparently in a manner that will
prejudice Jones's right to an impartial decision on the facts of her case;
and

5. I have unfairly pointed a finger at USA Track and Field for its lack of
leadership in the fight against drug use in its sport.

Jenkins and I can agree on the first three points. As to the fourth, I have
commented on the Jones case -- in response to media inquiries -- to say that
she has not been charged with any offense and is fully entitled to the
presumption that she is not guilty and eligible to participate in the
Olympic Games. I have also questioned the wisdom of the strategy adopted by
her entourage of accusing the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of being a "kangaroo
court" when every piece of evidence points to the contrary.

I do not know, and Jenkins certainly does not know, whether Jones is
innocent. What I do know (and what Jenkins should know) is that should any
notification of a doping charge be raised against Jones, the matter will be
heard by independent arbitrators who, in reaching their decision, will rely
on the evidence before them, not on anything the media may have published or
by statements made anyone else. There is no denial of due process in any
respect. The decision to "go public" was made by the Jones entourage, not by
the anti-doping authorities. Jenkins's apparent belief is that it would be
better for any drug user to get away with the offense than for comments to
be aired in public.

Regarding USATF, Jenkins has, again, not got her facts right. I have been
critical of USATF for several reasons. It was USATF that accredited C.J.
Hunter at the Sydney Games, even though it knew he had tested positive four
times earlier in 2000. It was USATF that entered Jerome Young in the 4x400
relay, knowing of his positive test and the wholly unconvincing exoneration
of him, thereby tainting the whole relay team and exposing it to a loss of
the gold medal. It was USATF that fought for years to prevent disclosure of
Young's identity to the IAAF, in the face of clear rules requiring such
disclosure, on the flimsy pretext that U.S. law prevented such disclosure.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected any such notion.

Jenkins suggests that I should keep quiet because USADA has responsibility
for testing for drug violations. She omits to mention that USADA only
started its operations in October 2000, well after the events giving rise to
the situations I have identified. She also overlooks the evident
responsibility of USATF to show leadership in the fight against the use of
drugs in sport and blithely leaves all such responsibility in the hands of
after-the-fact testers, not the organization responsible for providing a
drug-free culture in its sport.

There are too many prejudicial accusations made by Jenkins to answer in the
space available. But one, in particular, deserves exposure, which was the
decision of WADA to locate the headquarters of the organization in Montreal.
Jenkins writes: "As far as I can tell, Pound has committed exactly one act
of any substance as the head of [the World Anti-Doping Agency]: He moved the
organization to Montreal, conveniently for him, and perhaps, his business
pals. Is that an unfair accusation? Well." The fact is that the WADA
Foundation Board, of which half the members are governments (including the
United States), decided, in an election in which I did not participate, to
move the headquarters to Montreal following a competitive bidding process.
Apart from its manifest incorrectness, it is a cheap journalistic ploy to
then pose the rhetorical question.

There is much more of a similar and equally odious nature. Jenkins's
personal prejudice has gotten in the way of her professional responsibility
and her editors failed to hold her to the standards of governance I should
have thought The Washington Post would embrace. A newspaper of record should
act like one, not like a tabloid. Make your journalists check their facts.
This hatchet job cannot be blandly dismissed as "fair comment" on someone
who occupies a voluntary position that may attract media attention. If the
journalist is reduced to name calling, it should be a sign that she has
overstepped. Which she has.

Richard Pound is chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency.


--
Peloton Pigs Can Fly!

"B. Lafferty" wrote in message
ink.net...
From today's Washington Post. Recall that this is the same Sally Jenkin
who
co-wrote with Armstrong and who when asked to comment on the deaths of 10+

huge snip

Sounds like Sally must be guilty of the same kind of crap you spew in your
anti-Lance rants all the time.

Bob C.

"B. Lafferty" writes:

Doesn't Dick always sound like a Skeleton Jerkin' Off in a Tin Garbage Can?

From today's Washington Post. Recall that this is the same Sally Jenkin who
co-wrote with Armstrong and who when asked to comment on the deaths of 10+
cyclists from heart attacks in the past year said she was unaware of those
deaths.

Please direct all flames to WADA.

WADA Chairman States His Case


By Richard Pound

Monday, August 23, 2004; Page D13


ATHENS -- I write in response to Sally Jenkins's article of Aug. 13, titled
"The Difficulty of Watching Pound Throw his Weight Around."

I believe in the concept of a free press and the opportunity for diverse
opinion to be expressed on a wide variety of subjects. I do not believe that
concept provides a license for vicious and uninformed attacks on
individuals. I am disappointed that The Washington Post permitted an article
to be published with relentless disregard of the facts.

If I am able to discern a theme in Jenkins's article, amongst the
proliferation of prejudicial and intellectually lazy assertions, it seems to
amount to this:

1. There is a serious drug problem in sport today, including track and
field;

2. This problem affects U.S. track and field athletes;

3. One such athlete on whom the media have recently concentrated is Marion
Jones, who has not been charged with any doping offense;

4. I have commented on the Jones case, apparently in a manner that will
prejudice Jones's right to an impartial decision on the facts of her case;
and

5. I have unfairly pointed a finger at USA Track and Field for its lack of
leadership in the fight against drug use in its sport.

Jenkins and I can agree on the first three points. As to the fourth, I have
commented on the Jones case -- in response to media inquiries -- to say that
she has not been charged with any offense and is fully entitled to the
presumption that she is not guilty and eligible to participate in the
Olympic Games. I have also questioned the wisdom of the strategy adopted by
her entourage of accusing the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of being a "kangaroo
court" when every piece of evidence points to the contrary.

I do not know, and Jenkins certainly does not know, whether Jones is
innocent. What I do know (and what Jenkins should know) is that should any
notification of a doping charge be raised against Jones, the matter will be
heard by independent arbitrators who, in reaching their decision, will rely
on the evidence before them, not on anything the media may have published or
by statements made anyone else. There is no denial of due process in any
respect. The decision to "go public" was made by the Jones entourage, not by
the anti-doping authorities. Jenkins's apparent belief is that it would be
better for any drug user to get away with the offense than for comments to
be aired in public.

Regarding USATF, Jenkins has, again, not got her facts right. I have been
critical of USATF for several reasons. It was USATF that accredited C.J.
Hunter at the Sydney Games, even though it knew he had tested positive four
times earlier in 2000. It was USATF that entered Jerome Young in the 4x400
relay, knowing of his positive test and the wholly unconvincing exoneration
of him, thereby tainting the whole relay team and exposing it to a loss of
the gold medal. It was USATF that fought for years to prevent disclosure of
Young's identity to the IAAF, in the face of clear rules requiring such
disclosure, on the flimsy pretext that U.S. law prevented such disclosure.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected any such notion.

Jenkins suggests that I should keep quiet because USADA has responsibility
for testing for drug violations. She omits to mention that USADA only
started its operations in October 2000, well after the events giving rise to
the situations I have identified. She also overlooks the evident
responsibility of USATF to show leadership in the fight against the use of
drugs in sport and blithely leaves all such responsibility in the hands of
after-the-fact testers, not the organization responsible for providing a
drug-free culture in its sport.

There are too many prejudicial accusations made by Jenkins to answer in the
space available. But one, in particular, deserves exposure, which was the
decision of WADA to locate the headquarters of the organization in Montreal.
Jenkins writes: "As far as I can tell, Pound has committed exactly one act
of any substance as the head of [the World Anti-Doping Agency]: He moved the
organization to Montreal, conveniently for him, and perhaps, his business
pals. Is that an unfair accusation? Well." The fact is that the WADA
Foundation Board, of which half the members are governments (including the
United States), decided, in an election in which I did not participate, to
move the headquarters to Montreal following a competitive bidding process.
Apart from its manifest incorrectness, it is a cheap journalistic ploy to
then pose the rhetorical question.

There is much more of a similar and equally odious nature. Jenkins's
personal prejudice has gotten in the way of her professional responsibility
and her editors failed to hold her to the standards of governance I should
have thought The Washington Post would embrace. A newspaper of record should
act like one, not like a tabloid. Make your journalists check their facts.
This hatchet job cannot be blandly dismissed as "fair comment" on someone
who occupies a voluntary position that may attract media attention. If the
journalist is reduced to name calling, it should be a sign that she has
overstepped. Which she has.

Richard Pound is chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency.


--
Peloton Pigs Can Fly!



--
le Vent a Dos, Davey Crockett
Six Day Site: http://members.rogers.com/sixday/sixday.html

"psycholist" wrote in message
...

"B. Lafferty" wrote in message
ink.net...
From today's Washington Post. Recall that this is the same Sally Jenkin
who
co-wrote with Armstrong and who when asked to comment on the deaths of
10+

huge snip

Sounds like Sally must be guilty of the same kind of crap you spew in your
anti-Lance rants all the time.

Bob C.


Wrong. Try again.
--
Peloton Pigs--Flying Since 1991

wrote in message
...
"B. Lafferty" writes:

Doesn't Dick always sound like a Skeleton Jerkin' Off in a Tin Garbage
Can?

That would make an interesting scene in Spy Kids 4.


--
Peloton Pigs--Flying Since 1991

"psycholist" wrote in message
...

"B. Lafferty" wrote in message
ink.net...
From today's Washington Post. Recall that this is the same Sally Jenkin
who
co-wrote with Armstrong and who when asked to comment on the deaths of
10+

huge snip

Sounds like Sally must be guilty of the same kind of crap you spew in your
anti-Lance rants all the time.

Bob C.

BTW, here's the Jenkins piece for you.

The Difficulty of Watching Pound Throw His Weight Around


By Sally Jenkins

Friday, August 13, 2004; Page D10


ATHENS

That phony careerist and human necktie Dick Pound should promptly remove
himself from public life and quit trying to enlarge his reputation by
wrecking the reputations of others. But unfortunately it appears we will
have to shove him forcibly from the Olympic stage while he is still grabbing
at the free shrimp from the VIP buffet.

For all those who haven't heard his officious and highly prejudiced
bellowing, Pound is the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He's the guy
who's supposed to oversee a body devoted to the ethical competition of the
Olympics. And yet Pound commits an ethical violation almost every time he
opens his mouth, and expresses another self-serving, sorehead and
headline-seeking opinion. He's the biggest scandal here.

It is plainly unethical and prejudicial for a head of WADA to make
pronouncements about an ongoing and supposedly confidential investigation
such as BALCO, and the guilt or innocence of those involved. And yet there
was Pound on the eve of the Opening Ceremonies, accusing USA Track and Field
of being "largely responsible" for doping and again attacking Marion Jones
by name.

Jones has been his favorite punching bag for months, despite the fact that
evidence against her is less than persuasive and she has not been formally
accused of anything. "If she's innocent, she comes here and that's fine,"
Pound said Thursday. "And if she's not and comes here and has made all those
statements, it's going to be a dark and deep hole into which she goes. It
would be a shame."

Pound loves to suggest that Jones is guilty until proven guilty, because she
hangs around with the wrong people, meaning her husbands and boyfriends.
Now, that's funny coming from him. Dick Pound has spent his entire adult
life hanging around with one of the dirtiest and most corrupt organizations
on the earth: the International Olympic Committee.

Who exactly is Dick Pound? He was an Olympic swimmer for Canada in 1960 and
he has been a relentless ladder climber ever since. For many years he was
the right hand of that man beloved of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, former
IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. He helped deliver the Olympics to NBC
for an entire generation, and he was Samaranch's handpicked successor. But
he became increasingly unpopular in the IOC because of his role as an ethics
officer, and Jacques Rogge instead replaced Samaranch. In other words, Pound
is a permanently marginalized (and possibly embittered) guy who was passed
up.

Ever since then, Pound has been trying to become important in the Olympics
again, and his chief way of doing this is to style himself the savior of
purity in the Games, by accusing anyone and everyone of doping and
corruption, whether there is proper evidence or not. Pound's attack on the
USATF was the sort of baseless and distorted crack that has become typical
of him, issued to satisfy his craving for attention. There's no doubt that
USATF has had its problems. But USATF has nothing to do with drug testing or
enforcement. That is the job of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, as Pound well
knows, since he oversees USADA as head of WADA. "Mr. Pound is well known for
his colorful remarks," USATF spokeswoman Jill Greer said in response to his
remarks. "I would hope that as head of the World Anti-Doping Agency he would
not prejudge any athlete." But that's all Pound does -- judge.

Pound has become known as the bullying head of an organization of
controversial legal standards. The family of banned Australian cyclist Mark
French has complained that even Saddam Hussein received better legal
treatment. Among Pound's remarks and insinuations: Anyone who takes
exception to his methods or those of WADA is either a guilty athlete, or
part of their team. "Everyone else thinks we're doing exactly the right
thing," Pound told the Canadian Press.

No, actually, they don't. Jon Drummond said during the U.S. trials, "Find
out about Dick Pound and why he's coming down so hard on the United States.
He's the WADA chair, he's the big man on campus. The athletes are doing what
they're supposed to do. Dick sits in his office and passes out accusations."

Why is Pound beating up on the U.S. track federation, when it doesn't even
control American drug testing? Why is he screaming?

Pound was vice president of the IOC and a representative of the Canadian
delegation in 1988 when his countryman, Ben Johnson, was stripped of his
gold medal for testing positive for steroid use. Pound was a public defender
of Johnson's, arguing that he was essentially innocent, had been manipulated
into taking an illegal drug unwittingly. "I'm certain he didn't know," Pound
said. "I don't think he has the faintest idea what it's all about." He also
said that Johnson had a "guilty body" but not the guilty intent that would
have convicted him in a court of law. Johnson later confessed he had used
steroids since 1981.

God forbid an American should defend a U.S. track athlete to WADA in such
terms. As it happens, the United States has made strides against doping in
track. The Olympic lab under the direction of the devoted and hard-working
Don Catlin has made critical progress in identifying several designer drugs.
What has Dick Pound ever done, except excuse Ben Johnson? As far as I can
tell, Pound has committed exactly one act of any substance as the head of
WADA: He moved the organization to Montreal, conveniently for him and,
perhaps, his business pals. Is that an unfair accusation? Well.

Pound is also an author. He has a book out, called "Inside the Olympics."
More properly, it should be entitled, "Big Events in Small Minds." Quill and
Quire, a Canadian review of books, had this to say about Pound and his book:
"Readers looking for the definitive exposé of Olympic greed, avarice, and
scandal will be disappointed. . . .Pound occasionally comes across as
supercilious and hypocritical. He pontificates about the scourge of fixed
judging in figure skating and the injustice of hopped-up athletes who win
medals, but fails to connect those scandals to the same morally bankrupt,
win-at-all-costs attitudes that had infected the bidding process leading up
to the Salt Lake scandal."

I detest Pound on principle as a hypocrite who attacks the easiest and most
vulnerable targets he can find for the sake of his own advancement. He
should be summarily dislodged from his job for betraying his chief
responsibility as the head of WADA, to be measured and fair. Personally, I
find him utterly devoid of any real Olympic spirit or spirit of justice. The
Romans believed that the enforcement of an absolutely just law, without any
regard for possible exceptions, resulted in absolute injustice. Or as Martin
Luther King put it, "an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere."

We should all question, rightly, what's going on in Olympic sports and how
best to make the Games fair, untainted and equitable for all competitors.
But there is one person we most assuredly should not listen to, Dick Pound.
He is neither fair, nor equitable, nor untainted.




--
Peloton Pigs--Flying Since 1991

From: "B. Lafferty"

As to the fourth, I have
commented on the Jones case -- in response to media inquiries -- to say that
she has not been charged with any offense and is fully entitled to the
presumption that she is not guilty and eligible to participate in the
Olympic Games.

Whoa Nellie. Isn't this the subject of the "let her come and dig a hole for
herself"?

Fox news (apologies):

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency warned that
Marion Jones will be in a "deep hole" if she's lying about not using drugs, and
he left open the possibility she could be stripped of her five medals from the
Sydney Games if found guilty of doping.

WADA chief Dick Pound also criticized U.S. track officials Thursday over recent
drug use by American athletes.
Jones is under investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, though she has not
been charged. But her ex-husband, C.J. Hunter, reportedly has told federal
authorities in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative probe that Jones used
banned drugs before, during and after the 2000 Games.

Jones has repeatedly denied using any banned substance.

"If she's innocent, she comes here and that's fine," Pound said. "And if she's
not and comes here and has made all those statements, it's going to be a dark
and deep hole into which she goes. It would be a shame."

Jones' lawyer, Rich Nichols, said Pound's comments simply were the latest in a
"litany of anti-American smears" by the WADA chief. Pound has been a longtime
critic of USA Track & Field and has denounced Jones in recent months.

"Dick Pound is simply un-American and these comments are just the latest
indicator of why he should have no business being involved in the Olympics,"
Nichols said. "Given Dick Pound's anti-American bias and his lack of integrity,
he should be stripped of his current position immediately."

USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer also rejected Pound's criticisms of Jones, who is
set to perform in the long jump and probably will run the 400-meter relay at
the Athens Games.

"Mr. Pound is well known for his colorful remarks. I would hope that as head of
the World Anti-Doping Agency he would not prejudge any athlete," Geer said.

International Olympic Committee rules say medals cannot be stripped more than
three years after an Olympics, which would appear to safeguard Jones' three
golds and two bronzes from Sydney even if she's found guilty of using banned
substances.

This is Pound clearly threatening to have Jones' Sydney medals taken away "if
she is found guilty". Found guilty how? Because someone with something to gain
has "testified" against her? "Something to gain" could be cutting a deal with
WADA and/or government prosecutors, or it could just be personal revenge. How
do you prove that C.J. Hunter is telling the truth about Jones doping for
Sydney? You and Pound are so ready to accept his words as gospel. Why? Because
she performed well?

Put into context, this can be seen as scare tactics to prevent athletes from
defending themselves.

Tell us more about Pound's spy ring, Brian. Those fine upstanding people who
will provide untainted information to "convict" people of cheating without
their having provided a positive blood or urine sample, who have not been
found in possession of banned substances (or, of course, those who have not
provided an uncoerced confession).

What I've seen about "espionage" is that people often sell secrets for money,
or give information as a result of extortion-- force. What's going to be
different here? --TP

"Tom Paterson" wrote in message
...
From: "B. Lafferty"


[Fox News and Paterson drivel snipped]

--TP

Try this from today's NY Times:

August 23, 2004
SPORTS OF THE TIMES
Another Effect of Drug Use
By GEORGE VECSEY

thens

WE sat there on the dusty knoll of Ancient Olympia Stadium and watched the
first women to compete in that hallowed place.

Maybe because of the Greeks' love of their history, we suspended the normal
drugs-are-us cynicism on Wednesday, as Irina Korzhanenko of Russia stepped
to the top of the podium and accepted her shot-put gold medal and her olive
wreath.

But turns out, the bells and sirens and whistles went off in the laboratory,
and yesterday Korzhanenko faced being stripped of her medal and receiving a
lifetime ban. It was her second drug offense.

"To cheat in Ancient Olympia is a sacrilege," a Greek friend of mine said
last night. I know what he means. But what about cheating in Seoul or Sydney
or Sacramento?

I take this latest drug bust personally, because I schlepped out to Ancient
Olympia, at considerable expense to my company, to observe this event. In
retrospect, it wasn't worth the sunstroke and the dehydration.

This was my gloomy reaction last night under the soaring Calatrava roof,
which is more beautiful from within than from without. There was a wonderful
three-ring circus of track and field, concluding with Justin Gatlin of the
United States taking the 100-meter dash and ending Maurice Greene's bid for
consecutive gold medals.

Unfortunately, while all these events were going on, I had this morbid
thought about what was coursing through everybody's arteries.

We wasted a lot of time and energy in the last two weeks on that two-headed
character known as the Greek Sprinters, who withdrew from the Games after
missing mandatory drug tests and finishing dual intravenous injections from
their motorcycle mishap. Another Greek athlete, Leonidas Sampanis, a weight
lifter, had to give up his bronze medal for a doping offense.

What an embarrassment for whatever portion of the Greek public is paying
attention to these Games rather than lounging on an island, where anybody
sane would be.

The drug busts turn all of us into finger pointers and posses. A portion of
the Greek public and press came up with the theory that the United States
had called in the drug squad to divert attention from American doping. The
United States does a lot of questionable things, but I doubt it has this
much pull.

Besides, plenty of American athletes are either sitting out these Games
because they were suspended or they suddenly had a scheduling problem.

The Greek news media then seemed to focus on Greene, who has come out
publicly for stringent bans for athletes who test positive. Rumors that
Greene had recently skipped a drug test were steadfastly denied. Last night
Greene looked old at 30, struggling to qualify for the finals, then digging
out a bronze medal.

The beat goes on. Gatlin is coached by Trevor Graham, who has had six
athletes test positive for banned substances in the past. Four of his
athletes, but not Gatlin, have been implicated in the Balco scandal.

It is all so wearying. I am not naïve, and I suspect that a lot of our
American sluggers and offensive linemen are beefing themselves up
artificially. With all these busts in Athens, don't hold your breath waiting
for big league ballplayers to show up in Beijing in 2008. They don't need
this publicity.

Most Olympic sports insinuate themselves in front of the American public for
a mere two weeks every four years. We barely learn how to pronounce the name
of a Russian shot-putter or a Greek weight lifter, then we hear the massive
click of a medal going back into the box.

If you let down your guard, these sports are still compelling. Last night I
sat in the new Olympic Stadium and watched on the tube as Mizuki Noguchi won
the women's marathon in front of a large crowd in Panathinaiko Stadium, the
site of the first modern Games in 1896. She beat the heat and she beat her
rivals.

In the main stadium, a few miles away, Gail Devers, age 37, hit a hurdle and
went down in the first heat, never to win gold in her specialty. How sad.

In the 100-meter semifinal, Shawn Crawford and Gatlin seemed to be having a
nice little chat as they finished one-two. How arrogant.

A Greek woman, Fani Halkia, set an Olympic record in winning a semifinal of
the 400-meter hurdles, and the crowd cheered with what sounded like joy and
relief. The locals had hoped for other thrills from the Greek Sprinters
under the Calatrava roof. How bittersweet.

There were medal ceremonies with the usual olive wreaths. I dropped my
cynicism for the winners of the two wheelchair events - Robert Figl of
Germany in the men's 1,500-meter race and Chantal Petitclerc of Canada in
the women's 800 - and I stood and hummed both beautiful anthems.

For the rest of the night, I mostly obsessed about whether any medals would
be recalled in the next few days. Tough way to get the world to care about
Olympic sports.

"B. Lafferty" ...


...
"B. Lafferty" writes:

Doesn't Dick always sound like a Skeleton Jerkin' Off in a Tin Garbage
Can?

That would make an interesting scene in Spy Kids 4.

I'd like to see B. Lafferty, Esq. in Spy Kids 8 ---
he could play Santa Claus to Pro Cyclists.

Only ONE gets to sit on his lap because only one is a Saint.

Guess which one? (hint...... '6')


-Ken

Tom Paterson wrote:

[...] "litany of anti-American smears" [...]
"Dick Pound is simply un-American [...]
"Given Dick Pound's anti-American bias [...]

Woah, I guess they should just get the Department of Homeland Security
involved. Seriously, argue like that and you know you have lost.