From CNNSI.com: Hingis banned for two years
From ESPN.com: We're not buying it, Roger
Do you even believe an athlete any more when they deny using a performance enhancing or recreational drug?
It's the same pattern when an athlete is linked to drug use.
1. Deny
2. Attack the messenger or the drug test
3. Claim that it was unknowingly used, someone else put it into their system
4. Claim that they thought it was something benign like B12
5. If they get caught with overwhelming evidence, admit the truth
If you believe what the athletes say, no one has ever used a drug.
Roger Clemens says that we haven't given him the benefit of doubt. But, we've given him a pass for all these years even though at 46 he's still throwing the ball 90+ miles an hour. How many guys can do that?
Lance Armstrong's story is an amazing one for what he has accomplished and what he's gone through, but have we given him a pass in not examining his performance more? To be clear, Lance Armstrong has never failed a drug test, but neither did Marion Jones.
Logic would say that if Lance Armstrong won the 7 Tour de France races cleanly then it has to rank as one of the greatest accomplishments ever since his victories came over so many others who were cheating.
This is a sad affair in sports where we are forced to question every achievement and accomplishment not knowing whether the athletes are clean or not.
