NOT THE TIME TO RUSH TO JUDGEMENT

The way the world has been reacting to Asafa Powell’s adverse finding this week, one would think the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had finally cracked the case of a serial killer who had been on the prowl for years. His case was one among five Jamaicans who returned adverse findings from tests conducted at the national championships in June but the world hardly cares about the others, not even Sherone Simpson, the Olympic 100-metre silver medalist from 2008.

The international media and local media have been feeding like piranha on every morsel of new information that emerges; some have seemingly even manufactured their own information in this media frenzy that has been at full tilt since Sunday, July 14. The doubters have also come out, people like the head of British Athletics Niels de Vos, who has called for four-year bans for both Powell and Gay. This, when much of the information about the cases are still to be known. This guy is a throwback to the day when they used to burn people at the stake just because someone said they were witches.

Look, in this world of professional sports and performance enhancing drugs, not every one who fails a drug test is a cheat. If you believe that you will also believe that every murder suspect is guilty of murder. That is why there are so many degrees of murder – first degree, second degree, manslaughter etc. And just like in those cases there are varying degrees of guilt when it comes to doping cases.

Here is what we know. Asafa Powell’s agent Paul Doyle hired a physical trainer on a temporary basis for a period of one month in May to keep the former world record holder healthy. The whole world knows that Powell has been having groin and hamstring injuries for the past few years and had hardly been able to finish a race since he strolled across the finish line in the finals of the 100 metre finals at the London Olympics last year.

The trainer Chris Xuereb is a Canadian who claims to have expertise as a fitness and strength trainer as well as skills as a nutritionist. Xuereb joins the MVP camp in Jamaica, preparing Powell for the national championships where he finishes seventh in the 100m finals and does not make the team as an individual representative for the World Championships in Moscow but could be considered for a relay spot considering the uncertainty surrounding defending world champion Yohan Blake’s participation at the upcoming championships.

Xuereb travels to Italy with Powell and is administering to the athlete providing him and subsequently Sherone Simpson with ‘new’ supplements that he claims were cleared when he had them checked out on GlobalDr.org, a site that lists supplements and whether they are safe for consumption by athletes. Simpson also checks the site and finds nothing to suggest that the supplements are unsafe.

On July 14, Powell and Simpson and three other Jamaicans are informed that they returned adverse findings. Powell and Simpson release statements naming the drug Methysynephrine as the stimulant that was found in their urine samples. Later that same day, news broke that Italian police raided the hotel where Powell, Simpson and Xuereb are staying and seize supplements and medication that were tested for the presence of banned substances.

On Monday, July 15, Paul Doyle, the agent who represents Powell and Simpson reveals that it was the two athletes who alerted the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA about the possibility that the supplements supplied by Xuereb could have resulted in the positive tests. WADA then alerted the Italian police who raided the trainer’s room.

On the same day Stephen Francis says publicly that he blames the athletes for breaking MVP’s supplement protocol wherein all new supplements have to be cleared by its medical team before being ingested by any athlete who is a member of the club.

Now when I look at that information, I see where Powell and Simpson have been very aggressive in trying to get to the bottom of the situation that resulted in their positive drug tests. Each athlete has been tested approximately 200 times throughout their careers and have never failed a test before now. Simpson I am told cried all night when she was informed of her test results shortly before she was supposed to compete in Madrid Spain on Saturday, July 13. She withdrew from the race and has since been very cooperative with authorities.

People will argue that their actions are only being taken now because they have been caught and they want to try to lessen any possible sanctions against them that might come after a disciplinary panel hears the case against them. But based on the comments from Francis, who says he will back his athletes’ integrity and the information coming from Doyle, who has taken responsibility for hiring someone he clearly didn’t know enough about, and the actions of the athletes in helping the authorities get to the bottom of this drug scandal as the media is calling it, suggests to me that there was no intent to cheat from either of these athletes. I say that too, because I happen to know both personally and believe them to be people of the highest integrity.

Yes, they were negligent and let their guards down and are now facing the potential consequences for their actions but that is the only thing I believe they are guilty of. Still, those actions have cast a darker shadow over the sport that has put food on their tables this past decade. I am sure they are aware that their actions will cost them in more ways than one, but to call them cheats and to treat them like they have always cheated and intended to cheat again is wrong.

Maybe it’s time for track and field athletes to form a union and push back. Yes, there are cheats among track and field athletes but for those who aren’t there needs to be some kind of justice. Leading up to the London 2012 Olympics athletes from across the world came together to force the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to provide with a greater share of the revenue that these athletes generate for the Olympic movement, they should also rally around the idea of it being unfair to lump all athletes into the same boat when it comes to doping offences.

In Major League Baseball, the players’ union looks out for the best interests of their players and does its best to protect it’s athletes from being raked over the coals until the full story is known. Perhaps it’s time track and field do the same.

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14 Responses to “NOT THE TIME TO RUSH TO JUDGEMENT”

Leo Whitworth says:

July 17, 2013 at 11:26 am

Well written Sir, thanks for the information
Barbara Book says:

July 17, 2013 at 11:57 am

Why bring in a FOREIGN TRAINER in May 2013 to work with our ELITE Jamaican athletes 4 months before world championships in AUGUST?

Shouldn’t MVP have DEMANDED that their athletes work with a local TRAINER and be suspicious of a foreigner?

Did somebody forget that this small little island is on fire in the track&field world and some folks will try to sabotage us?

LL, please tell us the real deal!
Patrick D says:

July 17, 2013 at 4:12 pm

I agree with leighton. Some folks are too quick to rush to judgement. Information so far points squarely at the Canadian trainer. Sure the athletes need to follow protocol ALL the time but this is a HUGE wake up call for all our athletes. I am pretty sure everyone will be more careful after this!
lorenzo bartlett says:

July 17, 2013 at 11:17 pm

In my opinion I believe that the Agent Doyle and Trainer Chris Xeureb have knowledge of what was going down. Doyle want to milk as much out of aging Powell, with dope to say that he resurrect Powell’s career in order to attract new prospects.
I believe that all Jamaican athletes should start to distance themselves from Doyle ASAP.
Doyle(Agent)was gambling with the athletes livelihood, base on “I hope that they don’t get caught” mentality.
So the question is should he continue to have Paul Doyle as his agent? The answer should be “NO”.
Should Stephen Francis continue to be his coach? The answer should be “No”.
Base on what Stephen Francis said about Powell and Doyle for the last three years were trying to circumvent the rules of MVP Club. That is the grounds for dismissal. If he was in a established foreign club, say in the U.K. United States, Canada, Germany, Italy or Russia he (Powell)would face sanction or dismissal.
Instead, of Powell go get reputable medical treatment, he chose to take short cut. As it is said of ole, “Short cut bring blood.”
I believe that the trainer should spill the bean on the Agent Doyle, and not take the embarrassment by himself.
enquiring mind says:

July 18, 2013 at 8:37 am

Well written, but you left out one vital piece of information. The fact is that the substance in question is a mere stimulant. The lowest level of infraction on the WADA scale. It is, in fact, perfectly WADA legal to take it out-of-competition. This must be stressed, otherwise we will continue to have people like lorenzo bartlett say that thing like milk as much out of aging Powell, with dope”. A stimulant doesn’t qualify as “dope” in the traditional sense. It is nowhere near as serious as steroids, HGH etc.

It is also important to understand that the precedent set by the JAAA/JADCO for first-time stimulant cases is usually a ban period of three months. Jamaica has had nine stimulant cases before now. One was given nine months, six were given three months, one was reprimanded and one was cleared. The bottom line; it is NOT as serious an infraction as people are making it out to be. The hysteria is unwarranted.
dallo says:

July 18, 2013 at 10:58 am

Im happy u pointed out that every test failure is not necessarily cheating. I’m not the type to play victim , but there are games being played. In say baseball , when a player is busted its for stuff like EPO , HGH , anabolics , biogenesis , yet in t & f , Jamaicans are being banned for some funny named stuff found in plants most of the times and these things i’m told have no scietific proof of improving performance.

Yohan was banned for something found in the geranium plant , Asafa’s and Sherrone’s is foud in citrus , and in SAFP’s case , her thing was not a PED or a masking agent. These violations are like a traffic ticket and a fine would’ve been appropiate for carelessness or whatever.

In the meantime , the undisputed kings and queens of doping have gone relatively unscathed raising my suspicion that they’ve moved on to more sophisticated methods and that’s why no one is being busted for the old school hardcore stuff.

I’m quite sure we got all the nutrition we need right at home so why chase these foreign supplements ? Gear our research and testing towards our own plants so we can avoid these things with the funny names that WADA and the IAAF keeping adding to the list everyday.
Susu says:

July 19, 2013 at 2:13 am

Well written. I said this before, they are feeding the rest of the world with every update and that allows people to pass judgement, and the more a story comes out the more stupid it sounds. I was shocked when a so called Tara; Asafa’s official twitterwas tweeting every stage of the investigation ( very unprofessional).
One thing though they may not be cheats but they must take responsibility for their actions, not the trainer. As Doyle said they r old enough and to be fair they’ve been in the business long enough to knw the rules. Fame got into their head so they think they don’t have to answer to no one. That’s the outcome of not following ground rules, but its very unfortunate.
Talking History says:

July 20, 2013 at 12:59 pm

My question is what assistance did the Jamaican Consulate offer the athletes, whether or not Asafa and Sherone requested their help. They may not even have known of the existence of the consulate!
mikesiva says:

July 21, 2013 at 4:08 am

De Vos is calling for Gay and Powell to be given four-year bans? Why didn’t he make the same call for Dwain Chambers and Christine Ohuruogu to get the same? Hypocrisy….
sandy says:

July 21, 2013 at 9:00 am

The Brits are always quick to make comments without knowing the facts and they behave as if they are infallible. Denese Lewis and other former athletes have already expressed their ‘disappointment’ and are calling for lifetime bans. I can never understand why if a British athlete returns a positive test the whole British team is not under suspicion but when it happens to Jamaicans they are all considered cheats.
Nick says:

July 21, 2013 at 8:28 pm

I agree with what you have written. I am not quick to judge persons or to throw them under the bus when they are down but to support. If after the investigation, it is proven otherwise then I would be very disappointed but I usually give persons the benefit of the doubt and allow the investigation to take place first, everyone deserves that. I do believe Asafa and Sherone (well, the 2 who have been most vocal) as their trainer made a good point by highlighting that these athletes have been tested so many times before and never tested positive. They may have been negligent and let their guards down by trusting this man but I hope this is a lesson to all concerned that this is a business and let us not fool ourselves, we are doing well now and don’t for one second believe that everyone is happy about that.
Paris Taylor says:

July 22, 2013 at 10:39 am

Powell, Gay and Sherone have let their guards down as you have rightly said but I doubt that they are guilty of adverse analytical finding in their blood samples. I personally have a soft spot for Asafa I like his humble disposition and as such I trust in his integrity. I don’t like the feedback they are getting from international community, because of bad mind many competing nations are will to kill off these astute practitioners of their craft because their nations are not enjoying the type of success Jamaica and the USA have been enjoying. We have to muscle up to face the consequences of our indiscretions/mistakes.
We don’t want to label them as guilty but they are guilty until they can give a clear and distinct, objective and reasonable account of how these substances reaches in their bodies. I would love this impasse to resoled expeditiously and the athletes can go back to their normal lives they have been living for years. These violation are inextricable from the viewpoint of most countries that are not a powerhouses in the world of Track and Field.
Shannon says:

July 22, 2013 at 9:56 pm

Weird, I remember when the US use to kick our butt the common theme amongst many Jamaicans was that the US athletes were on “drugs”. Now that we are on top of the sprinting world everyone is crying about how we must not rush to judgement. We really shouldn’t rush to judgement but we should also remember that when Jamaicans aren’t involved. Would be interesting to see the comments had this just been Tyson Gay only. So many athletes testing positive for prohibited substances is a disgrace no matter how you frame it and hopefully it doesn’t get swept under the carpet (whatever the outcome maybe).

I know these comments seem harsh and probably anti-Jamaican but hey, we don’t all have to agree!
Cher says:

July 23, 2013 at 9:44 am

Great article. Great comments too – lots of wisdom, lots of truth. There are many issues to sort out in this mess, but I, for one, do not and have NEVER accepted that athletes are SOLELY responsible for what they put in their bodies. From as far back as Ben Johnson, my repeated question was why this athlete was being made to pay for his actions, PLUS the actions of his DOCTOR, manager, etc. With Marion Jones, I was angry that she had to pay for her “sin”, as well as the crimes of the creepy men around her (note we rarely see their names or faces in the Press!). With our own Shelly-Ann, I was not amused when her Club rushed to pull her from competition, to prove how “compliant-with-the-rules” they were, and how Shelly was so willing to “take her punishment” like a big girl – but the big man who gave her the offending substance was never made to accept his responsibility in the debacle.

Shannon – you are not entirely correct about how Jamaicans viewed US athletes. In the time of Merlene Ottey, Jamaicans (and many Americans) were convinced that the reigning queen of the track (now deceased) was on serious steroids. Jamaicans were upset that this person’s apparent obvious “cheating” was being flaunted in our faces, while our Merlene was frustrated time and again – and on top of it, given the derisive title of “Bronze Queen”. But if you asked most Jamaicans at that time, what they thought of other US athletes – Maurice Greeene or Evelyn Ashford, Tyson Gay, for example – the response would usually be a positive one. So, we DID (and DO) in fact, make distinctions – but as usual, we are always quick to think the worst of ourselves and to believe our own Bad Press.