| edumacator |
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To Ghost: the reason no one could sue Eddy to get the prize money he stole back is that his positive test only proved that he was doping on that exact day. Anything he won after that could easily be sued over, anything before that...as long as he insists that they caught him on his first injection ever, there's no proof to show otherwise. But now that he's admitted to a 3 year period of doping, we can see that he stole thousands of dollars. Regardless of what is possible within the US court system, there is no denying the fact that he is a criminal who is still, to this day, enjoying the fruits of his crimes. He is not apologizing, or paying back the stolen money. He is asking for some kind of redemption without ever making restitution. It's sick. The only reason he's saying it was a mistake now (if he even did?) is that he got caught. That's what he regrets - the consequences of getting caught, and the worst part is he got to keep every single stolen penny! |
| eddy is a deserving cuckhold |
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Also worth mentioning is post-event tests could not detect EPO if you cycled off of it at least 72 hours prior to the event. Seems like it would be easy to beat a test. Also Shawn seems like a witch. |
| Demonic posession |
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Shawn is NOT a witch! Just a Warlock in drag.
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| Sprint Geezer |
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Right on, edumacator. However, never underestimate the value of admissions... |
| giddy |
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First and foremost, that was a great article. I didn't feel like the author pulled any punches and that he got the answers we were all looking for. Being a huge fan of our sport, I'll give my two cents. I think the reactions of the running community almost deserve it's own story. It's amazing to me how black and white the let's run purists are when it comes to doping cases. They make it sound as if he never put in years of training, dedication, and discipline to achieve any of his running accolades. That he doesn't possess a wealth of knowledge on the sport that could be an extremely useful tool in developing younger athletes. And that with his own remorse and his being truthful about the situation, that he can't act as a deterrent to those same people with regards to doping. Did he rip us off? Yes. He lied, he cheated, and worst of all, he abused the system and he got drilled for it. In the end, he took the punishment and he lost the thing he loved the most, being an elite athlete. He paid the price the courts and the governing bodies placed on him. You could give back all the prize money in the world, but it wouldn't mean dick if there wasn't a shred of accountability involved. Marion Jones proved that. All we can ask of people is to take responsibility for their actions and pay the price for them... Eddie did that. I'm not willing to judge a guy's entire life and character based upon an article written in runners world. I just think him coming clean is not only better for Eddie, but also better for our sport. So Eddie, I'm glad you owned up to it. I'm not calling your admission courageous or commendable, but it's definitely a sign of renewed integrity. Best of luck. |
| legally blonde |
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forget about the new integrity. |
| GaryB |
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POD!! |
| ghost |
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It is not quite true to say he only owned up because he was caught. If you read the article carefully, it was more of a family decision because he has high hopes for his son, and felt the need to tell him (his son) the truth so that he would not go down the same erroneous path. Yes - what he did was wrong. Yes - he owes money, but that will be difficult to establish, without going into precise details about the EPO and how long the beneficial effects lasted. It would be complex from a legal standpoint to prove. What gets me here is the way Eddie is being portrayed here in extremely negative terms. He has come clean and is trying to turn his life around. He should be commended for that. Go back to the article, and even his detractors concede that they would still 'buy Edddie a beer' because his (Eddie's) net worth supercedes his negatives. It is of concern that these posts might have a negative effect on his present professional career in the Tucson area, and one should respect that. He is doing great work in Arizona coaching now, and is vital to many families there. One should respect the man's integrity and focus more on the positives than negatives. That is what we learn in a Judeo Christian society, to which most of the posters here belong to. The punishment of vilification, believe me, is far greater than any arbitrary monetary penalty which he might have had to pay, had their been a cut and dried case. Eddie and his family have suffered over the past few years, and enough is enough. Ghost in Saudi, www.kfupm.edu.sa |
| Querfeldein |
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Not sure if he should be commended. On the one hand, better to come clean late than not to come clean at all. If Eddie loses his coaching job, or whatever respect there may be left, the message to other cheats is; don't follow his example. On the other hand, besides the fact we don't know whether he is telling all he knows, if everyone gets forgiven, as long as he repents, what message does this send to young athletes? "You can cheat, you can have a career, earn a lot of money, all while cheating. and you won't have to pay for it, even if you get caught." I believe that we can commend anyone who admits to doping while he still has a career, and before getting caught. Unfortunately, such cases are extremely rare. Ultimately, whether we should commend someone like Eddie depends on what we think the current state of the sport is: If nearly everyone dopes, let's at least hope they come clean afterwards and applaud Eddie for his example. If, on the other hand, thereÄs any hope that there are some clean athletes left who should not be tempted to follow Eddie's example, Eddie Hellebuyck deserves no special treatment. |
| ghost |
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You say 'he deserves no special treatment' - ok, but he should not have to serve a long life penalty for wrong decisions which he has owned up to. We should move on and let Eddie get on with his life. He is doing good now. The anglo saxon countries, one feels, are far too harsh of their condemnation of cases like this. This would not happen in the Latin countries and France, where a more flexible, understanding attitude prevails. The draconian treatment of some people in the u.s. for essentially innocuous crimes is mind boggling. Ghost in Saudi, www.kfupm.edu.sa, apply today. |
| ukathleticscoach |
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'It is not quite true to say he only owned up because he was caught. If you read the article carefully, it was more of a family decision because he has high hopes for his son, and felt the need to tell him (his son) the truth so that he would not go down the same erroneous path' I read the article, sorry to break it to you, but what someone says is not always true He's nearly 50 maybe that's the reason? Better late than never, but it is very late |
| ghost |
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In sports like soccer, basketball and american football, doping is rife, and the culprits are treated with kids gloves, and very little made of it. They earn millions of dollars, and, in theory, their cheating might deprive others of their share of that vast wealth in sport. Nobody raises an eyebrow when one of the NBA players admits to cocaine use, or whatever, and he is back on the boards in no time, after a paltry fine, and possibly mandatory rehab. Boxing is another case, and even Pacquiao, the world best pound for pound fighter has been under suspicion for years as he refuses blood tests before bouts, claiming it would 'make him feel weak.' Altough the other boxer would also have to do the same, does not affect Pacquiao, and the fights take place. He was never caught and will never be caught, because boxing engenders massive revenue from t.v. and commercial products. Not the same with our sport, which is essentially 'B League' compared to those pro sports. When Eddie ran the Tour of Thameside, that was before EPO became available, and as he won the race, it goes to show that he could achieve top class results without resort to drugs. With his light build and powers of recovery, it was no surprise that he should beat a more powerful (and heavy) runner like Brace, who had a lifetime best of 2:10 in the marathon. So, it is sad that Helleybuyck is held to a higher standard when he is but one of many who was involved at one time in their career. He has come clean and should at least get some credit. Ghost in Saudi, www.kfupm.edu.sa |
| Spirit of Jan Ullrich |
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The most depressing thing in this story is how obstinately Eddy & Shawn kept lying after they got caught. I can kindof understand how a guy with Eddy's CV might be tempted to stretch his career by trying something dodgy, especially if you get away with it so easily. But if he had a shred of pride, once he was caught, surely the game was over! How much criminal energy does it need to take your appeal all the way to the Court of Arbitration in Switzerland, knowing full well you're totally cheating?? I'd love to see some quotes from them ca. 2005 along the lines of "we have no idea why these nasty people keep accusing us". The article completely fast-forwarded over those six years, wrongly in my opinion. By lamenting their innocence, the Hellebuycks were digging at the credibility and wasting resources of USADA and effectively supporting other cheats who try to play the legal game. If Shawn was so resentful of drugged-up elite teams stealing her hubby's glory, why didn't she spill the beans when they got caught? I don't want to judge whether Eddy personally should be forgiven or hounded; to me the takeaway is (once again) that you can't believe a word a professional athlete ever says, no matter what holy oath they swear that they have never even heard of PED's. |
| Said |
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By the way, don't have a beer or shop lift a trinket where you live or you will lose a limb or worse. |
| ghost? |
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Eddy has been dirty since I first met him - 20 years ago. I would guess I've raced Eddy 10 times more than ghost. Eddy might be a nice guy (I have eaten dinner with him and Shawn several times) but he uses drugs to boost performance. Always has. Always will. I don't believe for a second that Eddy is not using drugs right now. |
| Jack Bruce |
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Gee, can't think of any drugs before EPO that help with "powers of recovery". Poor little dude must've been squeaky clean.... |
| Um, yeah |
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Well sure, lets reduce things to the lowest common denominator and lower track rather than raise our expectations for other sports. Taking the easy way out makes so much more sense (hey, just like doping is taking the easy way out!)
What is this hard-on you've got for the Tour of Thameside and him beating Steve Brace? I've also beaten people with world class lifetime bests. Does that mean I have comparable world class capabilities or is it more likely they were not at their lifetime best fitness?
People have been giving him credit for coming clean. He just hasn't come clean all the way (such as returning his stolen prize money). That and the fact he is continuing involvement in the sport he cheated rubs people the wrong way. No one is saying he doesn't have the right to turn his life around, but one of the consequences of breaking the rules is that maybe there are some constraints on your freedom to do whatever you want with the remainder of your life. A convicted fraudster is not likely to be hired as a stockbroker even once he has paid his debt to society and been released from jail. That is one of the punishments of cheating people just don't seem to grasp - not only are you going to be suspended for two or more years, but you are forever going to be carrying around this cloud of suspicion. If that doesn't appeal to you, then maybe you should consider just how badly you want to cheat. |
| dd |
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Nicely put. I think he's getting about the response he should get- some praise for actually owning up to cheating, but that shouldn't vault him into the next spot for sainthood. People have every right to be suspicious of him for the rest of his life, and while that may stink for him, that's his problem. It stinks even more for the guys who had their victories and earnings stolen. |
| reader |
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Q, how on earth does one inadvertently type a capitalized "a" with an umlaut? Strangest typo ever. Good post by the way. |
| Stéphane Tunstall |
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'He has come clean and should at least get some credit. ' Je lui donne le crédit. Un cent! http://www.legion-recrute.com/en/ |