GDS has left BTC, cites Houlihan explicitly

Nice; now we can debate the shade of grey-ness being committed on Nikes behalf.

I cited the full paragraph in the other GDS thread, but it starts with:

"Ineligible Athletes cannot participate in a training camp, exhibition or practice organised
by their Member or a club that is a member of that Member or that is funded by a governmental agency."

I’m just a lowly hobby jogger and I have a ton of questions about this arrangement.

Is Shelby Houlihan still in the USADA testing pool? If not, she’s a liability to the whole team and especially to the BTC’s coaches, who could face bans of their own if another shoe drops and they’re believed to be facilitating rules violations.

Is BTC (or Nike) still paying Houlihan?

Have BTC been directing athletes, staff, and other parties like photographers to conceal that Houlihan has been training with the team?

Do they have a contingency in place for the (likely) scenario in which Houlihan’s Hail Mary appeal is dismissed and her ban permanently upheld?

These are important questions that could jeopardize the whole team’s standing in the sport. If they aren’t giving athletes answers, then leaving is the right thing for all of them to do.

"Dear Director of the Department of Medicine:

Hi Boss! As you know, I have been stripped of my license to practice medicine (LULZ) by some haterz wielding fake news. Thanks again for the press conference (where were the pastries from by the way? They were perfection!). It was a great touch when you claimed that you "don't even know what an impaired physician is."

Anyway, I'm just writing to confirm my commitment to continue working in my present job. As you know, I only technically need a medical license to perform certain specific aspects of the job like writing prescriptions, signing notes, and performing procedures without supervision. I'm not technically barred from entering the hospital, sitting at my desk, reviewing charts, talking to patients, etc., so like 90% of my job should still be fair game despite this lame attempt at a "ban" (my attorneys will work with management to clarify the details of my new scope of practice).

Looking forward to getting my license reinstated eventually, but I'm glad to be able to continue to come to work every day and do most of my job as if none of this ever happened until then. I'm assuming the team will be cool with this arrangement, but if there are any issues, just catch up with me after rounds tomorrow (I'll be in at the usual time!).

Sincerely,

Doctor Shelbo, MD"

I wonder how or whether that would apply to BTC broadly, but many of the BTC’s international athletes do receive government or federation funding and shouldn’t want any part of this arrangement.

Why are you so obsessed?

Jerry and Shalane come off looking compromised.

It is as if Shelby has them over a barrel and they refuse to upset her.

It looks terrible for them but they’re either powerless to act for fear of Shelby spilling the beans or they are complete idiots.

I don’t think they are complete idiots.

You might be confusing AIU with USADA.

This is why I come to letsrun. Golf clap for you!

No, it also applies to training. There was a swimmer banned in Australia not long ago and they weren't even allowed to be at a pool at the same time as any training groups and weren't allowed to receive any communication from coaches related to training. Basically she was forced to be disconnected entirely from her training group and any other training group. She discussed this in a podcast after she returned from the ban.

Yeah. But she is clearly getting the same workouts from Jerry (hence hiding them from Strava), doing them on the same days, same locations

I thought that prohibited association under the WADA code applies to athletes, but apparently it only applies to athlete support personnel. Still, the whole situation is absurd.

I posted this in the other thread but I'll do it again here:

No, it also applies to training. There was a swimmer banned in Australia not long ago and they weren't even allowed to be at a pool at the same time as any training groups and weren't allowed to receive any communication from coaches related to training. Basically she was forced to be disconnected entirely from her training group and any other training group. She discussed this in a podcast after she returned from the ban.

Jerry will join his old friend Alberto in the hall of shame very soon

Just found the relevant language. (This is in the WADA rules, not the World Athletics rule book, for what it’s worth. Either way, World Athletics should be enforcing the WADA rules.)

Page 86, in the footnotes, is where it starts.

https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2021_wada_code.pdf

After reading this, I would certainly interpret this to prohibit Houlihan’s involvement with the team. The thinnest shred of a loophole I could think of would be that BTC is not a federation and therefore doesn’t have to play by the same rules as, say, a USATF-sponsored training camp. I don’t find that argument particularly compelling as BTC is presumably a “member of a member” if they’re fielding teams at USATF and other championships.

International athletes subject to federation support should want no part in this.

isn’t she still a Nike athlete?

Zero defense coming up for SH because she is guilty, but this is the reason why I presume these phenomena to be occurring.

The reason they are so brazen about it (and public) is because they probably are technically doing everything by the book, despite it being sketchy and potentially immoral.

Jerry and Shalane probably believe Shelby's innocent (I don't) But from their perspective, this is a witch hunt and she's the victim. Thus, they want to do everything to support her. To me, the evidence against SH is overwhelming, but she has that "Aw shucks" believability for some people.

Just made me think how nobody from the NOP has been accused of continuing to be coached by Alberto etc. would it be that hard for Jerry/Shalane to coach her remotely, keep it on the D/L and not mix up the entire team in it. Apparently so.

Not quite true. Someone went so far as to hire a private investigator to look into whether Salazar was still training NOP athletes. They found out that the remnants of the NOP program were availing themselves of training equipment at Salazar’s home near Nike HQ.

letsrun.com

Someone Hired a Private Investigator to See if Alberto Salazar Was Still Coaching Galen Rupp. Here Is What They Found.

Jonathan Gault & Robert JohnsonJuly 24

Hidden cameras, criminal background checks, and nearly two weeks of surveillance. This story has it all.

Open link