i agree wrote:
Haile supporters, it's his own fault his name is tarnished! Letsrun.com didn't ruin his name, he did!! When he was lying on his entry fees the world was not the wiser until he came to this country and someone decided to question who he was. Haile is a talented runner and his accomplishments have thrown him into the spotlight. That's the price that comes along with being great at something. This entire controvery is Haile's fault and Haile's alone. Haile left the door open to be questioned. It could very well be that the young man is 18 but he is not helping himself by not showing his passport. It's his right to refuse to show the document but in doing so he's leaving himself open to more questions. If that is the way Haile wants to play it he has to be mature enough to handle the persecution. In the end all of this controversy will be good for the sport and it will teach others not to try and pull a switch-a-roo.
This is absolutely true. The kid has no one but himself to blame. Additionally, no one is pointing out another reason why Haile would have had to change his story from the Coptic-calendar snafu: the numbers don't make sense. The coptic calendar is basically the same as the United States calendar with the exception of an extra 5-6 days at the end of each year. If you were to convert an 18 year old's age into "Coptic years," you get an age within 6 months of the orignial age.
The other possibility for confusion is that, over time, the years have become dislocated. This year, for instance, is 2001 in the Coptic Calendar. But if Haile were really 18 in 2008, as he claims, then he would have a Coptic year of birth of 1983 or 1984, which would have caused him to fill out age 24 or 23 on all of those 2007 racing forms.
Is there anyone who knows a little more about the Coptic Calendar conversions who can clarify my understanding? To me, it seems pretty clear the "kid" is lying through his teeth. It just doesn't pass the smell-test. What kind of 17-18 year old travels all over the world to run races, anyway? And tells the Washington Post he's looking for a manager? And then enrolls in high school and, despite perfectly legitimate questions surrounding his age and status, refuses to produce a passport that could easily confirm his story and put all of this stuff to bed?
It reminds me of all those times Sammy Sosa said he would happily submit drug tests if the league had them, and then Rick Reilly (with Sports Illustrated) arranged a test for Sammy one day after a game and Sosa called him an a**hole and refused.