Shelby Houlihan Ban Upheld -- Loses Appeal

Good. Shelby is a fraud, and cheater.

Go away.

She knew the rules going in that if you fail a test, the burden of proof is on you to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you acted in good faith, not on CAS to prove that the claimed tainted burrito ingestion couldn’t have happened.

SH is right in principle on the unfairness of the system in the sense that not every malactor is punished and some reasonable actors are unreasonably punished but that characterizes any system of probabilistic deterrence like traffic tickets as well as, to a lesser degree, all criminal and civil justice systems.

Once again.

there is no actual evidence from her case suggesting she did not knowingly cheat. A banned drug was found in her system. Pushing the envelope usually means cheating.

people please check your bias before posting conspiracy theories on your behalf. No way you’d be writing this out if this were athing mu would you?

I agree. Hence my ambivalence. But admissions of doping without duress are rare. The only one that comes to mind was the cyclist Riis, and by then the lid had been blown away. Most dopers will deny to the end against all evidence.

Doping is not a victimless act. Houlihan's cheating was obvious from the onset. Her progression was a joke. Her cheating cheated clean athletes and robbed them of records, opportunities and recognition. It also led others to conclude that domestic accolades such as making world team's required doping. The vicious cycle here is that the same logic can apply both for Houlihan and against her as she was being simultaneously cheated by athletes cheating better than she did at the same time she cheated others.

The Brojos have a worse reputation that Shelby Houlihan. Ban or no ban.

BroJos:

Can we PLEASE get a count-up clock on the homepage now counting the minutes/hours/days until we hear from Jerry?

At this point, he HAS to make a statement about coaching a convicted doper who lost on all possible appeals.

If he doesn't, you need to start calling out BTC staff and members like you did with Rupp/Salazar/NOP.

This. The amount of effort going into making her a martyr. The club implying she's a victim of corruption. Actively trying to undermine the already fragile and undersupported anti doping system. Asking for money from believing fans. The club marginalizing their own athletes who aren't down to support her in these attempts without complaint.

You don't run a 14:20s 5000m without intentional doping. She crossed the Ma's army line.

I agree with you 100%. The consequences of getting caught are grave, but the risks of getting caught are too low and the rewards are too great. Getting caught is just way to random, and in this sense Houlihan, a cheat, is still the victim of an uneven and unfair system. Gidey is running insane times, yet not that much skepticism appears on these boards, and then there are the amazing feats of Hassan or Kipyegon…..Everybody is a hero until they are a cheat. The only super elite athlete who may truly “clean” is Niyonsaba😉

Apparently she laid low and didn't do anything to jeopardize her appeal by thumbing her nose at WADA and CAS, continuing to train with Jerry and BTC, and driving clean athletes away from her team.

There's no excuse now for to not to grant an interview. And to answer/address the following:

What supplements do you/did you take?

What other performance enhancing measures/hacks did you use or try?

Explain how the nandrolone in your body seemed to match the signature of widely available nandrolone and testosterone precursor supplements?

Were you taking something with these ingredients or these supplements/precursors themselves?

Did you test your supplements for banned substances after the positive result?

Did you test any burritos for banned substances?

Admit that the burrito defense was lame and explain why you used it.

Admit that you had heard of nandrolone before the positive test.

Yeah I totally agree with you. Houlihan can be both a cheat and a victim of an uneven, unfair system. I believe at least one of her teammates was on the same chemical program she was (had a similar meteoric progression and unusual shredded appearance) and she didn't get caught thus far. So maybe Shelby can keep a straight face with all of this because she knows what's been going on behind the scenes and wonders why she's the only one to take the fall.

If you look at the timing of when SH tested positive, it was almost exactly at the end of what would typically be periodized strength building going into the holidays--and it was during heightened COVID restrictions. What seems *more likely* is that she used nandrolone during this time period to enhance the periodized training and as a recovery tool which is EXACTLY what the drug is for and she (and/or her support team) either 1) believed that there wouldn't be an out of season test during this time period for some very dumb reason and they got overzealous or 2) they messed up the protocols and overshot the mark on detectable levels and when she was randomly tested she had too much in her system. But the drug she had in her system and it's purpose actually makes a lot of sense for the timing of what could be assumed of where they would be in training.

I do not think she is some victim of a system gone wrong. She has had access to every part of the system if you look at it objectively. She has had hearing, appeals, investigations, she still has access to training resources. I know other people who have had positive tests and they were immediately dropped from their teams and had no support whatsoever in order to file any kind of appeal, and that was the end for them. Shelby has had a lot of opportunities.

There is nothing "logical or likely" in that explanation. It is speculation without substance.

There is no evidence on intent at all. All the evidence is the drug test results which only show the amount of the drug at a single point in time, and any other testing results that are supplemental exhibits.

The facts are she tested positive. She presented no credible evidence related to how the drug got in her system. Therefore, her ban is upheld. It doesn't matter how the drug got in her blood/urine if she cannot credibly account for it according to the rules. No evidence has been presented to demonstrate a doping regime she was participating in. Her performances don't suggest doping any more than a large number of other athletes.

She has three years until she can compete again. She should look at the system and suggest fixes from an athlete perspective since she's been through all the steps.

Do I think it is possible she doesn't know how she got nadrolone in her system? Yes, I do, but I don't believe the burrito excuse and not knowing doesn't matter according to the rules. You cannot contest a testing result with an excuse of "I don't know" and thus that is a flaw in the process that leaves clean athletes vulnerable. It does not mean that Shelby Houlihan is clean.

Oh well! How is her GoFundPage doing?

gofundme.com

Help Shelby fight to prove her innocence, organized by Shelby Houlihan

You can read the full story and supporting information by clicking here . … Shelby Houlihan needs your support for Help Shelby fight to prove her innocence

Open link

Looks like it's slowed down in recent weeks although she raised more than I would have predicted.

Yep. We know who the likely dopers are. We know when a progression is suspicious or a performance is so outside the established norm that it is chemically enhanced. But just like the dopers themselves apologists will refuse to admit it at all costs. They will feign incredulity no matter what, knowing that the chance of being proven wrong by a positive test is extremely unlikely. In Shelby's case her progression and doping arc cover story was that she was undertrained and a genetic late bloomer. In Gidey's, it is that she has the magic east African running gene. None of us were born yesterday.

You are being ironic about Nyonsaba, surely? She's pretty average for a runner who apparently has testicles.