Rupp Interview after 10k - LetsRun asked him about Verne Gambetta and 'innovation vs. cheating'

Strike wrote:

The reality is, most of you suckers were probably Lance Armstrong's biggest cheerleaders. You should read David Walsh's Seven Deadly Sins. He was a pariah for asking the tough questions after fairytale performances. Rupp and the NOP must be accountable. If a Russian/Chinese athlete went from running 13.19 to 26.44 in a matter of weeks, questions would be asked. Just because he is your white All American hero should not make him immune to criticism and speculation

The issue isn't the tough questions - it is that rojo is bizarrely fixated on one runner in particular who is far from the most suspicious athletes out there.

There is a long list of doping red flags that should be asked tough questions - but rojo never asks. He is posing for photos with Yohan Blake who is a convicted doper. Why no tough questions there?

People he doesn't question:

jamaicans (obviously many busts and suspicion, pals around with busted guys)

rosa guys like Kiprop, paul tergat etc(connections to doping well established)

hermens guys (again doping doctor connections well established)

matt kisorio - who was busted and claimed many kenyans were doping and

spoke out, never asked ANYTHING by lets run.

Canova - who COACHED kisorio and has repeatedly said none of his athletes would dope.

the kimbia marathoners - coach busted for doping, doesn't warrant a question.

the german dude journalist who went to kenya and got taped footage of people offering him drugs and saying it was commonplace. Maybe not worth a conversation?

the swedish marathoner who just got back from kenya and was offered drugs - again not worth talking to.

If Rojo was serious about being a journalist asking the 'tough questions' he would talk to people who actually have tons of things to question. He doesn't do this - and instead fixates on one runner he doesn't like.

I have zero problem with rojo fixating on rupp. To eliminate the evil, you have to cut off the head of the main snake.

Get rid of rupp and NOPe falls. NOPe falls and 95% of doping in the US distances stops. Who cares about a bunch of lazy and shiftless jamaican sprinters anyway?

Rojo's patting himself on the back in this thread is totally bush league. That's why we can't take him seriously as a journalist.

Oklahoma Okie wrote:

C'mon now, if Rojo thought Rupp had read the article, he (Rojo) would never had tried to throw the curve ball with the dishonest reference about pollen masks and oxygen. I have little doubt that Rojo's real goal was to try to rile up Rupp, and maybe fluster him into saying something crude, or tossing a fist his way. Looking for a little publicity for himself is the only logical reason for doing what he did. I give Rupp credit for staying professional and keeping his cool.

Agreed. Rupp, not exactly the most elegant speaker, handled the bizarre question from left-field with aplomb. There was nothing about the Deadspin article that said anything about the face mask at all. Even if it did, there is nothing innovative about a face mask as a pollen barrier. The only thing being alluded to was in the sixth paragraph when Gambetta spoke about blood boosting and manipulating numbers up to 49.9999 when the illegal threshhold is 50.00. Now there's a fair question -- not for Rupp after setting an AR -- but for Salazer; but still, only after contacting Gambetta to clarify what exactly did he mean by those statements. That's real journalism.

When most people see a guy who is known to be suffering from plantar faciitis and his foot is wrapped with tape, they assume that it's because of the plantar faciitis. When most of us see a runner's thigh wrapped, most people assume it's because of a hamstring injury that's been reported. When we see Rupp wearing a face mask during pollen season, MOST PEOPLE assume it's for the pollen. Not Rojo.

Rojo's brain doesn't work like most people's. Accept it. When Rojo goes from A to F, there is no B, C, D or E to get him there. A = F.

It's been my experience with Rojo is that he doesn't really read anything that's been put in front of him. My guess is that Rojo started into the Deadspin article, his eyes glazed over, then "Face Mask" and "air purifier" suddenly appeared in front of him. It's not evidence of journalistic dishonesty, it's a reading disability.

Whether you like or not LR has been quoted or referred to numerous times in media print....a reporter can ask questions and one was asked that referred to a former coach's remarks about Nike. Rupp answered and leave it at that. Lance had many people blindly following him and here we have the same with Rupp. Athletes are athletes...they are not heroes that should be worshipped....Lance attacked the media when he thought they were onto him....We see the same here through surrogates.

LR has done more regarding calling out USATF and Nike with dopers that they support and sign than anyone.

malmo wrote:

Agreed. Rupp, not exactly the most eloquent speaker, handled the bizarre question from left-field with aplomb.

Fixed.

rojo wrote:

Laughing Gas wrote:

The question was not only inappropriate, it was dishonest. Listen to Rojo's question...after reading Gambetta's interview. Rojo dishonestly implied that Gambetta had said that the mask was "cheating". Now, shame on Rojo, he doubles up by making it a big deal that someone prompted Rupp's reply. Watch the interview--no delay in Rupp's response, which by the way was a great response to a stupid and more importantly "dishonest" question. What kind of person would be proud of a dishonest question? Look into the mirror, Rojo.

The question wasn't dishonest. Gambetta thinks many thinks that others call innovation is cheating. I was asking Rupp for a response to the Gambetta remarks on innovation versus cheating, Rupp understood that and answered appropriately.

Rojo, its good you asked it. As a fan of the sport, when an article like that comes out about an athlete, coach, or training group, I want to hear a response from them. Even if their response is just "I didn't see it." The tough questions are often tip toed around (like what politicians do), but they still need to be asked. Sometimes they go off script and give an insightful or profound answer.

Like what if Rupp had inside knowledge about Gambetta and called him out on something? That would have been cool. Nothing really came of the question. But it is good that it was asked.

Maxazillon stop making stuff up.

We ALWAYS disclose when something is advertising and when something isn't. It's one of the things that distinguishes letsrun.com from others in the running industry. Not only is it required by the FTC but it is a basic tenet of journalism. It is my #1 beef with other running sites is not disclosing when something is paid for. That so much of the industry is led by advertising is what creates an opportunity for LetsRun.

I've heard of Runners World killing stories that might piss of shoe companies. How often do you see a negative story in Runners World?

For years, Flotrack was getting paid by shoe companies to cover events, do videos on athletes, and they did not disclose it. That's wrong. Imagine if Nike paid us huge sums every year to cover there athletes and we didn't disclose it. How often do you think we'd write a negative article?

This week, I emailed Joe Battaglia and said I felt he should disclose that the IAAF paid for his trip to the Bahamas. The IAAF flew a ton of journalists out to Bahamas. (LetsRun.com paid it's own way) I guess the practice in Europe is not to disclose it. Joe wrote an article praising the World Relays and I felt he should disclose who paid for his trip in the article. In an article just reporting the facts of the meet, it is less important to disclose it. I had had dinner with Joe and he told me the IAAF paid for his trip.

When I went to the IAAF Gala on the IAAF's dime I said as much right off in my article talking about the IAAF:

Email me any instance of us not disclosing paid advertising and I'll correct it right away. We want you to to know what was written on LetsRun was not paid for. Maybe we need to do a better job of making it clear we don't do what much of the industry does.

The post below is great on how small the sport is:

The Brojos are still failing to answer the direct question put to them:

DO YOU THINK RUPP IS DOPING?

Rojo's question and attitude in this thread suggest so. You want to be transparent, right? So answer the question.

Oh Weldon. Poor, poor Weldon. Now that you're taking Nike and USATF's money, I guess they get a free pass. It's only the websites that take a swipe at you guys that get the brunt of the negative posts, right?

Runner's World tries to sue you? Always bring them up. Flotrack makes a video about you? Always bring them up.

Joe is also a freelancer working for the IAAF. He can write whatever he wants.

But for years, Runnerspace has been failing to disclose advertisements, but I see nothing done on your part. Here's a great example of definitely unsponsored content:

http://highschool.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=89&do=news&news_id=232124

But now that Nike is paying you guys, I guess it's OK. I've seen plenty of advertisements linking to their live stream. That's cool, it's helped me, but this is where letsrun is starting to fall apart.

Just like how certain runners get passes, other athletes like the ones in NOP are bashed relentlessly.

Unbiased news my butt.

fdsfasdfasdf wrote:

The Brojos are still failing to answer the direct question put to them:

DO YOU THINK RUPP IS DOPING?

You must be living under a rock. The newly enforced WADA ban rules not about doping. They are about the gray zone.

Is Rupp in the gray zone. Absolutely.

Will WADA ban the gray zone methods NOP is using? In time, some yes, and some no.

Gray zoners are playing with fire. Unfortunately, they haven't realized they are playing with fire (retroactive banning).

Undoped wrote:

fdsfasdfasdf wrote:

The Brojos are still failing to answer the direct question put to them:

DO YOU THINK RUPP IS DOPING?

Is Rupp in the gray zone. Absolutely.

this makes me laugh.

ABSOLUTELY

I mean WTF

Like gravity is a real thing. Like you have seen it.

ABSOLUTELY

is there life on earth?

ABSOLUTELY

Is Rupp in the gray area?

ABSOLUTELY

Funny thing is, as Ken Goe pointed out yesterday (http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2014/06/deadspin_takes_an_unfair_swipe.html) and is now on LRC homepage, the ENTIRE BASIS for the Deadspin article is built upon incredibly shoddy journalism. So, Rojo I hope you haven't gotten completely sucked up by the quicksand you were standing on to ask a lame a## question about air purifiers and face masks.

If athletes and the sport needs accountability, so too do those who want to present themselves as journalists covering the sport. The garbage on these MBs (which are to journalism as national inquirer is) in particular and some of the stuff on the homepage show no evidence of taking accountability - lots of self-promotion and opinion all mixed up with some good coverage.

cuban bluegrass wrote:

this makes me cry.

Like Rupp cheats. I have seen it.

ABSOLUTELY

Is Rupp in the gray area?

ABSOLUTELY

Crying won't stop the gray zoning.

ABSOLUTELY

LosersRant.com wrote:

the ENTIRE BASIS for the Deadspin article is built upon incredibly shoddy journalism.

The garbage on these MBs... show no evidence of taking accountability

Do you realize--probably too much for you to handle--what you think is bad, and what is good, is entirely subjective? your claim of shows no evidence is shoddy, subjective, thinking.

You seriously think if us distance runners are doping it is only NOP?I get it\\\'s easy to hate on NOP but if NOP is doping then so is schumachers group. What about True\\\'s improvement ? True can run 13:02 out of nowhere but rupp dopes with a 12:58.For the recode I think most top runners are in the gray but the either move the line or let it be.Personally I am enjoying US distance running, if actually FACTS come out I will readjust .

rupp rides the short bus wrote:

I have zero problem with rojo fixating on rupp. To eliminate the evil, you have to cut off the head of the main snake.

Get rid of rupp and NOPe falls. NOPe falls and 95% of doping in the US distances stops. Who cares about a bunch of lazy and shiftless jamaican sprinters anyway?

Duh whar wrote:

Personally I am enjoying US distance running, if actually FACTS come out I will readjust .

The retroactive gray zone banning is where the sports world will collapse. Actually facts will come out, and you will need to readjust.

Aktual Fax wrote:

Duh whar wrote:

Personally I am enjoying US distance running, if actually FACTS come out I will readjust .

The retroactive gray zone banning is where the sports world will collapse. Actually facts will come out, and you will need to readjust.

How can you have retroactive gray zone banning? Just my opinion, but it seems counter to the definition of a gray zone.

Duh whar wrote:

You seriously think if us distance runners are doping it is only NOP?

I get it\'s easy to hate on NOP but if NOP is doping then so is schumachers group. What about True\'s improvement ? True can run 13:02 out of nowhere but rupp dopes with a 12:58.

For the recode I think most top runners are in the gray but the either move the line or let it be.

Personally I am enjoying US distance running, if actually FACTS come out I will readjust .

rupp rides the short bus wrote:

I have zero problem with rojo fixating on rupp. To eliminate the evil, you have to cut off the head of the main snake.

Get rid of rupp and NOPe falls. NOPe falls and 95% of doping in the US distances stops. Who cares about a bunch of lazy and shiftless jamaican sprinters anyway?

True ran sub 4 mile when he was 15 lb heaver and his main sport was cross country skiing. He's progressed each year since shifting focus to running and last year ran 13:11. So 13:02 isn't out of nowhere.