As you probably are aware, there has been a very popular thread on LetsRun.com the last few days centered on whether or not a UTPan-American athlete was or is on performance enhancing drugs. We were contacted by the coaches at UT-Pan America and asked to take down the thread (See their request below). After carefully considering the issue, we decided not to take down the thread (although it appears we may have accidentally deleted the thread in an earlier attempt to make an official statement).
We issued the following statement to the UT Pan American coaches about the rationale behind our decision not to remover the thread and now want offer it to the LetsRun.com visitors.
Additionally, we'd encourage anyone with information regarding this situation to contact us privately via email at
.
Our official statement:
Mr. Vaugh and Molnar,
Thank you for contacting us.
It is our general policy to not edit material on the message boards unless it has profane language. We encourage the free flow of debate.
Unfortunately, drugs are a part of track and field. There have been posts on the boards saying Paula Radcliffe must be on drugs because she is so fast. Posts have even been made about myself, Weldon Johnson (#4 in the 10k in
2001 in the US), saying that I must be on drugs because of my rapid improvement. But we realize that this comes with the territory of being at the top of the sport and we do not remove these posts.
The case in question here involves a collegiate runner and the use of drugs. We have not had to deal with such an issue before. But within the realm of the running world, Mr. Keating by his high placings in races is a prominent
public figure. By placing himself before the public he opens himself up to their scrutiny. All runners at the top of the sport are under the suspicion of drug use. Therefore, we have decided not to remove the posts at this
time.
In terms of libel and/or slander we are on firm legal ground. Since, Mr. Keating is a public figure he would have to prove that what was posted on our message boards we knew to be false. This certainly is not the case. We even in good faith contacted his former coach at UT-Austin on the matter, and he would not comment specifically on the matter only saying generically that Mr. Keating "was not a good fit for their program."
If, Mr. Keating or UT Pan American wants to issue an official statement on this matter generically or more specifically the medical problem in Furman last year to set the record straight we will gladly publish it.
I look forward to hearing from you. I will be on the road the next couple days, but if you want to convince me otherwise to remove the post you can try calling me at 928-***-****.
In the meantime, we will try and track down the person who posted the original thread and see if they would like to reveal themselves and will study requiring registration to post on our forums.
-Weldon Johnson
LetsRun.com
***Original letter from The UT Coaches***
Dear Sir:
It has come to our attention at the University of Texas - Pan American that your website Letsrun.com has a thread on its chat page and on its home page concerning Westly Keating and his alleged use of EPO. We strongly urge you to consider the ramifications of allowing such unsubstaniated rumors to run rampant on your web page. In the past, courts have upheld libel and slander suits against web pages for such activities. One such chatroom has decided to discontinue its thread on this issue because of the ludicrious and unsubstainal claims being made. We would hope that you would follow suit. We are strong believers in the freedom of speech; however, speech must be tempered in the truth. Should you have any concerns you can e-mail me or phone me at (865) ***-****. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Ricky Vaugh - Head Track Coach
Douglas J. Molnar
Track & Cross-Country Coach
University of Texas - Pan American