Brojos are like tabloid "journalists" - Need to stop stalking Mark Block

Completely disagree with you.

If Brojos have done one thing right it's the block story.

Why does he avoid any and all interviews if there is nothing shady going on? His very prescence and behavior raises suspicion.

I think you're in the minority here.

My dollars vs your donuts that the OP has some connection to Block. Anyone want some of this action?

I'd never heard of Mark Block until that ridiculous front page when he turned up at the trials.

I couldn't care less about this story. That's just MY opinion of course, I know a lot of people do care and it's certainly worth talking about. But they're going way over the top with it.

Especially during the Olympics when there's is way more relevant things to be talking about.

This is Jason Richardson, 99% sure.

I concur that the Block story is the best thing that the Letsrun community has ever produced.

Please keep it coming.

Have the BroJos tried to reach a major news member about this or are they just hoping they'll see it on letsrun?

L0LTHIS wrote:

This is Jason Richardson, 99% sure.

Yo tap dance out my mentions, bro.

The main problem I have with the brojos is how inconsistent they are in their "anti-drug" crusade. Obsessing over Mark Block/Justin Gatlin but ignoring all of the INCREDIBLY suspicious Jamaican performances seems hypocritical and reeks of favoritism.

And don't tell me the brojos only trash proven druggies, they were all over Jacobs, Ramzi, and a host of Moroccans before they ever tested positive (and rightfully so). But 9.69, 9.58, 19.19, and 19.23? Move it along folks, nothing to see here!

2 US world champion hanging out with a guy banned by the USATF for supplying PEDs - I think that's a legitimate story, not tabloid journalism. That's more significant to me than speculation based on progressions of PR's and other indirect ways people try to show doping.

I would hate to see the US lose medals because of a doping violation or for a US athlete to test positive but the answer to that is to clean up the doping, not to be blind to the possibility.

I really wanted to believe in Lance Armstrong for a long time, but if he got where he did by doping, the truth is the truth and I want to know it, and the same for track athletes.

In this day of age when the line between journalism and opinion is largely grey it is hard for some of you to accept that while letsrun.com is a lot of things it does serve the purpose of a new service for the running and track & field community. That said it is completely in their right to investigate stories that they believe are not only relevant but might possibly involve criminal or unethical behavior on the part of high ranking stars in our sport.

If you need examples of times in history that major criminal activities have been broken by journalist then your a idiot who doesn't deserve to breath air.

I generally don't see it as a very interesting story, but with Jason Richardson getting pissy with the bros on twitter, maybe there is a little fire to go with the smoke.

I think they couldn't possibly talk about it enough. If a ten year ban given to a convicted doper really only means that they don't get credentials and meaningless stipends, whats even the point? That does nothing to really stop the problem or prevent it from happening in the future.

I don't know how anyone could say that 'this isn't important because its the olympics right now'. This is the olympics. Here are two athletes who could very easily bring home gold medals who have been frequently associating with a convicted cheater.

If a doping ban only means that he can't walk around in certain areas and wear a little nametag that says 'Coach' on it, then the process needs to be re-evaluated.

The Block story is very interesting and much of the concern is legitimate. I appreciate the earnest pursuit given by the Bros Jo to this and many other stories.

The problem is that the Bros Jo have a large platform but aren't legitimate journalists. A passionate pursuit for the story is one of the items in the journalists' toolbag. Other items include persistence, accuracy, insistence on learning and telling the full story, and also sometimes grammar and storytelling ability come in handy (which is why Gladwell, even when he has nothing important to say, is such a good journalist).

While the Bros Jo can be lauded for doing part of their job well, in the end it's poor execution that makes their reporting feel "tabloid."

gggg wrote:

I think you're in the minority here.

Do you have a problem with minorities?

It is a non story because Mark Block is still a stakeholder in the sport's management company he co-founded that represents track and field athlete. That company serves as agents for Carmelita Jeter, Jason Richardson and other professional track and field athletes. And guess what? The "ban" did not require Block to relinquish his stake in Total Sports Management.

So where is the story here again? Oh the story is about a meaningless, lightweight and ineffective ban that did not prohibit Mark Block from directly or indirectly continuing to profit from associations with track and field athletes. Now go and investigate Brojos.

hhhh wrote:

gggg wrote:

I think you're in the minority here.

Do you have a problem with minorities?

Where did I state it was a negative or that I had a problem?

Even if Block is not technically violating the ban, that doesn't make it a non-story.

Block has been found by USADA to have been a PED supplier. Sprinters benefit from PED's, and there is a history of doping by sprinters. If you are a sprinter hanging out with a former(?) supplier of PED's people are right to ask questions about it.

Going on about whether there is a technical violation of his ban if he's hanging out with sprinters is missing the point.

Who gives a shit about the ban. I think more people are concerned about 2 of our top athletes, 1 of which is already widely discussed as being a doper, associating with someone with proven doping ties.

It's obvious that he's still their agent. When Nike and shady people won't address your questions it's time to keep digging. I like this side of letsrun.