Bullseye wrote:
...And All This Guilt Will Be On Your Head wrote:
Whether it was an intended consequence or not, by committing suicide Frank found a way to control the narrative from beyond the grave. His repeated, long-term cheating is an irrefutable fact supported by mounds of documentary, photographic, and video evidence, yet in every mainstream news article that cheating is "alleged," "supposed," or it's an "accusation," and Frank is painted as a sort of martyr who was cheated out of his rightful achievements by some amorphous online mob. Most of those msm articles are spectacularly unbalanced and lacking in basic research, and anyone without a background in running who reads them would be led to believe Frank was a world-class age grouper unjustly hounded to his demise.
I am certain it was an intended consequence. I am sure that Frank was aware that by taking his life, he would turn himself into the victim and his "accusers" into the bullies. The letsrun.com forum would still be roiling with fire directed toward Frank if he had not taken his life, but his death has largely put an end to that. There's no point in beating a dead horse. Even Derek, stalwart champion of fairness in running events great and small, seems to be doing some soul searching. Whether or not that was the main driver behind his suicide, I cannot say, but it would be naive to think that Frank was not aware that this would be one of the consequences of his death.
Eventually, someone besides a mainstream news reporter, will take a deep dive into this story and the full extent of his cheating will come out. Might even be as much as a book, but if not a book a lengthy article in a magazine with some extensive research behind it.