Jenny Simpson's account of how testing works is troubling

Agree. Something's not right here. The article says two of Coleman's tests were filing failures because the misses came outside the one-hour window. That doesn't make sense.I thought a filing failure was only for not being where you said you would be during the one-hour period. They don't expect you to update your whereabouts for every hour of the day.

Let's say that you have a job where you need to travel frequently. Think right now about your exact whereabouts for the next three months, to the hour. You must anticipate exactly what they will be and immediately correct and update them if they change in every way. Be sure to look constantly at that schedule before you, say, go to visit your mother nearby, go shopping, or do anything on the spur of the moment. Never deviate from your schedule, lest you be fired from your job (that is, suspended), and forever labeled a cheater. Admit it: it's a big expectation and makes it pretty unpleasant to be a professional track and field athlete.

zxcvzcxv wrote:

Let's say that you have a job where you need to travel frequently. Think right now about your exact whereabouts for the next three months, to the hour. You must anticipate exactly what they will be and immediately correct and update them if they change in every way. Be sure to look constantly at that schedule before you, say, go to visit your mother nearby, go shopping, or do anything on the spur of the moment. Never deviate from your schedule, lest you be fired from your job (that is, suspended), and forever labeled a cheater. Admit it: it's a big expectation and makes it pretty unpleasant to be a professional track and field athlete.

Well, we just heard from an actual professional track and field athlete who disagrees with you, so I'm going to go ahead and give her opinion a bit more weight.

After reading the article, I'm slightly more inclined to believe that CC is just an irresponsible dolt, but I'll still go with >50% that he's a doper too.

You realize you can update your whereabouts, right? They have an app.

The USADA website even has videos explaining how to update your whereabouts on their Update USADA App. It’s explained so simply, a kindergartner could do it.

Jenny’s hot take reminds me too much of my wife. Anytime I forget to add the laundry detergent first, even when I do it correctly 99% of the time, I get labeled either an idiot, lazy, or careless.

The 3 strike thing is arbitrary and there’s no reason to make such irrational jumps to conclusions.

Jenny Simpson:

**sees one missed test**: acceptable. These things happen.

**sees two missed tests**: nobody’s perfect.

**sees three missed tests**: “WHAAAA????? Cheater!!!!! Or else a big, dumb idiot!!!”

We don’t know who the people are with 2 or two missed tests, but USADA provides a grace period of allowing it because the system must be more complicated than Jenny is making it seem.

Ask yourself, if your opinion of Coleman changed based on this news which USADA itself has thrown out, would you have the same change of heart on an athlete like Jenny if she had 2 missed tests that were never publicized?

zxcvzcxv wrote:

Let's say that you have a job where you need to travel frequently. Think right now about your exact whereabouts for the next three months, to the hour. You must anticipate exactly what they will be and immediately correct and update them if they change in every way. Be sure to look constantly at that schedule before you, say, go to visit your mother nearby, go shopping, or do anything on the spur of the moment. Never deviate from your schedule, lest you be fired from your job (that is, suspended), and forever labeled a cheater. Admit it: it's a big expectation and makes it pretty unpleasant to be a professional track and field athlete.

I agree. I think it's actually harder than Jenny thinks to be on top of it all. Some people are not so naturally organized or disciplined, especially when young. I think it would be simple if you were in the middle of a training cycle and living a monastic life, but what about during buildups or downtime?

Do athletes like Rupp and Shalane who have not raced for over a year still obligated to state their whereabouts every week? Can you update it on a daily basis? So you can change weekend plans on a Thursday or Friday?

How's that reaction that surprising? You are a professional athlete. You just missed two tests and if you miss three you'll get suspended. You'd think that - as she said in the article - you'd be more careful especially after the second strike. The step from zero to one and one to two are not the same as from two to three. His life is depending on not missing three tests and yet he seemingly did not take additional precautions. Ergo he is either a cheater or an idiot.

Yeah, how the rule is stated and how it’s used seem to be two very different things. It seems in practice they use it to test just outside the window. But it sounds like there’s nothing stopping a tester from trying to find you at any time of the day, wherever they think you should be, and giving you a whereabouts failure if they can’t find you. It doesn’t sound like they ever actually DO this, but it comes down to the tester’s judgement, which is a crazy large thing to have at the whim of a human.

Big Simpson fan, and I really appreciate that she explained the system. But her description actually makes me more willing to believe that someone could miss multiple tests by accident.

I always thought the system was: you MUST be available 1 hour per day, and any other time if the testers can find you, you must submit to a test. That’s a big commitment, but totally worth it for what it does do clean sport.

But it appears you are responsible for being able to be found at *all* hours of the day. If that’s the case, that’s too much even for me.

BornAnAxolotl wrote:

The step from zero to one and one to two are not the same as from two to three. His life is depending on not missing three tests and yet he seemingly did not take additional precautions.

Yes, you nailed it there.

I still remember when I got my first of three allowed strikes on my driver's license. Until then I felt invincible. I would speed a lot, staying just below the limit where one violation would be enough to take my license on the spot. And I thought "Well, if I get one strike out of three, so be it. There is no way I can ever get 3 before the first strike expires."

Then I got my first strike. And suddenly, the hypothetical situation of getting 3 strikes started feeling very real. It was as if there was no way I would be able to avoid getting two more strikes before the first strike expired. I immediately began obeying speed limits - while at the same cursing at myself to be this easy to manipulate into obedience. And my job doesn't even depend on me having a driver's license!

I know this is very off topic to drug testing. But the three strikes principle is the same. And as opposed to my situation, this athlete's job depends on him not getting three strikes. I can't imagine how two strikes can't be considered a serious wakeup call.

automorphic wrote:

It sounds ridiculous. Why would the testers have the right to tell you where you must be at all hours of the day? I must be missing something because it doesn't sounds like this ever actually happens in practice.

As long as you're a white person, this won't be any problem

reer wrote:

Well, we just heard from an actual professional track and field athlete who disagrees with you, so I'm going to go ahead and give her opinion a bit more weight.

Indeed, a person who appears to have inside information of how the system really works.

It's almost like she's running the system herself.

Lenny Leonard wrote:

Jenny’s hot take reminds me too much of my wife. Anytime I forget to add the laundry detergent first, even when I do it correctly 99% of the time, I get labeled either an idiot, lazy, or careless.

We don’t know who the people are with 2 or two missed tests, but USADA provides a grace period of allowing it because the system must be more complicated than Jenny is making it seem.

Ask yourself, if your opinion of Coleman changed based on this news which USADA itself has thrown out, would you have the same change of heart on an athlete like Jenny if she had 2 missed tests that were never publicized?

You summed up the whole issue quite well.

Alternative explanation:

Simpson is not a party-girl/night owl, is married and knows that she will be sleeping in her own bed with her husband every night unless she is traveling. She has her mandatory hour as 6-7am.

Coleman is a young stud and maybe also has registered a 6-7am mandatory time window at his normal residence. But, he goes out to a bar and meets a willing young lady, stays at her place and forgets to update his USADA app.

I’m pretty naive as to how doping works but I have a couple of points/questions.

1. If the testers show up outside of the window I would argue that it should neither be a missed test nor a filing failure. Who can prove definitively at this point that the athlete wasn’t available where and when they were supposed to be? Sounds like a failing on the part of the testers.

2. Could the late arrivals be an attempt to catch people doping? For instance an athlete may think “oh whew my window is over for today, time for my injection.” I’m not sure if drugs work this way but it might explain why someone wouldn’t answer the door after the window closes and just take a filing failure rather than risk a positive test.

young stud wrote:

Alternative explanation:

Simpson is not a party-girl/night owl, is married and knows that she will be sleeping in her own bed with her husband every night unless she is traveling. She has her mandatory hour as 6-7am.

Coleman is a young stud and maybe also has registered a 6-7am mandatory time window at his normal residence. But, he goes out to a bar and meets a willing young lady, stays at her place and forgets to update his USADA app.

Huh? Not when he's in training he won't be doing that. This isn't some irresponsible HS or college kid.

I don’t understand why it’s an athlete’s fault, or they are sanctioned, if testers show up outside the agreed-upon window and the athlete isn’t there.

Right to the centre of the problem,well done.

Pity rojo can’t spot this.

The WADA CODE, is not at all clear if an athlete is not at a training location you have said then is this a missed test( not the one hour rule)0r a filing failure or neither.

All this sort of relates to that hurdler they banned for going to the White House.

What then is a filing failure.

I think that’s kind of uncalled for Jeff.

Let’s keep this thread focused on the matter at hand: dirty (or clean) athletes and the system. Don’t make it political when it’s not.

Mikeh33 wrote:

I don’t understand why it’s an athlete’s fault, or they are sanctioned, if testers show up outside the agreed-upon window and the athlete isn’t there.

You are fully correct.

The WADA Code is not at all clear.And the Usada site just makes ref to the WADA Code.

If not being there for a training session has the same outcome at not being there for a one hour why have a one hour rule.

Is is that a deliberate filing failure or gross incomptance causes a filing failure but an accidental one ( car breakdown on way to training) does not ,then who decides? Or what if the athlete goes to the venue but it is closed ?

An other thought, what if the employer refuses to allow a tester on to a work site , police ,soldier or doctor etc ( again not one hour) or the employee is sent off site?