Robert, Weldon ... will you go get me a Coke?

He's like the frat brother that tries so damn hard to be the most hardcore on the pledges. Terribly over the line. Always. Does he not remind some people of a member of Super Troopers? He's like a muscular, slimmed down, spandexed version of Farva...so not like Farva at all, but you get the point. Possibly asking Gay and Spearmon for a liter of coke? I can imagine him saying, "I got you good, rook, you f***er!"

Capel [eager]: Hey, Allen, get it? CapJohn Relay?

Johnson [frustrated]: Yeah, John, I get it.

Capel: Say it! Say it, Allen!

Johnson: CapJohn Relay.

Capel: Sounds awesome, doesn't it?

Johnson: Cut the crap, John, and finish your damn coke.

I am older than you and by virtue of your logic that means it is "good for me" to ask you two clowns to get me a soda. After all, I've earned that kind of service, I'm older than you!

While you are at it, make me a sandwich.

Seriously, maybe you guys don't write very well without really trying. As in you need a little more time than you are typically taking. Judging from how bad the front page spelling , grammar, apostrophes and plurals are that might be the case. Or maybe you just don't care. Or maybe you really are just poor writers and couldn't be better even if you made the effort.

But seriously, why is it "good" to ask another athlete (or any person outside of a waiter) to go get you a soda? You seem to be saying that the accomplished and experienced athletes DESERVE to be served. I don't see how anyone could have such an unenlightened viewpoint.

John Capel's comments reenforced my overall negative view of the way he seems to operate. If I earned my way to the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS and somebody started acting like he could tell me what to do I'd tell him to go pound sand. Gay and Spearmon, if that's who were actually involved, are adults and had every right to not take him seriously.

Capel's comments to the media afterwards showed a lack of class as well. That combined with his pot suspension make him look pretty silly as a person. I guarantee that I've been through more hazing than Capel ever did for an SEC football team, by the way, and still don't think he had any right to try something -- minor incident or not.

dont think kluft would've done the same.

j

Darkness, I read your post and had to go back and read the comments by Wejo again. I don't see the problem with them explaining the quote of the day. They are just summarizing a news article. I don't see how their comment makes you think they believe it was right for Capel to do what he did. I too think Capel was way out of line and wonder who the "kids" really are? Everyone involved had a right to be there by virtue of qualifying regardless of their age. As for the reporting of the incident, well I wasn't there and don't know what happened and how far all of this went but if it were me, I don't think I would have reported it. Like I said though, I wasn't there, so it's hard for me to say.

man, heres hoping these "kids" take the has been to the cleaners!

Wait five years. Capel will be a broken down crackhead, hanging around outside the armory, waiting to race high school kids for five bucks and their league championship medals. Wouldn't it be great to have a world class track and field athlete from this country that was actually a great role model??

ray wrote:

Wouldn't it be great to have a world class track and field athlete from this country that was actually a great role model??

You could do a lot worse than Allen Johnson - a class act from the get-go.

I'm thinking that there's probably a lot more hazing stuff involved than the "get me a Coke" incident. Furthermore, during an international competition, talking about a fellow teammate like that is crap. All of that petty bullshit makes the team look bad as a whole, and some might say that it reflects bad on the country they represent as well.

Weldon, Robert, et al: It is the middle of The World Athletics Championships - the most important meet of the year, full of great competition and drama - and you guys make something so trivial and irrelevant the quote of the day?

"Piss boy, bring me the piss bucket!"

I couldnt agree more...If it wasnt any big deal why did one member of the team a veteran refuse to partcipate..?...because it was wrong whatever they were doing..its a competition and Capel was trying to intimidate...There is more to this then whats coming out...One day here in the States the governing bodies will get sick of steroid heads, dopers..and other attitudes and just kick these primadonas off the national teams..we dont need it

Old Man By The Sea wrote:

its a competition and Capel was trying to intimidate...

exactly right. those "veterans" are insecure in their status as veterans. trying to put the young guns "in their place" is just mind games. capel needs to remember that the only reason he's there is because of what he did two years ago.

I believe the problem was that Capel didn't ask for the them to "get me a Coke" but rather he asked for the them to "get me some coke".

Here is what I read on the home page of Letsrun:

###

'Hazing' Incident at Worlds?

In today's PC world, 'hazing' seems to always be a bad thing. USATF CEO Craig Masback says USATF is 'treating this seriously'. We say if Allen Johnson and John Capel asked some younger sprinters to get them some sodas, good for them and this shouldn't even be classified as an initiation.

###

I assumed that Robert or Weldon wrote it. As the founders and owners and editors they both have responsibility for what is put up there by anyone besides message board posters. The part that bothered me was, "We say if Allen Johnson and John Capel asked some younger sprinters to get them some sodas, good for them ..."

I say that asking someone to fetch you something is degrading and intimidating to them. Unless you are friends and you ask them to grab your spikes or something it is wrong and counterproductive to why these athletes are there. It is not a big deal, but it is wrong.

What is a big deal to me is TWO grown men involved in track and field at a high level reading this story and saying, "We say if Allen Johnson and John Capel asked some younger sprinters to get them some sodas, good for them ..."

There is nothing "good" about this ... except for the two lazy aggressive bastards that might not have had to get up off their pampered sprinters chairs to get a pop.

Capel said, "It was more a matter of respect." I agree, it was a way to show some of the runners that these two (if indeed Johnson AND Capel were involved) older runners were somehow OWED special treatment by the younger ones. He said clearly that Justin Gatlin was spared because he was Olympic Champ.

I don't think this really amounts to "hazing" per se, but it is rude and childish. I think they are all pretty tough guys and should have handled it differently, that is more quietly.

However, I will always think it amazing that anyone thinks this could be "good" in any way ... and I am still waiting for my sandwich and soda. Seriously, does the Johnson's dad make them fetch him things because he is older and more accomplished?

I also agree with the poster who said this should NOT be the Quote of the Day. I was amused that it was up there, but also alarmed as it was a joke that I thought would be quickly deleted.

darkness wrote:

Seriously, maybe you guys don't write very well without really trying. As in you need a little more time than you are typically taking. Judging from how bad the front page spelling , grammar, apostrophes and plurals are that might be the case. Or maybe you just don't care. Or maybe you really are just poor writers and couldn't be better even if you made the effort.

Spelling and grammar can often be improved with work, but what about major comprehension deficits?

"In today's PC world, 'hazing' seems to always be a bad thing."

Whoever wrote this seems to think that "hazing" is one of those terms that has been politically co-opted for demonization in the manner of "elitist" or "liberal." However, hazing by definition is not a benign activity, and political correctness has nothing to do with it. For those of you confused about this, imagine someone writing "In today's PC world, calling African-Americans 'jungle bunnies' seems to always be a bad thing" and you'll understand.

Whether or not Capel was involved in "hazing" is irrelevant. This isn't newsworthy. Man-boy U.S. sprinters are always stirring up this sort of AD/HD, cock-of-the-walk nonsense. Letsrun would do its readers a service by covering the sprint results but avoiding buying into any of the sideshows.

this is not hazing, he asked them to get some sodas, he didn't blindfold them and drop them off in a field 20 miles outside helsinki and make them walk back.

Hazing is an initiation into a group or team situation. man I hope they are hazing those bitches after this. Suck it up and join the track team, don't be a bitch and run for yourself.

Whoever wrote this seems to think that "hazing" is one of those terms that has been politically co-opted for demonization in the manner of "elitist" or "liberal." However, hazing by definition is not a benign activity, and political correctness has nothing to do with it. For those of you confused about this, imagine someone writing "In today's PC world, calling African-Americans 'jungle bunnies' seems to always be a bad thing" and you'll understand.

When I was a freshman in highschool, I had was treated in a certain way. I had to carry the bags of the upper classmen on the team, sit on the back of the vans, etc. These form of 'hazing' in my opinion were benign activities. By the time I was a senior even this form of 'hazing' (carrying the bags) was outlawed by the school because 'hazing', 'initiation' whatever you want to call it was prohibitied.

Mild forms of initiation rituals are fine with me. Having someone get you a coke, would fall into this category.

Hey Darkness,

Get off of the grammar lesson ACE. Some of the most successful people in the world share the shortcomming of not being able to spell. Couple that with the fact that quick retorts on a thread aren't worthy of being proofed. So your diatribe on grammer is almost worthy enough of being flushed down the nearest toilet.