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QuikSand · 08-07-2006, 10:48 AM

The most convincing element of the "no, I'm clean" spin is usually the argument about passed tests. See also Armstrong, Lance and any number of others in similar situations (those either failing a test or being accued of doping). The whole argument relies on us, the ever-gullible public, believing the idea that tests catch cheaters. So, the accused athlete goes on record counting all the tests that failed to show a problem, and uses that as the central exhibit in the "I'm clean" defense. Landis is doing exactly this now, with a specific new spin -- since he tested negative in several earlier tests and then positive -- he's asking us to draw the conclusion that he was clean right up until that one stage, leading to a preposterous suggestion.

The weak underpinning beneath all this, however, is the entire belief in testing as being that effective. If, like many of us, you believe that the drug-makers are smarter, richer, and more motivated than the test-makers... and that drug users are able to pass tests regularly... then this whole argument won't hold water at all. It will, as usual, convince many (especially those who come in already sympathetic to the athlete) that he's really okay... but it's a logical argument built entirely upon a very suspect premise.

In my mind, the single most likely situation that explains everything is this: Landis is a cheater, just like nearly everyone in his sport. The successful cheaters routinely use some sort of tricky chemical or masking agent that allows them to usually pass tests. From time to time, the dope-masking stuff fails to do its job, and they get caught as their true doping nature is revealed. That's what heppened here. Maybe he did something different this particular night, maybe it really was (in a perverse twist on the various defensxes that have been offered up) the whiskey or the dehydration that caused the dope-mask to fail this time... but for whatever reason, he was exposed by a failed test for the doper that he is. Luckily for the guy who finished in second place, his dope-masking worked properly, and he will be awarded the title.

08-07-2006, 10:48 AM	#186
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	The most convincing element of the "no, I'm clean" spin is usually the argument about passed tests. See also Armstrong, Lance and any number of others in similar situations (those either failing a test or being accued of doping). The whole argument relies on us, the ever-gullible public, believing the idea that tests catch cheaters. So, the accused athlete goes on record counting all the tests that failed to show a problem, and uses that as the central exhibit in the "I'm clean" defense. Landis is doing exactly this now, with a specific new spin -- since he tested negative in several earlier tests and then positive -- he's asking us to draw the conclusion that he was clean right up until that one stage, leading to a preposterous suggestion. The weak underpinning beneath all this, however, is the entire belief in testing as being that effective. If, like many of us, you believe that the drug-makers are smarter, richer, and more motivated than the test-makers... and that drug users are able to pass tests regularly... then this whole argument won't hold water at all. It will, as usual, convince many (especially those who come in already sympathetic to the athlete) that he's really okay... but it's a logical argument built entirely upon a very suspect premise. In my mind, the single most likely situation that explains everything is this: Landis is a cheater, just like nearly everyone in his sport. The successful cheaters routinely use some sort of tricky chemical or masking agent that allows them to usually pass tests. From time to time, the dope-masking stuff fails to do its job, and they get caught as their true doping nature is revealed. That's what heppened here. Maybe he did something different this particular night, maybe it really was (in a perverse twist on the various defensxes that have been offered up) the whiskey or the dehydration that caused the dope-mask to fail this time... but for whatever reason, he was exposed by a failed test for the doper that he is. Luckily for the guy who finished in second place, his dope-masking worked properly, and he will be awarded the title.