If ST has a moral compass this thread should get sticky'ed.

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Sure but there is one problem,he and his cronies are misogynistic pigs.
I'm sure they will enjoy the view of the women in their tri suits.

Dammit- there always has to be something... Sigh.

Absolutely disgusted.

http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/6173

Not sure if it was posted, but this link talks about the allegations of bodyguards roughing up protesters at Berlin 70.3.

Be careful out there.

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Go Cyclones! In Hoc Signo Vinces. Twitter @Cise_Smash

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Based on their arrival at the expo yesterday, and the completely biased treatment they received, I won't be shocked at all to see a Bahrain train led by a freaking motorbike. Where I do agree the WTC should have told these guys where to go rather than let them race, I also have to side with Dev and say when they landed in the US their passports should have been chucked at them and been told to kindly get the F out.

I'm curious as to how many folks racing IMFL will refuse to race to protest the prince's inclusion. Or how many people will boycott further WTC events because of this.

Is anyone on here going on about how "the WTC should do something!" actually willing to do anything themselves?

I'm not up to date on how much of a POS this guy is, but I do take exception with special treatment. Can he have bodyguard officially enter the race and compete in all portions and race along with him. Yes, I think that's reasonable. But anything more than that is rediculous and will be a distraction if not a downright dangerous situation.

I find it interesting that he feels potentially safer doing a race in the US instead of Europe or Africa. Probably true. Probably less protests since few Americans know who the hell he is.

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TrainingBible Coaching
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Brian....I don't like these guys for what they have done, but I don't see where a US based business should get sucked into international politics when clearly your government in Washington has decided to grant them a tourist Visa. The big problem is your government granting these guys the right to even enter the US. Now WTC gets sucked into the mess. If WTC is making special provisions to accomodate these guys (entourage etc), then as an athlete, I have a beef with this for sure, but I'd like our sport to be about athletics once our governments and international bodies have allowed these guys free access. It's not really the job of WTC.

There are a lot of bad things happening in the world, in the US and in my home in Canada by international bad guys and by local bad guys. Where does WTC draw the line? Whenever someone shouts that a bad guy is doing their event? I am sure out of the 2500 folks doing IM Florida (or any IM), people have done things that have transgressed the law or not passed our moral standards.

Also keep in mind that there are a ton of US based businesses doing lots of good revenue exporting to/doing business in Bahrain. Why does WTC have to get singled out from all those other companies.

Now if WTC decided to step up and do something and ban these guys from their "races", then although they are providing a moral high ground, I think it is a slippery slope or which bad guys to let in versus not let in. Banning Lance is fine because he did bad things in the sporting arena, and WTC should really be concerned with sport, not international politics (although in a perfect world we'd like them to be coupled to our advantage, but if you had any friends that missed their dreams due to the Moscow Olympic boycott, you know the flip side of using sporting participation to make political statements...and that was done by government....not a totally privately held company).

Dev

Bib #'s 1253 and 1254 for these 2 scumballs.

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Not a DQ if those who help are also racing. It's "outside" assistance that gets a DQ.

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Dev, have you read the allegations?

The brothers are specifically known for their torture of pro-democracy athletes. One of the articles that someone posted cited one of the brother's twitter accounts from a while back, where he stated that he though pro-democracy athletes should spend the rest of their life in jail.

Those are horrible actions, in the world of "sports." There are also allegations about their handlers having conflicts with protestors in Berlin at the 70.3 IM there (see one of my earlier posts).

Don't see how this doesn't qualify.

These guys are in my AG (no wonder I couldn't find them on athlinks!), so in the chance I see them, I'll be sure to offer them some American spirit.

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@adamwfurlong

The big problem is your government granting these guys the right to even enter the US.

• Agree w/ you 1000%, but given the fact that they're already here, there are things that can be done to show them they're not welcome.

Where does WTC draw the line?

• You or me or WTC draws the line, wherever they're moral compass sits. Apparently yours & mine are different. If these (2) princes walked into the PBN store AND I knew what they did...I would not-so-kindly show them the door. What I wouldn't do is pose for a picture w/ them & then tweet it out to our followers. Conversely, WTC not only accommodates them, but sees it as a photo op & tweets that photo w/ their CEO. If a rapist, murderer, etc... walked through our doors, I'd do the same.

Also keep in mind that there are a ton of US based businesses doing lots of good revenue exporting to/doing business in Bahrain. Why does WTC have to get singled out from all those other companies.

• Because I am involved (both personally & professionally) with the sport of triathlon & like it or not, Ironman is the biggest fish in our pond. Therefore, where they do something as egregious as embrace human rights criminals at one of their premier US-based events, I also have the right to call them out on it.

Of course I don't expect WTC to police their entry lists....no more than I would expect me/PBN to be aware that someone who orders from us is a convicted murderer, BUT...if it's brought to their attention & they still proceed in such a manner, THAT is what I find repulsive.


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Brian Shea
http://www.PersonalBestNutrition.com
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How so? As much as I love this country, we aren't exactly a shining example of morality. Our government and many of the large corporations here have been behind bigger atrocities.

Then again we love a good scapegoat.

The only outrage should be from this idiot receiving assistance/pacing throughout the race.

Also remember the US 5th Fleet (Central Command) is based in Bahrain so it would not be prudent of the government to block his travels. That would make for some messy politics even though I agree this guy is a scum bag.

Personal and corporate responsibility is apparently a foreign concept to you.

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My issue is largely with Washington DC officials putting WTC in this position in he first place. Yes, WTC should not be posting pictures and tweeting, just like your business or my business should not be doing so in the event that we find out after they have paid that international rogues bought our services. I am sure these guys are also riding non Bahraini bike and wetsuits and those companies did not realize they sold to rogues. Again, the issue is largely one of Washington letting this happen in the first place. Now WTC folks don't need to promote that these guys got into their race, nor give them special treatment. Do they need to kick them out of IMFLA? Well, it would just be better if the US government did that, not WTC.

Really? So corporations don't operate for personal gains. Oh ok.

He bought 6 bikes right in front of me. Made my purchase of a co2 canister seem sort of small, they were all high end, which made me think someone might be riding with him.
Mitch

I agree with you more than those who are demanding that these two get booted from the event. After watching the "Arab Spring" devolve into a clear case of Islamic power grabs, the politics behind what happened in Bahrain is much more complicated than most Americans are capable of understanding. Also, everyone is treating the linked letter like it was written in a court of law, which it was not. One of the tools used by insurrectionists is misinformation and lies told to media who are too stupid to check on the validity of the information. Is this one of those cases? I don't know, but I bet no one else in this forum knows either. For that matter, many of the people who lived through the Arab Spring episodes did not realize who was behind those changes and what they were all about until it was too late, and they surplanted one dictator for another worse than the first.

The average annual income of people participating in Ironman races just got higher by a few zeros. When it is reported on how much we make on average, women will go crazy over single Ironman triathletes.

Yay, go TEAM! :)

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My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

First thing I thought of as well. This is one of the USs Allies. Seems increasingly often, being a good American, means having zero moral compass.

Corporate social responsibility is a big deal to many companies and they take on a lot of costs that they are not legally required to. WTC clearly is not one of those companies.

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Maybe if they get presented at the athletes dinner, Starky can have a good chat to them about imprisonment and human rights?