That certainly does seem like an odd thread to be locked. I would like to know USAT's reasoning. Watching the tour is a reminder of how unprofessional tris are (and likely to stay that way for a long time to come). This sounds as lame as Heather Wurtele getting a DQ for using someone else's bike. USAT should be doing more to facilitate pro success rather than finding new and better ways to enforce the rules. Having a couple neutral support vehicles with nutrition, wheels and a couple spare bikes following both the lead men and women would be an easy start but I guess that is for another thread.

I like Bree. Anyone know anything more on her situation?

I've seen neutral support vehicles at quite a few races, and some had spare frames. That's a choice by the race director on how much neutral support they want to provide.

Probably a preemptive locking, I think some people view this more than a hobby but a career and to not have your paperwork in order for your career is pretty inexcusable and "unprofessional". So my guess it was locked before it slipped into a bashing thread.

Yeah maybe. But now it sounds like she had all of her stuff together and that USAT dropped the ball big time. Of course this is only her side of the story.

Now I'm more interested in why the thread was locked ;-)

I agree that USAT may have had some clerical issues, but if it's your mortgage and car payment on the line you should make sure your t's are crossed and your i's dotted. I'm even more interested why it was locked as well. Rappstar has done several races where she competed and maybe is avoiding weighing in. We only see the side of the athlete they want us to see, maybe there's another side.

Because no one who actually knows what happened was going to post on that thread - or this one - so I locked it before people started flying off on wild rants about what they think did - or did not happen. So, if you have some information, you may add it here, provided it's actually information. However, based on what you wrote in your follow up, I'm guessing it's not really information. FYI, I know what actually happened, but I don't think it's my place to speak on it. However, I'm using my best judgement to try and keep this from ending up into unwarranted rants directed at either party. Hope that makes sense.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

I am a proud member of USAT. I am an age grouper. I don't know Bree Wee personally but have enjoyed following her and seeing her race results. I do know that this year when I renewed my membership I didn't recieve my membership packet in a timely manner. I contacted USAT via email and was told the problem was corrected. Still didn't recieve my renewal packet. I emailed USAT membership the 2nd time and was again told I would be getting my packet soon. It took a 3rd email and approximately 60 days to finally get my packet with my membership card.

I guess my point is maybe USAT had similar issues with Bree's "paperwork".

But isn't that what we come here for?

according to her blog, they have no record of her having a pro card.

Rappstar, I understand where you're coming from, but this is a legit story about our sport. Something is askew, and while I'm under no illusions that i have some sort of right to knowledge, it is an interesting story relevant to our sport. All we have to go on now is what Bree is choosing to put up in her blog and from the sounds of it, it would make an interesting topic for ST to follow.


If she has been racing as a pro without a license for 4 years, how did USAT not catch that earlier and did she do something wrong? Steve Larson did it and changed our pro rules for good. If USAT lost all info on her, I think as USAT members we should be concerned and perhaps we do have some sort of right to an explanation from our governing body.


To me, this topic is a relevant story to triathlon that is well worthy of a discussion and/or a journalistic piece from the members of the triathlon press.


He didn't remember that and wondered how I even got into that pro race because he couldn't find a pro card for me, so I had to send him a photo of my Elite Card today. That was fun. Now he is curious how the information on the computer is showing that I didn't have one, when I do

I completely agree. If USAT or Bree Wee have something to add to represent their side of the story, they are free to do so. If the info presented here is definitively false and slanderous, then ST should either delete the hateful info and/or post a comment on what the facts are. That seems more reasonable than ending what could be an informative discussion or insight into the life on the mid-level pro athletes. Locking it without explanation (i.e. before Rappster's post) could lead to a more pathologic conclusion.

You are right that it's worthy of some investigation. And we are investigating. And it is a worthwhile story. However, somewhat like the Andrew Starykowicz story, it seemed to me best that such an investigation actually took place before we threw anyone - Bree, or USAT, or even Rev3 (who is basically totally innocent in all this) - to the wolves.

Bree has not, herself, been particularly forthcoming in all of this. That is - in my *opinion* - because the facts of what exactly happened are relatively simple, and I do not believe they reflect particularly well upon her. On none of her blog posts does she ever say, specifically, "this is what happened... A, B, C..." And I think it's fair to ask why. But that's not what I saw in the comments on her blog or on either thread.

I thought that while USAT is actually sorting that out, it was my *opinion* that we let them sort it out. And then, once they sort it out, we evaluate the whole affair.

I'm certainly fallible, and maybe I was wrong in this case to lock that thread, but that was my reasoning for doing so...

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

I agree. I think this is a story. If what Bree is saying is true, then it's a story, and if what Bree is saying isn't true, then it's a story, but for a different reason. How USAT handles pros is the business of it's members, many of us on ST are.

I would think that ST would have some interest in finding out from USAT what happened and reporting it. Or is Bree not a big enough name to warrant something. Of course if ST knows what happened and it is nothing like what Bree said, and they are just bitting their tongue to not embarrass her, that's their prerogative.

I also think if what Bree is saying is true and USAT had no record of her pro license, and her paperwork was in order (which I gotta guess it would be because she's raced this year) then they ought to reimburse her for her travel & lodging expenses.

It seemed plausible at the time when I locked it that USAT would have wrapped up the whole affair relatively quickly and that a definitive answer would be forthcoming. And since, due to the nature of the way this forum works, replying explaining why I was locking would have necessarily bumped the thread, I thought it best just to lock it and let it slide down because it seemed that we'd have a definitive answer on what happened. Ultimately, for a variety of reasons, that didn't happen. Sometimes we make bad decisions here. Locking that thread without reason turns out to have been one.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Perhaps for a different thread, but if you personally have facts, and you are employed by a triathlon media outlet, obviously you and ST can choose what you want to publish to for a variety of reasons, but how do you make that decision? Do you ever encounter people treating you differently because they know that you're part of a media group?

Knowing what happened and knowing *HOW* it happened are two different things. We were waiting until we knew how exactly what happened came to pass before writing about it. Trust me, we weren't ignoring it. It's just taking longer than we thought it might.

Since we're getting into needless speculation, the short answer is that her paperwork was most definitely NOT in order. And that gets to what is - perhaps - the bigger question, which is how did she race this year given that it wasn't. I would think it would behoove Bree to explain exactly what happened, though - as I said - I think she's avoiding doing so because it reflects much more poorly on her than on USAT. At least in my opinion. Bree did not have a valid pro license and so was not allowed to race. Given that it is the athlete's responsibility to ensure that they have that license, I fail to see how it's USAT's fault. However, there is - unfortunately - even more to the story than her simply not having a pro card. And that's the story we're trying to find out all the details on.

But USAT certainly should not be preparing to reimburse Bree for any expenses she incurred. The question at the moment is really do they suspend her for a year or not. And Charlie Crawford is still working on that. Which is why we haven't written a story on it. Yet.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Fair enough.

I sure hope things turn out well for her. I like Breezy very much and wish the best for her.

I think I answered this question in the post below, but let me know if I did not. Basically, our goal is to wait until we feel that we have a reasonably complete understanding of what happened. This story is a bit like the 3 Mile Island meltdown (only with far less serious consequences). A *lot* of little things went wrong that led to this happening. It wasn't a simply A-caused-B. It was A-and-B-and-C-and-D-and-E-and-F-caused-G. So, rather than just writing, "G happened," we're waiting until we can get a clear picture of A, B, C, D, etc. If it's a big story, we'll write it once we have that. If it's a smaller story, we will sometimes wait until we know what comes next. I.e., "...caused-G. And now H is going to happen."

As an example, when Andrew Starykowicz published his blog, we didn't write a story, because there was only one side of the story - his. Other media outlets chose to run with just that. But we did not. I can't think off hand of any story where we waited until we knew the conclusion, but I'm sure there are some. I'm just focused on some other stuff right now.

Further, when Andrew was in Abu Dhabi under "house arrest," we didn't write anything then - and actually deleted several threads - because we were worried that such article or threads might hurt his chances of getting out of Abu Dhabi. Now, there's obviously no equivalent danger here, but at the same time, it seemed prudent - though perhaps it was not - to lock the original thread until a clearer picture emerged.

Anyway...

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Interesting. So, if Lance gets no slack, and must follow the rules to a Tee, this shall be interesting to see what USAT does. Charlie is a person that follows the rules, period. So, if she has raced in Elite w/o the proper paper work, seems like there is nothing USAT can do but do a suspension? I know at WF it was made very clear to some of the elites that depending on what division they raced in, they would be suspended, so they changed what they were going to do.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

If she raced as a pro this year and won money, would she have to disgorge any winnings back to the events? Is this an issue for 2012 season or is there speculation that this might be an issue from other seasons as well?

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"That is - in my *opinion* - because the facts of what exactly happened are relatively simple, and I do not believe they reflect particularly well upon her."

I suspect you've learned that there is a difference between a fair taking to task of someone and what will probably amount to a thrashing behind the woodshed that typically happens around these parts where any sense of decorum gets left at the back door. I don't think I agree with shutting down the thread, but I can respect the thought process that produced the action. I saw the thread and immediately saw the train wreck coming.

I don't have a clue what the specifics really are, but if the parts I've been able to piece together from her blog, FB, and a couple of other places I read are true, I suspect the story ought to inform a bit on some larger issues we have a habit of hashing and rehashing.

USAT has not enforced any rules prohibiting Lance whatsoever in being involved in Tri, so this is a terribly poor comparison.

My comment was relative to the larger question of governing bodies. I did not say anything about USAT and Lance. If WTC is following the rules to a tee on Lance, and the USADA is following the rules to a tee
on Lance, I was just saying then maybe all rules from all governing bodies need to follow the rules to a tee no matter who the person is, right?

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

thanks. Your explanation is good enough for me. I look forward to reading the story about what happened after it is all resolved or whenever you see fit to post it. As I said, I think USAT members have a right to know what is going on with USAT and pros.

And as I said before, IF USAT is shown to be in error, then and I think USAT owes Bree some cash for her travel/lodging. The big question is IF, which to the masses seems possible, given that only one side of the story has been shared.