"And the kids now were playing a ferocious game of football. No boots to be seen and the ball looked like it was an orange. It looked like that because it was."

Laughed out loud at that.

hi, MDD -

the reason i thought that the side-tracks about elvis, polanski, lewis et al were bs is because they seemed intent on spending a lot of energy turning some very practical and straightforward questions into very abstract ones.

is it wrong to buy elvis' records or watch polanski's films? does that make us complicit in their crimes? does buying an elvis record mean you forfeit the right to be incensed about paedophilia? these are absurd questions in this context.

the question was (rightly) asked whether appearances that sutton still works (or tries to work with children) are in fact accurate. i think many of the people reading/contributing to this thread want that specific question addressed. insofar as their feelings about elvis obfuscate those questions, they're a waste of time.

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Absolutely a wast of time!!! Especially when you consider that neither Elvis nor Polanski were ever seen near young females after the time of their original crimes!

More seriously, Sutton should not put himself in a position of authority and trust with kids in a sporting context. Alex Bok said Sutton hasn't been in such a position, so I'll take him at his word for that, unless contrary information comes along. But Bok should come on this board and explain what that photograph signifies, or doesn't signify, and why he thought it wouldn't resurrect ugly questions about him and Sutton.

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Joe

i don't have time to read this thread, but i LOVE this line: "He hurled the carton of eggs at the wall, and the one that didn’t crack became Chrissie Wellington."



That is all

Tim

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Tim

I have a long email with Alex explaining the junior program in detail in my inbox. The basic gist is this - yes, TBB has a junior program. No, TBB does not intend for Brett to have any hands-on role with the junior athletes.

I don't really have the time or interest in writing more. My apologies if that's not good enough for you.

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

"Hands-on role" is perhaps not the best choice of words...

Whether or not it's good enough for me is irrelevant. Just like your forgiveness of Sutton is irrelevant to whether or not he should be flouting Australia's coaching ban, or whether he should be using his coaching role to associate with children. And you should be apologizing not to me, but to those who look to you and Slowtwitch as leaders in the triathlon industry.

But I get it...Sutton is the goose that's laying golden triathletes, and god knows we shouldn't ask uncomfortable questions of him. Especially if it might offend the sponsors who also advertise on ST. Especially if it might tarnish some of the top names in triathlon who choose to be coached by him.

I get the challenge of asking hard questions of heroes, even when there are all sorts of icky situations that keep surfacing. Now I understand why people criticized Dan for burying his head in the sand about Lance, and I'm embarrassed for not realizing at the time what a big ostrich moment that was for Slowtwitch. So here we go again.

And really... a complimentary twitter from Brett and a rambling email from the team owner is enough for you to brush your hands and say, "All is well, nothing to see here, move along"? It's shameful, really, and a sordid reflection on our sport that the wagons are circled so quickly to protect the famous and powerful from simple questions. The man operates in a public forum and exploits the public media, but yet you act as if he's beyond questioning by that very public. Shameful.

And as for you having neither the time nor the inclination to explain yourself to those who read your journalism and then have the audacity to question the way you write it: Yes sir, Colonel Jessup! We hear your "F-off" loud and clear.

Mike,

Thanks for the response. I know why I asked the question and the intent certainly was not to turn things to the "abstract". Your second paragraph shows how you interpreted the questions and subsequent answers. I have to admit that most of your questions in that paragraph show we are coming at it from different perspectives. It is a useful data point for me in terms of evaluating your responses.

On your last point I'm not sure the fact the thread took a turn you didn't appreciate means people were discounting the validity of the questions you asked or saying that they shouldn't be answered. It just so happens that this is a thread on a forum where we all think our own issues are the most important and BS is a very polarizing topic with many aspects. I think our fundamental difference is that I don't think anyone's thoughts/questions are a waste of time - if I thought that I couldn't ever post again and be intellectually consistent with the world view I hold. Jordan may hate this theft but the world is too gray to me to be that black or white.

I'm glad you directed us all back to this question as it is one we should discuss. I look forward to the (rest of) the responses.

Thanks
MDD

Btw Joe I suspect from your only joking you are trying to cause trouble but can never tell. If not Maybe look up Polanski and Charlotte Lewis.

And then someone may ask, why were you buying a 16-year-old drinks.

Geniuses fascinate me. Bobby Fischer, for instance. I think once you get past a certain point into true genius (which I think Sutton is), that comes with all sort of character issues. Hughes is another example. I think those that are truly brilliant and immensely excel in one area that is not "bound" to the same limits as other people also carry that same lack of boundaries in other areas.

thanks, MDD - fair points all. i was mistaken to assume that the time and energy to discuss things on ST is finite - it's not a zero-sum game in which talking about one thing makes us incapable of talking about another. i guess i get impatient when it feels like the 'central' questions aren't being answered.

best,
-mike

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____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Are you in a round about way calling me a genius?

If so, can I forward this to my wife? ;-)

Mike,
Beverages on me when we meet and you humiliate me on the field.
Not sure of your race schedule or how PM works here but you have my respect.
MDD

Jordan,

I know time is at a premium. Any chance you can email Alex and ask for an ok to repost his email? Then ctrl-x and ctrl-v and not much time on your end plus transparency so rest of the forum can evaluate and decide where they are in terms of "shades of grey".

If Alex says no also a very useful data point.
MDD

It's interesting, I almost get the feeling that now alot of this stuff is in the open, some people simply want to kinda move on and not deal with anything. Sorta like they don't want to be in support but they don't want to really make any negative comments. It's kinda as if all is good because technically BS isn't "coaching" juniors directly. So the chance that he meets/interacts with juniors in an Tri setting, seems to be kinda shrugged aside.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
http://www.aomultisport.com