“I’ve never committed a doping offense.” Those are the words of Alberto Contador in his prepared statement. He also said, "“Last year, I always practiced in a clean manner, with courage, work, resignation, and a large dose of hope.”
Because the statement was prepared, I am assuming that he thought about these words carefully before speaking rather than making an impulsive remark or an inadvertent ambiguous remark. So I am interpreting the plain meaning of his statement.
Is “I’ve never committed a doping offense” the same as “I have never doped?” I don’t think so. Is modifying a statement with “Last year” the same as “Every year?” Again, I don’t think so. And because of that, it only raises more suspicion in my eyes.
And because of that, it only raises more suspicion in my eyes.
And because of this he is going loose a lot of sleep
How do you “loose” a lot of sleep? For those illiterate folks out there, “loose” in the verb form is defined by Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as:
Main Entry: 2loose
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): loosed; loos·ing
transitive verb
1 a : to let loose : RELEASE b : to free from restraint
2 : to make loose : UNTIE
3 : to cast loose : DETACH
4 : to let fly : DISCHARGE
5 : to make less rigid, tight, or strict : RELAX
intransitive verb : to let fly a missile (as an arrow) : FIRE
and as an adjective:
Main Entry: 1loose
Pronunciation: 'lüs
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): loos·er; loos·est
Etymology: Middle English lous, from Old Norse lauss; akin to Old High German lOs loose – more at -LESS 1 a: not rigidly fastened or securely attached **b ** (1) : having worked partly free from attachments <a loose tooth> (2) : having relative freedom of movement c: produced freely and accompanied by raising of mucus <a loose cough> d: not tight-fitting 2 a: free from a state of confinement, restraint, or obligation <a lion loose in the streets> <spend loose funds wisely> b: not brought together in a bundle, container, or binding carchaic: DISCONNECTED, DETACHED 3 a: not dense, close, or compact in structure or arrangement b: not solid : WATERY <loose stools> 4 a: lacking in restraint or power of restraint <a loose tongue> b: lacking moral restraint : UNCHASTEc: OVERACTIVE; specifically: marked by frequent voiding especially of watery stools <loose bowels> 5 a: not tightly drawn or stretched : SLACKb: being flexible or relaxed <stay loose> 6 a: lacking in precision, exactness, or care <loose brushwork> <loose usage> b: permitting freedom of interpretation 7: not in the possession of either of two competing teams <a loose ball> <a loose puck>
I’m not sure I understand your distinction. How do you feel that someone can dope with committing a doping offense? That aside when someone issues a denial I don’t think that its much good to worry about syntax. If Contador (or anyone at this point) cheated, he would lie about it. I don’t see where anyone is immoral enough to dope and cheat, but too moral to lie, so they have to craft a denial in such a way that they really didn’t lie.
“I’ve never committed a doping offense” because it is almost impossible to have never used a “doping product,” and no one in their right mind, or with competent legal advice, wants to get drawn into an argument somewhere down the road as to whether those allergy pills/bee sting medication/eye drops/hemmhoroid meds/workout drinks/etc. now not only constitute “doping,” but also call into question the ethics/credibility of the person dumb enough to issue a blanket denial of their use.
I am willing to wager that very, very few people on this board could - honestly - state that they have “never used a doping product,” and that the majority of those who would make that statement do not have a very clear understanding of what, exactly, these products are.
We find ourselves, unfortunately, in an environment where professional cyclists are going to be forced to parse their words very carefully, and distinctions such as the above are potentially meaningful and important.
Hello,
I still don’t see the difference between saying “I haven’t committed a doping offense”, and “I haven’t doped”. Saying “I haven’t been caught doping” is different, but thats not what Contador said.
Once you’ve taken a prohibited substance, you’ve doped, caught or not.
Hello,
I still don’t see the difference between saying “I haven’t committed a doping offense”, and “I haven’t doped”. Saying “I haven’t been caught doping” is different, but thats not what Contador said.
Once you’ve taken a prohibited substance, you’ve doped, caught or not. You can take some otherwise prohibited substances as part of a legitimate medical treatment without committing a doping offense. For example, I think that Lance probably received EPO or similar products while undergoing cancer treatment. My child takes otherwise prohibited substances to treat a form of asthma that he may outgrow as he gets older. I received cortisone shots from a physician and prescription anti-inflammatories to treat bad shoulders when I was a swimmer 20 plus years ago. All of these things probably constitute taking prohibited subtances, but I don’t think that any of them are considered doping offenses.
Hello,
I still don’t see the difference between saying “I haven’t committed a doping offense”, and “I haven’t doped”. Saying “I haven’t been caught doping” is different, but thats not what Contador said.
Once you’ve taken a prohibited substance, you’ve doped, caught or not. You can take some otherwise prohibited substances as part of a legitimate medical treatment without committing a doping offense. For example, I think that Lance probably received EPO or similar products while undergoing cancer treatment. My child takes otherwise prohibited substances to treat a form of asthma that he may outgrow as he gets older. I received cortisone shots from a physician and prescription anti-inflammatories to treat bad shoulders when I was a swimmer 20 plus years ago. All of these things probably constitute taking prohibited subtances, but I don’t think that any of them are considered doping offenses.
You can dope without comitting an offence if you do it while training. I don’t know all the rules, but I would wager that if you jacked yourself full of everything in the off-season, but stayed clean as a whistle starting at about 3 weeks before your first event, you would have doped but not comitted an offense.
Hello,
I still don’t see the difference between saying “I haven’t committed a doping offense”, and “I haven’t doped”. Saying “I haven’t been caught doping” is different, but thats not what Contador said.
Once you’ve taken a prohibited substance, you’ve doped, caught or not. You can take some otherwise prohibited substances as part of a legitimate medical treatment without committing a doping offense. For example, I think that Lance probably received EPO or similar products while undergoing cancer treatment. My child takes otherwise prohibited substances to treat a form of asthma that he may outgrow as he gets older. I received cortisone shots from a physician and prescription anti-inflammatories to treat bad shoulders when I was a swimmer 20 plus years ago. All of these things probably constitute taking prohibited subtances, but I don’t think that any of them are considered doping offenses.
You can dope without comitting an offence if you do it while training. I don’t know all the rules, but I would wager that if you jacked yourself full of everything in the off-season, but stayed clean as a whistle starting at about 3 weeks before your first event, you would have doped but not comitted an offense. No, taking illegal PEDs during training certainly is a doping offense.
Well, I never have been too good at betting… Only one guaranteed way to win at gambling. . . . . . . be the house. It’s the only one really good at gambling.
If you need to take something for a medical reason you can get a TUE, theraputic use exemption. If you don’t get the TUE you’ve doped by the UCI rules. Lance got EPO, but wasn’t competing or trianing at the time and made the relavent agencies aware. You and your son were dopers, ;-), and had you been competing today would be banned. One TdF rider got stung near the eye by a bee, his face swelled and he was denied permission to get a cortizone shot to reduce the swelling so he could see.
If you need to take something for a medical reason you can get a TUE, theraputic use exemption. If you don’t get the TUE you’ve doped by the UCI rules. Lance got EPO, but wasn’t competing or trianing at the time and made the relavent agencies aware. You and your son were dopers, ;-), and had you been competing today would be banned. One TdF rider got stung near the eye by a bee, his face swelled and he was denied permission to get a cortizone shot to reduce the swelling so he could see.
Styrrell I knew about Vaughers and the cortisone shot, which is why I mentioned mine. I don’t know whether the type of cortisone shot that I got are banned outside of cycling.
“I have never doped and I have never participated in an act of doping.”
Sounds pretty clear to me.
As for the “what did he mean to say” game, let’s play. Where did you get your quote? Was your source working off the prepared text or what he actually said? Was it written and/or presented in english or spanish. If he gave it in spanish, who did the translation, how trustworthy are they and what nuances may have been changed in the translation. Do you have access to his entire statement are just selected quotes and how do you know what you are reading is an accurate transcription of what he actually said?
