Landis: It All Begins Today
Today, Monday, three arbitrators will convene their hearing on Floyd Landis’ case in a moot-court auditorium at Pepperdine University, pitting the one lone cyclist against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) who has alleged the cyclist used illicit performance- enhancing drugs, with a possible two-year suspension and loss of his Tour title hanging in the balance.
At the hearing, Landis will argue — as he has publicly — that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) testing lab in France made numerous errors in handling samples and interpreting test results. For the first time since the anti-doping enforcement system was created seven years ago, one of its hearings will be open to the press and public — subjecting its quasi-judicial process to public scrutiny like never before.
Dozens of journalists from around the world, as well as many other nterested observers, have applied for credentials to attend. While athletes always have had the option to insist upon public hearings, Landis is the first to do so, which represents a potential watershed for a system that has invariably wielded its power to end athletes’ careers and brand them as cheats behind closed doors.
As we have seen over and over, WADA President Dick Pound of Montreal continues to grumble about “some athletes and entourages who like to take their case to the public before it’s been heard … The only folks that have their hands tied are the anti-doping agencies.” Pound, however, has publicly expressed his personal certainty about Landis’ guilt on several occasions; as a result, Landis is planning to file an ethics complaint against Pound this week with the International Olympic Committee. The IOC has previously criticized Pound for what it called his inappropriate comments. In public jousting leading to the Landis hearings, Pound has blamed Landis’ defense team for delaying the arbitration case. Landis’ attorneys, in turn, blame USADA for its failure to turn over documents requested by the defense.
I for one am glad for the openess, and look forward to each day of the hearing, hoping that Floyd is a man of truth and honor and that the truth wins out.
Source: L.A. Times , Yahoo, Google
