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Comment by giarc | Hacker News Reader

>She also said that this bike was taken by accident by her helpers to the pit area.

>She claimed that he had put a motor in unbeknownst to her

What is with athletes and never admitting their mistakes. You were caught, I would have much more respect for someone if they just came out and said "Yes, I did it, I take full responsibility." Instead they come up with these ridiculous excuses that do nothing but continue to degrade their integrity.

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Well, if you notice, the team was also fined for some odd millions of dollars. If the athlete were to admit culpability, they could probably also be successfully sued by the team to cover their costs.

Not to mention sponsors. That's where the real pain comes in.

The USPS has been trying to claim back the $40 million they gave Lance Armstrong over 6 years of sponsorship.

If you're interested in this topic, the world of poker is ripe with cheaters and their apologists. This is the most recent scandal from just last week (the cheater shows up with a lousy attempt at defending himself):

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip-spons...

No matter how many of these I see, I'll never fully understand their mindset. It is fascinating though.

This is a lying, cheating, athlete in particular, so it's not surprising. Many athletes do have integrity and don't need to concoct such excuses.

Good point. Why aren't cheating athletes honest? Because honest athletes aren't cheating.

But personally I've wondered the same thing. Ryan Braun's doping was hard to take, but not as bad as all the whinging he did when caught.

Sharapova immediately took full responsibility for her recent failed test -- though in her case it seems likely it was an honest mistake...

It was a mistake that she didn't check that her drug was banned, but it wasn't a mistake taking the drug. Usually you would take that drug for a couple of weeks. She was taking it for 5+ years, for its doping powers.

From my understanding, a "cycle" of the drug is some amount of weeks but that doesn't imply that it cures whatever ailment / you never have to take it again.

More importantly, the difference between a regular dose and a doping dose is very severe (by a factor of 10).

When the blood tests are revealed, it would be easy to tell if she was just taking the doctor suggested dose or downing 10 pills per day for its increased endurance.

Marion Jones is the only person I can think of that has actually done this.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/05/jones.doping/index.html?ere...

Yes, but only after initially denying it all

I seem to remember Andy Pettitte immediately taking responsibility, as opposed to Roger Clemens who denied it for awhile. However, I'm not positive.

What is the proof what she said is wrong?

The hidden bluetooth button that she pressed to actvate the motor.

Hard to believe that she gave a bike to a friend who installed a hidden motor. The friend brought the bike to the race so that he could ride the course with the motor. Then when the team was called to bring the bikes to inspection, they accidentally brought the bike the guy brought (that also happened to belong to the girl in question). Either a series of coincidences or someone making up excuses.

Maybe she's telling the truth and the bike had a disappearing twin?

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