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Wednesday's Mailbag: Irish Tour; Fairness and forgiveness

Published: Dec. 26, 2007

The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.

Our Irish flashback
Dear Editors,
Go raibh maith agat for the Tour of Ireland coverage including a very youthful Phil Ligget!
Greg Swinand
Wicklow Ireland

Mob mentality?
Editors,
It's alarming to me that cyclists have, for lack of a better term, begun to eat their young!

I see all of the letters of people lambasting Hamilton and Landis, but what about slamming WADA and the other doping regulatory commissions? (See "Monday's Mailbag.") I'm in the medical profession and if I behaved in the same manner that these labs have behaved, I'd lose my license. Furthermore, you'd all say that I deserved it!! But these labs operate with slipshod procedures and you defend them.

Think about this the next time you feel like criticizing the next pro that's on the chopping block. How easy would it be for someone to set you up to take a career ending fall? Think about it!
Marty Specht
Greenville, Michigan

Double standard?
Dear VeloNews,
How is Rock Racing’s decision to hire Tyler Hamilton really all that different than Slipstream hiring David Millar? Both are convicted dopers, yet Millar has been lifted up to this golden boy status on his new dream team, while Tyler remains smeared with blood.

Maybe their post-doping actions have been slightly different, but let's not lose perspective here, both were dopers, and both are riding again. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Casey Weaver
Long Beach, California

To err is human
Dear Velo,
This writer is a strong believer in both the foibles of human nature and our ability to change for the better. While I'm convinced that both Tyler and Floyd are guilty, I also believe they should be welcomed back to the cycling community, having served out their punishment - whether they admit their guilt or not.

So it looks like maybe Floyd will have a place to go (Rock Racing) once his "sentence" is served? Maybe he won't be able to race in France, but there are a lot more truly great races and places.
Tom Smith
Ithaca, New York

Celebrate diversity
Hi,
I typically don’t like to respond to other folks’ rantings, but there has been a few that have caught my interest.

Regarding Tyler, sure he doped (allegedly), sure he is alleged to be involved in the Puerto affair (which it seems occurred during the same time he allegedly doped). But the leader of the new non-doping world (David Millar) was a doper and only confessed after his flat was raided, but we have all decided that he is a good guy now! Right?

So why not give other people a chance to redeem themselves? As for Mr. Ball, sure, he has a couple of arrogant bones in his body and sure, he is a little extreme, but he seems to be willing to give these guys a second chance, including a guy like David Clinger, who did nothing wrong but use his body as a canvas. His choice and he is not hurting anyone.

What happened to open personal expression being okay? Without trying to sound too patriotic, wasn't that principle upon which our country was founded?
Pat Pecknold
Brentwood, California


The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company, Inside Communications, Inc.