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Steffen retracts L'Equipe comments
Physician resigns post with TIAA-CREF
Published: Oct. 8, 2005
Dr. Prentice Steffen, interviewed last week in a sidebar to a dopingstory in the French sports daily, L’Equipe has “retracted andclarified” comments in which he characterized seven-time Tour de Francewinner Lance Armstrong as one of the “bad guys” and guilty of doping.Steffen apologized for his comments and resigned from his post as teamdoctor for the American TIAA-CREF team, a program with the expressed missionof proving that riders can compete and succeed without using performance-enhancingsubstances.Steffen’s letter of apology and resignation was e-mailed to reportersby team director Jonathan Vaughters without comment, directing journalists’question directly to Steffen. Steffen, a San Francisco emergency room physicianwho is also board certified in sports medicine, was unavailable for comment.Vaughters also could not be reached for comment.Full text of Prentice Steffen letter released Saturday:
My name is Prentice Steffen.
I have prepared this statement to apologize and clarify quotes madeby me published in a recent edition of L’Equipe, and published elsewherein other press outlets.First, I would like to sincerely apologize for the statements that wererecently attributed to me in L’Equipe. I am very sorryabout personal comments I made about Lance Armstrong and other athletes. It was inappropriate for me to suggest that “[t]he bad guys, like Armstrong,dope, and the good guys, like Hamilton, dope too.” I do not knowLance Armstrong personally and have I never witnessed him taking bannedsubstances. I based my assumptions about Mr. Armstrong on rumorsI had heard, instead of on anything remotely factual and I want to issuethis public retraction of comments.Second, my intentions in participating in the L’Equipeinterview were not to impugn anyone’s character. I understood thepurpose of the interview to be a discussion of the great strides beingmade by anti-doping agencies around the globe and the opportunity to improvetesting for banned substances. As a Board Certified Emergency Roomand Sports Medicine physician, I feel it is my duty to help USADA, WADA,and the UCI when I see a potential problem with testing protocols or methods. Unfortunately, the L’Equipe article overshadowed these issues andfocused, instead, on my comments relating to specific athletes.Third, it is true that some athletes in the professional peloton, accusedof doping, have willingly confessed that it is prevalent in the professionalcycling. Just as many athletes, however, have done exceedingly wellin the sport and have never been implicated in any way. It is anunfair assertion that the only way to achieve success in cycling is throughdoping. Many other factors such as hard work, dedication, and naturalability play crucial roles in any athlete’s success.Forth, I am extremely sorry for any negative impact my commentsmay have had on Team TIAA-CREF, its sponsors, or staff. My personalcomments were not intended to reflect their views. My comments werenot approved by Team TIAA-CREF, its sponsors, or staff. I am gravelysorry that Team TIAA-CREF was even mentioned in association with my personalcomments.Team TIAA-CREF was founded on the belief that cyclists can compete atthe highest levels without resorting to doping. The team isstrongly committed this mission. Every athlete, sponsor, and staffmember of the team is completely committed to a fervent anti-doping policy. The team has a very strict zero-tolerance policy for any kind of illegaldrug use, cheating, or unethical behavior.These are not just values that the director, Jonathan Vaughters, stressesto athletes who race for him. These are also values shared by theathletes Jonathan has selected for the team. Jonathan’s goal is toteach these athletes alternatives to doping, and how to avoid feeling backedinto a corner by statements, like those made by me, suggesting doping isthe only way to succeed in cycling. I do not believe that to be true,and that is why I have been happy to be associated with a team that sharesmy desire to see the use of performance-enhancing drugs eliminated fromcycling. Team TIAA-CREF has made a total commitment to producingathletes that will make everyone affiliated with them proud. Theteam utilizes every ethical and legal method possible to increase athletes’performance. The team seeks to determine athletes’ strengths andweaknesses in order to make adjustments in everything from diet tolifestyle and address any weaknesses. It was extremely unfair ofme to say that these athletes have accepted that they will have to dopesomeday. None of our athletes accept this and are committed to achievingtheir success through hard work, knowledge of their bodies, and dedicationto the sport. I sincerely apologize for any misrepresentation oftheir attitudes. My assertions have damped their spirits, and I hopethey can see beyond my impetuous and ignorant statements.I had my own struggle with substance abuse in my youth, almost 20 yearsago. I was able to successfully conquer these issues. Thisfueled my desire to see that others avoid the pitfall into which I fell.Since that time, I have served as team doctor for several professionalcycling teams. I cherish these opportunities to positively influencefuture generations of cyclist and to, in my own way, do what I can to eliminatethe use of illegal performance enhancing drugs from the sport.However, I also feel I should permanently remove myself from the roleof team physician at Team TIAA-CREF, as my comments have damaged and dampenedthe spirits of these young athletesPlease accept my sincere apology,Prentice Steffen
