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Wednesday's Mailbag: The final words on Tyler; the upcoming season; and a school district steps up to support a cycling team

Published: Feb. 15, 2006

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Hamilton coverage biased, lacks integrity
Editor:
Your recent article regarding Tyler Hamilton asked if readers agreed with the CAS decision. Although I am no longer a VeloNews reader, I do not agree with that decision. But that is to be expected. I openly admit my bias towards Tyler, as I have known him for many years, and run the Tyler Hamilton Foundation. And where there certainly have been a few people with the philosophy that "everyone in the peloton" does it, I am not one of them. I have never wavered and never will waiver in my belief in Tyler Hamilton. However, my belief in media is another story.

I encourage everyone to read the CAS decision and to read the USADA decision, with Chris Campbell’s dissenting opinion (Charles Pelkey's April 18, 2005, story can be found here). I also encourage everyone to read the points posted on Tyler’s web site. I encourage everyone to closely pay attention to the story of the U.S. slider Zach Lund in Torino whose hopes and dreams were destroyed despite his efforts to be forthcoming with USADA. There is clear evidence that the process did not work for Zach, either. I encourage everyone to read about Kicker Vencil and Scott Moninger. The system didn’t work for them. I encourage everyone to spend some time doing their own research because it is clear that VeloNews, which touts itself as "The Journal of Competitive Cycling," will continue to show bias but lack investigative information.

It is the responsibility of journalists to report information from both sides, with no opinions, letting the reader make his or her own determination. Opinions should be left in the editorial section, so that a reader can be sure that this is just one person’s opinion. VeloNews has consistently showed bias in the reporting of Tyler’s situation. As individuals you have a right to your opinions, but as media you have an obligation to the public to be as accurate and unbiased as possible.

Charles Pelkey has shown the greatest bias against Tyler, adding his editorial comments at what I would deem inappropriate times when facts would have been more interesting to the reader. I am curious as to if he ever wanted to break a story like Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein? Where he actually dug up the facts that broke the story? Or is he content to simply regurgitate reports from The Associated Press and slide in his opinions?

And if VeloNews is the "Journal of Competitive Cycling," why are you not interested in the possibility that there just might be a problem with the anti-doping process, as Tyler believes? It is not worth your time to dig deeper to help preserve the sport? You may never believe Tyler, but maybe you can play a role in ensuring that competitive cycling is clean – both the athletes and the organizations. Why doesn’t VeloNews follow the money? Will you discover conflicts of interest? What questions are you asking — or not asking? Or does it not matter to you? And does it not matter to the readers?

If the readers expect and demand integrity from athletes, then they should demand the same from the media. The same set of standards should be met.

I believe in Tyler, and I believe he will see victory again – both on and off the bike. And it will be a great honor to be standing by him for each moment. Unfortunately, I do not believe in the journalistic integrity of VeloNews. Cyclists across the world deserved better than you gave them.

Deirdre Moynihan
Executive director, Tyler Hamilton Foundation
Boulder, Colorado

Hamilton should retire
Editor:
Tyler Hamilton should retire and leave the sport. After all that he has put cycling through for the past 18 months (only to be found guilty), he has no right to expect the sport to welcome him back with open arms — not in September, not any time. Cheating and then continuing to lie about it makes him about as bad a role model as one could imagine. Cycling just doesn't need that. Heck, humanity doesn't need that.

Tyler, retire now. Goodbye, and good riddance.

Thomas Stone
South Pasadena, California

Stay the course, Tyler
Editor:
Despite Tyler Hamilton losing his case, I hope he continues to race. I also hope he continues to fight for a better system. It is not for us to judge him. He and Roberto Heras may both be innocent. Speaking from experience, having been accused of something I did not do, no matter the evidence, is the worst feeling in the world. You feel out of control and frustrated. But to find yourself trodden upon and to fight on is a real act of courage. Stay the course, Tyler. We believe. Martin McCall
Dothan, Alabama

Time to pick a new American favorite
Editor:
I am so disappointed. I cannot even bring myself to watch the Liège or Romandie DVDs I bought to remember Tyler's victories. I guess I'll eBay my collection of Tyler DVDs (including the mid-1990s Cycle-Ops Cyclerobics tape starring a young Tyler that I got with my trainer). Time to choose a new American favorite: Go George! Go Floyd!

Mark Somers
Rochester, New York

And with that, we think it’s time we moved on until there’s some fresh news on this topic. How about discussing something else — like, say, the upcoming racing season? — Editor

Speaking of the upcoming racing season . . .
Editor:
Thanks to your articles on Floyd Landis and George Hincapie, I'm more excited about the upcoming season than I have been in recent years. The long shadow cast by you-know-who is gone, and I'm feeling the established U.S. riders who are now getting their day in the sun will end up with more top finishes than one might suspect. And I'm excited to see how the young guns will come through, too. An occasional appearance on the podium shouldn't be unexpected. Ahhhh ... the sweet smell of spring!

Chris Donahue
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

School district funds cycling team and pays coach
Editor:
Recently I wrote you a letter about how I started a high school cycling team and how masters need to get involved to help the sport grow. I received many e-mails requesting infomation about the team and tips on how to start a team.

Now I have some good news — I am not sure if I am the first, but my district just approved funding for my team and they are going to pay me a stipend to be the coach of the girls and boys cycling team. So we are now a funded high school cycling team. Pretty cool.

I wrote some notes about starting a team and posted them on my website. You can find them here.

Tom Sunday
Columbia, South Carolina

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.