Cyclocross Radio Ep. 233 | The Katie Compton Suspension
As much as I’d love to say that this is a podcast episode that I never thought we’d have to record, the history of professional cycling forces us to always have our guard up. So when the announcement of Katie Compton’s positive test result and four-year suspension became known, I was deeply disappointed and sad for the sport, but in my soul, I couldn’t say I was surprised. At this point, I’m at a place where you can’t know everything about anyone. You only know what people want to reveal, no matter how nice, honest and genuine they may appear. This is not an indictment of Katie Compton or any other athlete as much as it’s a defense mechanism.
As for Katie’s case, I know that she tested positive and that she received a ban. I know that her sample was negative under one testing protocol and positive after a more extensive test was completed following irregularities in her biological passport were detected.
I also know that Katie has said she does not know how the substance entered her body. I know that she is adamantly anti-doping in public life. Finally, I know that she is a pleasant person to be around and a great person to work with.
It’s the tension between what we know and what we don’t know that Zach, Micheal and I grapple with in this episode. We accept she ingested something at sometime that she wasn’t supposed to. We also abide Katie’s own line-in-the-sand approach that athletes are responsible for what goes in their bodies and if a banned substance is detected, they should be punished. We don’t attempt to speculate what lies in the hearts and minds of athletes or what their intent may be. We are not mind-readers.
When we decided to record, I didn’t think I had much to say on the subject. Once we started, it became apparent that was not the case. For me, talking about it was cathartic. I think the same goes for Micheal and Zach and I hope in some way it is for you, too.
It was also good to examine our past behavior on this show towards different riders and how we may treat athletes in similar circumstances going forward.
Thanks for listening. And hang in there, kid.
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