McQuaid's Ill-advised Comments
velohead18
Posts: 22
It seems that Pat McQuaid has attempted to link an acceptance of doping practises to historical and geographical upbringing. By suggesting that countries such as Spain, Italy and Belgium(?) don't have the same will to tackle the drug issue as Germany, United Kingdom and Holland because they don't hail from an 'Anglo Saxon' background is at best a crude over-simpilfication and at worse downright racist.
This is a man who oversees an organisation which purports to represent intenational cycling as a whole and by suggesting that southern countries lack conviction to important issues because of their 'lifestyle' is downright offensive and insulting to the many officials and riders from those countries who are dedicated to ridding the sport of drugs.
The fact that there are so many instances in the recent past of riders from the northern countries, as well as the south, who have tested positive for drugs blows his ill-considered comments apart. I also found it quite strange that he failed to include France in his European round-up.
I understand his attempts to rid cycling of the spectre of drugs but a person in his position should be more careful in making off-the-cuff comments which have the potential to offend so many people.
This is a man who oversees an organisation which purports to represent intenational cycling as a whole and by suggesting that southern countries lack conviction to important issues because of their 'lifestyle' is downright offensive and insulting to the many officials and riders from those countries who are dedicated to ridding the sport of drugs.
The fact that there are so many instances in the recent past of riders from the northern countries, as well as the south, who have tested positive for drugs blows his ill-considered comments apart. I also found it quite strange that he failed to include France in his European round-up.
I understand his attempts to rid cycling of the spectre of drugs but a person in his position should be more careful in making off-the-cuff comments which have the potential to offend so many people.
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