Colorado Cyclist Scott Mercier Becomes an Unlikely Hero in the Doping Scandal
Submitted by Amy Thompson on
Read more of Scott's story on BBC Sport
Because Mercier, 44, was the US Postal rider who resisted the pressure to dope.
To do so, he had to turn down the offer of a new contract with the team and quit the sport he loved.
He can still clearly remember the day he made up his mind, in May 1997, at the age of 28, after a conversation with the team's doctor, Pedro Celaya.
"Pedro called each member of the team into his hotel room, one by one. When my turn came, he handed me a bag containing a bottle of green pills and several vials of clear liquid.
"I was also given a 17-day training schedule and each day had either a dot or a star. A dot represented a pill and a star was an injection.
"He said 'they're steroids, you go strong like bull'. Then he said 'put it in your pocket, if you get stopped at customs say it's B vitamins'.
"That was when I decided I didn't want to be a pro cyclist any more. I got home and decided 'no thank you'.
"I love cycling, it's a beautiful sport, but it would have been very challenging for me to look someone in the eye and say I was clean when I knew I wasn't.
"People talk about the health aspects, but to be totally honest I wasn't so concerned about that.
"For me, it was the lying and the hypocrisy."
8 Comments
no way this guy is a hero
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
A real hero would have stood up for what was right when he found out there was a doping program going on at USPS. Not just turn tail and run away! Heck, all of this nonsense could have been avoided if this guy would have spoke up back in 1997.
Points: 8
omerta
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
There have been many who have blown the whistle only to have been ignored, ostracized, worse. It is taking confessions en masse to really turn the tide.
Points: 6
omerta
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
There have been many who have blown the whistle only to have been ignored, ostracized, worse. It is taking confessions en masse to really turn the tide.
Points: 2
Interesting *opinion* coming
Submitted by Rick (not verified) on
Interesting *opinion* coming from a guy named *anonymous*.
Points: -2
Yeah! What he said.
Submitted by Eric Jensen (not verified) on
Bravo.
Points: 0
Ditto
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Ditto
Points: 0
Do you think one little known
Submitted by Tom (not verified) on
Do you think one little known rider could have stood up to the entire pro field and the heads of the UCI, all who were part of this massive conspiracy?
Points: 9
Scott's article in Velo News calling for a cycling revolution
Submitted by Amy Thompson on
Read Scott's entire opinion article on Velo News:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/10/analysis/op-ed-mercier-calls-for-...
An excerpt from Scott's article:
"History suggests that the UCI did not provide protection for riders like Christophe Bassons and Filippo Simeoni, who chose to speak up and challenge the culture of doping. Rather, they were unceremoniously ushered out the door. It is time to invite athletes like them back to the sport to be a part of the solution. As a former rider for U.S. Postal, I would not have turned to the UCI for fear of the repercussions from the organization. Perhaps in my own small way I too contributed to the omerta in cycling.
The lack of comments by most of the peloton regarding the Armstrong saga suggest that the omerta is still alive and well and that the peloton is still ruled by fear. "
Points: 1