Arrrghhh. Tom Boonen’s good name and cycling take a tumble
When cyclist Tom Boonen picked up a speeding ticket a few months ago in his fancy, red, high-powered sports car, ol’ 10 Speed saw it as a public figure getting undo press for a minor infraction that wouldn’t be a blip on the radar if he had been John Q. Belgium — not that John Q. would be driving such a car, but you get the picture.
Traffic ticket. Big deal. Who cares? Save the headline for the real news, not some stupid little nitpicky thing.
But the headline about Boonen on Tuesday was real news, not some stupid little nitpicky thing. Twas a stupid big thing: A report about Boonen’s positive out-of-competition doping control finding for cocaine.
Now I’m beside myself in frustration and disappointment.
Am I surprised that a 27-year-old athlete at the top of his game was caught up with drugs? Not really. How can anyone be surprised anymore about the inherent weakness of the human condition to fall subject to drugs or any other scandal one can imagine?
Am I upset and angry? You’re darn rights I am.
Cycling’s at a crossroads, and it doesn’t need knuckleheads alienating fans and damaging the sponsors who still believe in the sport.
Last year, T-Mobile and Discovery Channel dropped major team sponsorships, and this is the last year of team sponsorships for CSC, Gerolsteiner and Quick-Step, which is Boonen’s team. I thought everyone involved in cycling understood the seriousness of the sport’s situation. Apparently, and unfortunately, not.
Boonen and team Quick-Step are expected to discuss the situation Wednesday. Although cocaine is a banned substance, it’s banned in-competition, as opposed to out of competition. Because the doping control was held outside of competition, three days before the Tour of Belgium, Boonen may avoid a two-year ban from competition … but the situation is still damaging to the sport, his sponsors, his team and Boonen himself most of all.
Dude messed up, and now he’ll pay the consequences. I doubt Quick-Step will sack Boonen outright, but then again, it might have to if it hopes to find a new sponsor for next year. At the very least he’ll probably be suspended and sent to drug rehab, and he can kiss the Tour de France goodbye for this year and probably his individual endorsements as well.
Dude needs to rehabilitate himself physically and mentally, then work to rehabilitate his career and reputation.
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All is relative. Mr. Boonen lost his driving license twice within the last 6 weeks. He lost it a second time this week when he drove drunk at twice the allowed speed limit. That is hardly a minor infraction, in my opinion, and it follows a series of speed and traffic violations. Mr. Boonen may count his blessings he hasn’t seriously hurt himself or others with his reckless driving. Does he deserve to be tackled for that in the press? Yes, he does. That may be the only way for him to face some responsibility, the fines attached to these speed violations are peanuts for a guy like Tom Boonen.
The fact that he used cocaine is serious and it tarnishes his image but I think the weight you attach to each offense is seriously out of balance.