Controversy Revisited

By Jarrett Felix

With the U.S. Championships beginning June 25th, people should be eagerly anticipating the races that will decide the team going to Beijing. However, the cloud of doubt and suspicion hanging over the nations best distance athlete and his coach have obscured these races from the spotlight, instead casting our sport into darkness at a time when it could potentially be its brightest to outsiders and new fans.

Alberto Salazar, the Coach of the Nike Oregon Project, and his star athlete, Galen Rupp were the focus of a recent ProPublica/BBC investigative piece that examined suspected illicit drug violations that would give Rupp a competitive advantage. The man behind the reports is David Epstein, the man who famously exposed convicted doper Lance Armstrong.

Rupp, the 2012 silver medalist at 10,000m, holds the American Record in the 25 lap race with a 26:44, a mark roughly 15 seconds faster than any other American athlete in the country's history. He is going for a seventh straight US title in the event tonight and, in many ways, is just as important to the sport on the national stage as Armstrong was (although admittedly he has not transcended into popular culture in anywhere near the same extreme as Lance). Salazar also coaches the multi time global champion Mo Farah from Great Britian and two time global medalist and blossoming star Matthew Centrowitz. He is likely the most famous track and field coach in the world today.

Salazar released his own extensive response to the allegations online, denying the reports and providing evidence to super his case. The two pager can be found here (it's a big read, took about an hour for me to get through it this morning).

With both sides officially having made a case, I will now do my best to give what I hope is an unbiased account of the story to date. Afterwards, I will share my own personal thoughts. I am by no means an expert on this event or many of the underlying details but I have done my best to be as informed as possible before writing. I would sincerely appreciate comments and other pieces of information from the readers to help fill in gaps or correct any mistakes I may make. With all this in mind, let'sbegin.

For starters, although Salazar coaches and has coached a multitude of elite athletes, these allegations are against none of his athletes besides Galen Rupp. This may be because the sources do not feel they have the same amount of evidence on the other members of the NOP to prove their wrongdoing or it may be because the others are clean and Salazar has chosen to only push the boundaries with Galen. This, like many pieces of the current story, is open for speculation.

Salazar and Rupp have a special relationship. Alberto started coaching Galen when he was still in HS and helped him grab an American High School record in the 5000m, running 13:37. In college Rupp excelled at the University of Oregon and then transitioned smoothly into the Nike Oregon Project where, still under Salazar's care, he continued to gradually improve. Rupp's resume to date and his progression do not show the massive leaps that are usually indicative of doping or drug use.

Because Rupp has been Alberto's main project since high school, it seems natural that the two are close. However, it also seems like there is a certain layer of secrecy surrounding Rupp. Multiple sources have said something along these lines and mentioned his "separation" from the group at large. 

Salazar is paranoid about keeping Rupp from being sabotaged or testing positive inadvertently. Both sides of the case have confirmed that Salazar tested his own sons with Androgel, the gel that Justin Gatlin famously claims did him in. Salazar claims he wanted to see how much of this gel would be required to set off a positive test. He says the testing confirmed that it would take a noticeable amount to push someone over the legal limit and therefore he did not feel this was something to be concerned with going forward. The Epstein camp claims that this was an attempt to circumvent the drug testing rules. If Salazar knew how much gel it took to set off a positive test, he could apply a smaller amount to his athletes and avoid being caught while still gaining a marginal competitive advantage.

It's hard to say either way, but let's point out that sabotage is not unheard of in the sport. Ben Johnson, the Canadian Sprinter who beat Carl Lewis in the Olympics and ran a then world record of 9.79, was busted for drugs at the games. Later, after headmittedly to his steroid use, he pointed out that the drug he tested positive for was not one of those that he used during training. He believes one of his drinks may have been spiked so that the drug would be in his system and he would test positive at the games. More on this can be seen in the telling documentary 9.79*.

Even if there is no foul play involved, the behavior is at the very least odd. Salazar's background in the sport also suggests potentially shady business in his past, which has likely played a role in the suspicions people have towards stories like the one above. As an athlete Salazar was involved in his own share of performance enhancing drug issues including some rumors surrounding Prozac use and his return to world class running after a physical and mental breakdown.

Perhaps the biggest mark on Salazar's record is athlete Mary Decker. Decker had an illegal T:E ratio at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and was subsequently banned from competition in June 1997. Decker claimed the positive was triggered by her birth control pills she was taking and said the test was flawed, but her case was shot down in arbitration. Decker was 37 during the 1996 games. 

Salazar's questionable prior incidents are almost definitely playing a role in some members of the track communitiesopinions of him. But it is important to note that unlike Decker, Galen Rupp has never failed a drug test despite the fact that he is widely considered the most tested athlete in track and field. More so than convicted drug cheat Justin Gatlin who is facing his own share of scrutiny after running faster times now than he did on drugs earlier in his career. However, it is also important to note that Lance Armstrong also never tested positive despite his admitted doping.

Passing a drug test doesn't mean that you are clean, it just means you aren't dirty. There are ways to beat the system or skirt around the rules. It's possible to reside in certain safe zones that are above average but not illegal. And, most importantly, there is much more money and incentive behind beating the test than making the test.

The accusations around Salazar mainly center around this idea. Whether you read Salazar's report or Epstein's, it's very clear that Alberto has an intimate knowledge of the drugs and medication his athletes are using as well as their effects and legality. He is very invested in this part of the training process. 

In the BBC/Pro Publica report testimonies from Steve Magnessand Kara Goucher imply that Alberto was violating the spirit of the competition by getting asthma prescriptions, thyroid drugs and more for his athletes who did not actually need them for medical advantages. He also been accused of abusing the TUE system that gives a therapeutic use exception to athletes who need to take certain illegal drugs for health purposes rather than performance enhancement. Goucher says she herself was prescribed a drug Cytomel that she did not need to help her try and lose weight after her pregnancy. Magness claims Salazar was shipping pills to Rupp in hollowed out books to avoid detection from the authorities. 

Salazar has responded to these allegations with well documentedevidence that he cleared Rupp's drugs, allergies, etc with the necessary authorities. He also confirmed that he did indeed send drugs to Rupp in a hollowed out book, but it was a spray, not pills, and it was known by the US Drug/Doping and meet officials that he was sending this to Galen. He hid it in a book because he was worried customs would confiscate it and then Galen would not get it before his race, but he wasn't concerned about hiding the drug use from the relevant track and field authorities, meaning there were no violations with his actions. 

Salazar has also attacked the credibility of Epstein's two lead sources: Steve Magness and Kara Goucher. Essentially, Salazar writes that Magness, a former assistant coach with the Oregon Project, was fired from his job because he was not a good coach and was having a physical relationship with one of his female athletes. There is no insinuation or inference, he states it openly in his response. What is implied is that Magness is bitter and using what little half truths and rumors he picked up in his days as coach to discredit AlSal and try and tarnish his reputation.

Pro Publica has responded by posting a link to a mutual termination document between Salazar and Magness, implying they left on even terms. It should be noted that it is fairly common workplace protocol to have a mutual termination agreement for legal reasons even in the case of a firing. It also helps protect the individual fired, especially if they are a coach, to help him/her find another position without the stain of a previous failure.

Salazar also points out that he was very happy with Goucher'sweight after pregnancy and has the documented emails to prove this. He said the Cytomel in question was administered after the fact for a non weight related reason and also has the proper documentation for this. Salazar and Kara were very close while training together and they have what both sides have called a "loving" relationship, however, Alberto's relationship with Adam Goucher is rocky at best. Adam, Kara's husband, butted heads with Alberto over coaching philosophy with regards to his wife. Adam claims he did not like Alberto's methods while Alberto claims an angry outburst from Adam forced him to tell Kara he did not want to coach her if her husband was going to continue to interfere.

Perhaps the most shocking allegation is Magness's claim that Galen Rupp has been on illegal testosterone boosting drugs since he was in High School (15-16 years old). Magness'sevidence is a doctor's graph that says Rupp was on "testosterone medication" since 2002. Salazar has claimed that this was misprint by the doctor and Rupp was taking certain legal drugs to help combat his allergy medication for his chronic allergies (which are, by now, well documented). The drugs had some testosterone boosting qualities but were not drugs that violated any WADA rules. 

It is important to remember that a doctor documenting this for Galen Rupp could have no idea that the 16 year old would one day become a world contender and U.S. Champion so he was likely not too concerned with his wording or possible long term doping allegations some 13 years later.

The US will be conducting an official investigation of these accusations and have already interviewed a dozen or so individuals. A variety of people, both anonymous and not, have come forward in the press to share their suspicions or experience. Although few have any outright doping allegations or hard evidence.

Simply put, we are still waiting on the smoking gun.

That is, essentially, my best attempt to describe the evidence, rumors and articles I have read on this subject to date in an unbiased way. Now I will transition into my own thoughts, which are mainly speculation.

So over the years following the sport I've become more jaded about things. I know there is a dirty level here and I know basically all the world records that I used to memorize and prize when I was younger are aided by some drug or another. If you look at the 1500 times from the late 90s they are practically "cartoon times" with how fast some of those races were and how many of those marks are impossible to touch even 20 years later. If you look at the 5k marks that followed they are equally and amazing and perhaps even more so unmatched. The main cause of this was the drug EPO which was untestable for a while on the circuit and almost certainly was abused before the testing had caught up.

And if you look at some of those women's world records? Oh my ...

But I also know I can't simply be suspicious of people because they are the fastest or are doing things others have yet to do. It'shard to walk the line between freak of nature and freak of science. These guys, regardless of drug use, are the best in the world at what they do and our in the 0.1% of human specimen. Lebron James is a physical freak unlike anything we have ever seen before. How much of that is crazy genetics, work ethic and diet vs potential drug use? 

Combining these thoughts, I have learned to be on guard. I prefer to enjoy the sport as given to me and assume people are clean until proven otherwise, but I'm prepared for anybody, ANYBODY, to be dirty.

Ever since I started really diving into the rumor mills and drug scandals, the man at the top of the list seems to consistently be Salazar. His reputation around circles is far from flattering. As a result his prime students Farah and Rupp have been dragged into the realm of suspected wrong doer quite quickly. Rupp's progression is at least fairly gradual (although if he has been using since high school that might be a moot point), while Farah made a huge jump from world finalist to unbeatable world champ and, perhaps craziest of all, became a 3:28 man for 1500m in 2013, one of the top 10 athletes ever in that event despite being an aging 5k-10k guy.

But here's the thing, Salazar is super tuned into the system. He'snot worried about what the perception of a drug is or its intended use, it seems like he knows what's legal, what's not and what's going to make you better without getting you in trouble. Is it clear to me that he and at least some of his athletes are operating in a "gray area"? Yes. Do I think in some cases the "spirit of the sport" has been violated? Yes. Do I think that there will enough to get him or his athletes in any sort of real trouble? Do I think that they have, technically speaking, violated the rules? Not really. I certainly don't see anything in the Epstein report that is going to throw him under the bus.

Salazar's response is pretty thorough and pretty convincing. It'spretty well documented and seems to rely a bit less on the "he said, she said" talk than their opposition. It doesn't hurt that he likely has access to the Nike money and the Nike attorneys.

That's the thing, Nike has one of the top facilities in the world and has a ton of money. The NOP has a ton of resources at their disposal and they are willing to push the limits in training and in the lab to put the best product on the track possible. If they color within the lines, no one is going to admonish them. And really should they? All these limits are just arbitrary for what is “natural” in the human body. Most of us take vitamins to help our health. Are these not, technically speaking, performance enhancing drugs? A lot of people drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks. Caffeine has been proven to be a performance enhancer as well, but nobody thinks twice about who is using it because it is a popular part of the culture and it’snot illegal. 

I’m not trying to justify cheating or skirting the rules, I’m just trying to get you thinking a bit about what your definition of “clean” vs. “dirty” is. There are two courts in play, the jury of public opinion and the actual governing bodies. It’s possible to win one and lose the other. 

So what happens next? Well, now we wait to see if this investigation turns up anything big enough to put an end to the Nike Oregon Project’s reign. Keep in mind that there are many layers to this investigation, beyond the obvious fact that Rupp is the best US Distance runner in history. Nike has a lot on the line here as an organization. They are the most important shoe company in track and field by far and have something of a strangle hold on the USATF. They have the money and people to do everything in their power to make sure that the NOP comes out of this on top and is likely preparing a defamation lawsuit already. 

With Nike’s well documented presence among the nation’s governing track body, there is serious potential for a cover-up or some type of scandal, a piece of the puzzle worth monitoring going forward.

As far as I’m  concerned the only way to break this case open is for someone to come forward as something of a sacrificial lamb from inside the NOP organization and admit completely to serious, obvious doping allegations. This could potentially be Kara Goucher. If in fact Salazar is a dirty operator, it’s unlike that Goucher, a bronze medalist in the world championships and very successful runner under Alberto, was somehow exempt from all the cheating around her. If she is willing to lay all her cards on the table and admit to a high level of cheating, then there is a good chance Salazar and company would officially topple.

However, that does not appear like it is going to happen. Either Goucher was not violating the rules or she will not come forward because she has a personal reputation to protect in addition to sponsorship deals and a world championship medal. She loses a lot of money if she gets busted as a drug cheat so there’s not a ton of incentive for her to come forward. Of courseI want to repeat, all this only matters IF she actually cheated. I have no way of knowing if she did or did not and don’t want to make any allegations on the subject.

So hopefully this has given you something to think about as we continue to monitor this ever developing story. Feel free to share your thoughts below and provide insight where appropriate!