This is Belgian cyclist Kevin van Impe. His wife gave birth prematurely this year, and their son died hours after he was born. Last week van Impe was at a crematorium, making arrangements for his son's funeral, when a drug tester representing cycling's governing body showed up. Van Impe asked whether the tester would be kind enough to give him some space during his grieving process, but the tester would have none of it, telling him it was provide a urine sample immediately or be banned from the sport for two years:
Van Impe's fellow cyclists have protested, delaying the start of races over the weekend and reading a statement saying, "We'll say yes a thousand times to a determined and responsible fight against doping, but today and even in an even stronger manner in the future, we say no a thousand times against the violation of our rights, the rights of every human being.""He wouldn't even come back later in the day. It was either do it right on the spot or it would be taken as if I had refused," van Impe said.
Much has been said about how the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports has gotten out of hand. More should be said about the way the war on performance-enhancing drugs in sports has gotten out of hand.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 13)
1. That is crossing the line. What an idiot. Cycling culture is crazy now with riders getting caught all the time but this to me, is a little extreme. The guy could have waited. Results are not going to be any different in an hour or two. Was the tester worried the cyclist would calla freind with clean urine to show up somewhere with a fresh sample?
Posted at 4:03PM on Mar 18th 2008 by James
2. this is bullshit-----------------a few hours more would be fine with almost anyone guy must have been an ass
Posted at 5:51PM on Mar 18th 2008 by mike
3. No excuse!! The tester should be banned from the lab. Obviously another individual that was picked on at an early age!!
Posted at 6:34PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Kevin
4. This is totally unbelievable. That "drug-tester" should be fired.
This whole drug-testing thing has gotten way out of hand. It's modern day athletic "McCarthyism". We all know that it's illegal to take drugs ... and it's understandable why some testing before events should be allowed. But, to deliberately harass people with it, accuse without basis as it were, is totally unacceptable and should be stopped.
Posted at 6:40PM on Mar 18th 2008 by mark
5. I see nothing wrong with drug testing prior to and after an athletic event which is counted in the books. I do, however, worry that some people go over the top with their job duties. If this story is true, the tester was not very kind. I don't believe he should be fired, though. Maybe a reprimand would work with a warning, or some further training of people skills. To say the tester should be fired is also over the top.
Posted at 7:06PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Donna
6. This is so sad. What is this world comming to. Its all about drugs. The good the bad and the ulgy have to pay the price for all the evil.Drug testing is getting so bad that you have to do a urine sample in front of the tester. How degrading. We all have to pay for the works of the outlaws and the devil.
Posted at 7:09PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Becky
7. I would have given him the country ass whipping of his life. Just how stupid was this moron?
Posted at 7:10PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Marty
8. The tester is an idiot,a horse's behind, a piece of feces and the same goes for his immediate boss.
Fire the lot.
They (testers) didn't learn when they couldn't pin anything on Lance. That pissed them off,pardon the pun!
Since van Impe's name was used , the tester shithead's name should also be posted !!
Posted at 7:11PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Roland Esquivel
9. I would have gave him a sample on his face. What a dink!
Posted at 7:17PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Mark
10. Donna - You obviously have never lost a child. It is an extremely heartbreaking experience that to have to go through and deal with is hard enough on its own, and then have some power-hungry insenstive idiot tell you that if you do not pee in a cup right now you will lose your ability to work for 2 years??? Keeping in mind, that he was at the crematorium when this occured... yes, that tester should be fired. A repremand and sensitivity training will not get through that man's head, let along heart.
Posted at 7:18PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Dawn
11. They have a special place, upon death, for people with hearts as cold as that "drug tester"....It's called HELL....he should end up there and thaw out! My god, what is this world coming to when someone has to interrupt a person at their most painful time in their life? The "tester" should be released from his duties and put on desk duty somewhere in the middle of a busy freeway!
Posted at 7:19PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Steve
12. I WOULD HAVE KICKED HIS ASS BIG TIME - HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO WORK WITH BUSTED ARMS
Posted at 7:21PM on Mar 18th 2008 by steve rice
13. This behavior is typical of beaurocrats in and out of sports. The doping official should have used some common sense and shown a little humanity. The cyclist should be given an apology and the doping official should be fired.
Posted at 7:23PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Thomas Fahey
14. I would have knocked the guy down and pissed in his face and said "There is your sample happy now". No need for this drug testing Nazism.
Posted at 7:23PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Dave
15. This is not unusual. Several years ago they showed up late at night at the apartment of Kyoko Ino, US pairs figure skating champ. They wanted it immediately, but she had just urinated. They told her to get some beer or something like that she asked whether she could do it some other day and the inspecter said sure , just sign this which says you can't give a sample now. The form really said in the fine print that she was refusing. She was banned from amateur competition for several years.
Posted at 7:25PM on Mar 18th 2008 by David
16. Piss and live with it!!
Posted at 7:26PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Hoss
17. Damn is nothing sacred? I buried my husband and I wish some fool would have asked me for anything not related to his death at that time. They would still be pulling my foot out of his behind.
Posted at 7:30PM on Mar 18th 2008 by cassandra roy
18. This sounds a bit far-fetched to me. I cannot see the extreme urgency in testing unless it is done just after a race.
Posted at 7:31PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Vivi
19. How can we judge the tester when we were not there? I would say that the likelyhood of the cyclist being rude to this person is probably pretty high. If he was truely grieving the loss of his child why was he racing. Been there and I know how painful it is. I say that before we judge the tester we know ALL of the facts. For the most part I do not believe that this person just reacted that way out of the blue.
Posted at 7:34PM on Mar 18th 2008 by Winners
20. Let's take a second timeout.If someone is taking performance enhancing drug's to improve body performance why should it be illegal? God forbide they smoked a cigarette.Ever since Mcguire 63 ball steroids is the new epidemic. Shame on the U.S.A
Posted at 7:34PM on Mar 18th 2008 by MARK