Let's be honest..

Ok, so now that the news is out I'll wade into the subject of Kenny Williams, doping, apologies, etc a little less obtusely.

First off, I am somewhat surprised by the general "Kenny we love you it's no big deal" position a lot of people have taken.

I think a couple points are worth tackling here.

1. "Kenny's a great guy and as a result we should forgve him" Ummm... does that mean that if we take a poll and it turns out most people hate Kenny then we should hold him out as worse than Hitler? I don't see how whether or not I like Kenny or think he's a good guy relates to whether or not he should be forgiven by the cycling community. His crime wasn't against me personally. And let's be honest, a lot of people don't like Kenny.

2. The test was voluntary so that implies... well I am not sure what that is meant to imply since he has admitted he doped intentionally. And the test wasn't voluntary... it was mandatory if you wanted credt for your record. So yes, I suppose it was technically voluntary but in the same sense a breathilizer test is voluntary... you can refuse but they'll suspend your licence if you do.

3. "I trust him". Well good for you. A hell of a lot of us don't and have been suspicious for years. I could use vague language and pretend like it's other people. But I am not going to hide. I don't believe him when he says it's the first time. I thought he was juiced back in the early 90's when I first met him on a training ride with Eric Paige. That said, no one but Kenny knows for sure so trust is not really relevent.

All that said, I do appreciate his apology and think he should get credit for not getting someone to write something a lot more polished and professional. I also think that his ban should be shorter because he fessed up. Otherwise there is no incentive to do so.

And I am also not going to work up any faux outrage about his stealing wins from me. I've joked about wanting my Seward Park water bottles but at the end of the day I don't really care whether Kenny cost me a win because he cheated (probably because I always suspected he did). Maybe it's because I know plenty of local riders who were also juiced (by their own admission) so I never had any real illusion of purity. But that's not relevent either. The bottom line is I am not going to personally think less of Kenny. But on the otherhand I am not going to be sympathetic to him or act like it's ok either.

Actually I changed my mind I want my PowerBar water bottle prime from SIR circa 1997. You know the one Kenny.

Update: I am not the only one surprised by the Kenny love.