Wednesday, February 16, 2011

DIANA TAURASI CLEARED, LABORATORY RETRACTS POSITIVE TEST REPORT AFTER EXAMINING HER LEGAL DEFENSE

There was a good editorial piece today in the Hartford newspaper (online) - http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey/hc-jacobs-taurasi-column-0217-20110217,0,6640928.column. The Arizona Republic also had a comprehensive story - http://tucsoncitizen.com/sports-news/2011/02/16/turkey-lifts-provisional-doping-ban-on-diana-taurasi/

Aside from the fact that this case should never have been brought in the first place, it certainly should never have been publicized prior to any legal review taking place. The mere accusation of doping is damaging by itself, and being publicly charged and then later cleared never fully restores the athlete.

In Diana Taurasi's case, look what happened when her case was reported by the media. Her team terminated her, likely costing the team the European championships. Bloggers immediately jumped on the story with all of their own prejudices and personal motivations (for example, some sports lawyers used the case for their own social media marketing, getting the facts wrong in the process). Most traditional journalists wrote the standard "doping story," some relating the case to the modafinil positives that arose from the BALCO scandal. Shaun Assael at ESPN wrote a good piece about the scientific and legal issues that ultimately led to her being cleared (http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=6089810).

I am honored that Diana Taurasi entrusted me with the difficult task of proving her innocence.

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