Dick Pound Is The Ruler Of Dick Pound World

Despite an official, public reprimand from the IOC for comments regarding 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, Dick Pound continued to reinforce his reputation for a complete lack of professionalism, class or even basic human decency after a recent tantrum reported in Reuters yesterday. “If Lance thinks this is going to make me go away he is sadly mistaken,” Pound told reporters as he finished his snack of animal crackers and juice while preparing for his afternoon nap time.

Moments before claiming this woman used EPO to win her press badge

Apparently Mr. Pound is under the assumption that the IOC (by the way Dick…that stands for International Olympic Committee – aka - your boss and the entire reason for the existence of WADA) is representing Lance Armstrong and is simply another obstacle preventing him from making everything right in the world. And by the way…when the historically lazy and ineffectual IOC makes the effort to publicly reprimand you…it’s a pretty safe bet that you have seriously overextended yourself. This is not exactly the cleanest group in the world here. Samaranch, Salt Lake City…now Dick Pound.

The IOC Ethics Commission (that’s only a mild oxymoron) issued a statement recently saying that it should “remind [Pound] of the obligation to exercise greater prudence…when making public pronouncements that may affect the reputations of others.” For reference, a basic, working understanding of the English language reveals that: Prudence is care, caution, and good judgment, as well as wisdom in looking ahead. Yeah…Dick may have missed class the day they went over that definition in Law School.

Prudence? Never heard of it.

A further definition of prudence is: Caution with regard to practical matters; discretion. Once again…he must have been sick that day. Or maybe that was when he was off defending Ben Johnson. Either way…he obviously is still having difficulty comprehending the basic principles of the organization that has allowed him to even voice his childish, crass and destructive opinions. Way to show that Olympic spirit Dick.

It should be noted that this author – unlike Dick Pound – has taken a minute or more to actually think about this and has chosen to use the word “opinions” very carefully in this instance. Pound likes to claim a factual basis for his vitriol but it should not be forgotten that this is the same man who openly admitted to completely fabricating a claim that “A third of the NHL is on drugs.” Once again…he has admitted to making that number up off the top of his head and claims to be a voice of truth and reason in the anti-doping effort. Really? How did this happen?

Hey, what do these crazy colored rings behind me signify?

Was Pound punished or reprimanded for this bold-faced lie about the NHL? No…he was not. Is he sorry for regularly spewing baseless, venomous fiction through the media? I’m guessing no. He is Dick Pound, knower of all things and glutton for publicity. Good or bad.

By the way…although apparently this isn’t important at all, Armstrong was cleared of any wrongdoing in May last year after the UCI's appointed independent lawyer Emile Vrijman found that testing protocols had been violated during the investigation. The seven time Tour winner, who has previously called for Pound's exit from WADA, recently said, "It's not common that the IOC comes out and issues a reprimand or a warning about one of their members at all." Armstrong also called Pound a "clown" who is an "absolute disaster when it comes to giving interviews."

Clowns can be bad for your health...and that of your chosen sport

I would agree with Armstrong’s “clown” assessment but I’d rather have Krusty, Bozo, Eric the Clown or Crazy Joe Davola as Pagliacci from Seinfeld or even that creepy clown from Stephen King’s “IT” than Dick Pound at any kids party. He would scare the heck out of those kids…and probably lie to them about their parents doping practices.

Is this really a man that you can take seriously as the head of a vitally important organization at the most critical time in the history of the anti-doping movement? A clown? An admitted liar and media hound? The guy literally wrote a freaking book on inflammatory and strategic horn-blowing. Once again…seriously, this is the guy in the most powerful position in the entire global anti-doping effort? Seriously? Good luck with gaining legitimacy there, WADA. Not with this windbag at the helm.

Okay…the last few paragraphs have been MY opinion but once again…I’m a freaking blogger. Not an IOC official and the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency. But strangely…even as a lowly blogger, bike racer and cycling fan, I still seem to have more respect for the principles and morals which supposedly form the foundation of the Olympic ideal than Mr. Pound does. Funny (or terribly sad) how that works.