Ask and You Shall Receive

In Issue 80 of the morning shakeout I wrote, “I/we/the entire sport of athletics, can only hope that that evidence—and the full USADA report—sees the light of day.” Well, not more than a few hours later, Flotrack released “what may be the USADA report on Alberto Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project” in its entirety. That isn’t exactly what I had in mind, although the contents of the 278-page report are pretty detailed and most definitely damning (despite what Alberto’s unofficial PR guy, Ken Goe, has to say about it). All that aside, and draw from the report whatever conclusions you may, but I’m having a hard time understanding why Flotrack would publish such a sensitive document without first confirming its authenticity. Further, I’m also not sure the legality of water-marking another organization’s confidential report. That is not journalism. That’s desperation for attention.

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A version of this post first appeared in the morning shakeout, my weekly email newsletter covering running, writing, media and other topics that interest me. If you’d like for it to land in your inbox first thing on Tuesday mornings, subscribe here.