Seth Meyer

Of course, all his results are still on the results pages, seeing as they take up a good chunk of it every year.

At least the testing officials gave O’Neill procedural due process: They waited for the B sample to come up positive before releasing the results to the media. 

Bravo for following the rules.

superrookie

Another one bites the dust.

Guess he won’t be at the Criterium in downtown Chicago.

Seth Meyer

No Catch-22 at all. Get a TUE or get tested positive. Simple as that.

If you want to complain about the TUE process, go ahead (I have no idea what it’s like). But that’s a separate argument. He doesn’t have a TUE + The substance is on the banned list = He’s positive. It’s that simple.

Julian

Perhaps my point wasn’t clear- there is no black/white with respect to drug use in sport.  In fact the majority of cases lie in the liminal area and as such aren’t so simply decided. 

According to UCI/WADA code, riders can legally use Phentermine out of competition with a prescription. However, there may be no trace amounts of Phentermine in a rider’s system during competition.

Here’s the problem…

Several elements of this rule need to be more clearly defined:

Competition: does this mean when one is actually on the road racing, or is this for the duration of the season… And if someone takes a month off of racing is that still considered competition. 

Trace amounts: what defines this...is it simply the effectiveness of the particular test’s (and the associated equipment and technicians) ability to pick up minute residual amounts.  It is a zero tolerance rule… How long does the drug last in one’s system, how long is the drug effective…

I understand the visceral reaction to jump on the “shoot-from-the-hip” bandwagon and condemn anything that comes close to looking like it may perhaps be related to the indication of a suggestion of drugs, yet this is part of the problem as one cannot un-scream “fire” in a theater.

Seth Meyer

Good clarification, Julian. I still think, however, that if O’Neill wanted to be responsible about his use of it he should have fought to get a TUE for taking it during the season.

If the code says there shall be no “trace amounts” during competition, it is his responsibility first to make sure that’s the case for his body. it’s written in every UCI contract that the rider is responsible for knowing the code and abiding by it. So it’s his responsibility first to address this issue in the code before he is tested positive. There is no word out if he tried to combat this by ever getting a TUE or even consulting anyone about this wording in the code. If he indeed did not try to clarify the wording of the WADA code with anyone before he took the substance during the competitive season, then it is plainly his fault for being negligent.

Arguing that the wording in the code is not sufficient or fair after you signed a contract saying you knew it and would abide by it and after getting tested positive without having done anything to combat the wording in the code—that should not get you off the hook. Maybe he wasn’t trying to dope, but that’s not the point. He broke the rules, and the rules must be applied fairly to everyone.

Phentermine is a prescription medication indicated for use in the morbidly obese. If a physician prescribed this for Mr. O’Neill, he was using it off-label and incorrectly for purposes other than life-threatening obesity. Obviously. As for cardiac side effects, it can cause or exacerbate arrythmias and cause potentially fatal pulmonary hypertension, and interacts badly with certain other medications. As previously posted, it is thought of as an “upper” and if Mr. O’Neill signed a contract stating he would not take this during competition, he has violated his contract.