I posted on the Tour de France and the power of the peloton recently, and, in light of this week’s news on Floyd Landis, the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, I want to add my take, from a media standpoint.

Inflamed by the power of online media, this story has spread incredibly fast and filled the opinion boxes of the Internet. Hey, I thought no one in cared about the Tour de France; I thought no one in was paying attention now that Lance is gone.

Yet I wake up this morning and on TV is the press conference of Floyd Landis in with about two dozen microphones in his face. I get onto Technorati and see that “Floyd Landis” is the # 1 search term for the day. And what’s being said? For the most part, he is being absolutely vilified by the media, by bloggers, and by countless online sites. And I was saddened to read a post that proclaims “Floyd Landis tests positive for steroids.” That’s an absolute un-truth!

First of all, the tests showed abnormally high levels of testosterone and epi-testosterone—the tests were not ‘for steroids.’ Floyd Landis has not tested positive for doping; he’s not been proven guilty of using any steroids. Secondly, the tests are not complete yet—his challenge has not been answered. In fact, no such testosterone test has held up under a challenge by the rider. So, the chances are very high that the testosterone test will fail, will show nothing was wrong.

Now, I’m not saying he’s innocent or guilty. He just may be guilty. We’ll wait and see. But I am saying to anyone in the media, to anyone writing for public consumption: let’s use some judgment and responsibility in our reporting. Let’s use some reason and rationality when stating our opinions. Let’s not spread un-truths. Let’s treat people as innocent until proven guilty—let’s give our fellow humans at least that much respect. We in the media have power—now more than ever in the history of the world—let’s wield it wisely.

I’m a huge fan of the Tour de France, going on right now – I watch it every day. I am intrigued by the strategies, the many facets of sport, and the trial of human strength and endurance. One thing... Continue Reading