Comments (2)

• kevinpatrick says:

  April 12, 2010 at 1:45 am

  Kelly Reed emailed to let me know that Matty has made a different decision regarding this issue. His comments are below:

  "From matt:

  I MADE A MISTAKE. this is no back pedal or coverup.

  i realize that every word i say- whether twitter, facebook, or at training-

  is being watched and analzyed. But it not just the incorrect or misleading

  words i used. it is also that my actions i realize support something I am so

  against, doping.

  tyler was giving me some advice after we ran into each other. he offered

  some advice and said if i wanted him to motor pace me. i did motor pace with

  him the last few weeks and it was really good. I am human and i made a big

  mistake. so you can say i am back tracking or i am covering something up.i

  realize that my actions, though the intention was to genuniely seek some

  knowledge, and ride my bike, portrayed much more than that and I am sorry.

  i twittered what i did with words that were wrong or misleading as he was

  "coaching" the motorpacing workout and i liked it.

  then when i used the wrong words of coach (as in coaching the workout) and

  said he was coaching me and i liked the workouts as he knows cycling and was

  looking forward to working with him as i transition to longer races/the next

  phase of my career…i meant i looked forward to doing more motor pacing

  workouts.

  the first couple of posts i made i was a bit defensive, as tyler is a

  friend. i believe what i believe. but what i didnt think about was the

  FACTS.

  no matter what i think or feel, he is serving an 8 year ban for drugs. for

  cheating. again that is the reality. no matter what i think about it.

  i dont approve of cheating. i didnt think that he was motorpacing workouts

  and me being there was that big of a deal. after all, he was a friend and is

  really good at motorpacing. I now see that it is not the action, but what

  the action portrays. By doing cycling stuff and talking about workouts with

  Tyler, I was indirectly saying I dont respect my position in the sport and i

  dont respect the reality that he is banned for something I am so against and

  is wrong in sport.

  I came to realize i made a mistake. by saying what i said in my posts it

  looked like i didnt respect our sports system and the facts of reality that

  he is banned for drugs. no PR person had to point that out to me. i am a

  smart man and hour by hour I started to see what I was expressing and by my

  actions, approving of. I respect this sport too much to do that.

  I watched a sprint race today and saw our sport for exactly what it is. a

  healthy, active fun sport. I never want to jepordize that. I made my

  statement this morning to state that i am not working with or seeking advice

  from tyler anymore. I realize what that can mean and i am not willing to do

  that. No matter what I think of him as a friend. My business of triathlon

  and my status as a professional athlete has to remain separate from any

  friendship.

  I hope this makes sense. i am trying to put into words what I feel and want

  to say. I guess I have to thank the forum and many close friends for making

  me see that I can not just do something though simple, but as a person who

  people look up to (and not just cause of my height), I must realize what

  those actions endorse or might support. I am not covering anything up.

  Havent since the beginning. At the beginning though, i was defending myself

  and my actions, cause i thought their were simple workouts and didnt realize

  that I was not respecting the reality of our sport system.

  i hope you all read this. this is not in formal wording. this is simply me.

  cheers, BIG MATTY REED- OUT"

  Reply
• Rich Van Sickle says:

  April 14, 2010 at 9:39 am

  Impressive insight and comments from Matt Reed.

  Best of luck moving into the next phase of your career!

  Reply