The Debate Over Matty Reed and Tyler Hamilton
April 9, 2010
Matty and Kelly Reed and family
Olympian and professional triathlete Matty Reed sent out a “tweet” earlier this week that sparked a fierce, online debate. His Twitter post notified the world that he is working on his cycling with Tyler Hamilton. foundation repair . Hamilton is serving an 8-year-ban from cycling after twice testing positive for a banned substance. Today on Endurance Planet, Kelly Reed—Matty’s wife and coach—tackles the criticism and explains their reasoning for working with the controversial cyclist.
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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"
Impressive insight and comments from Matt Reed.
Best of luck moving into the next phase of your career!