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news
Shane Sutton, March 2016 (picture credit Alex Whitehead, SWPix.com)"I don’t need to be dragged into this shit fight" - Shane Sutton storms out of Richard Freeman hearing
Former Team Sky and British Cycling coach Shane Sutton this afternoon stormed out of the medical tribunal concerning Dr Richard Freeman, who worked with him at both organisations, following a fractious and often fiery session.
Even before Sutton was subjected to cross-examination today by Freeman’s lawyer, Mary O’Rourke QC, it was clearly going to be confrontational as she branded him “a habitual and serial liar” and “a doper, with a doping history.”
Sutton vehemently denied having bullied Freeman into ordering 30 sachets of Testogel which were delivered to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, with the doctor claiming they were to treat the Australian’s erectile dysfunction.
The Guardian’s Sean Ingle, who was at today’s hearing, quoted Sutton as saying: “I have never ordered any Testogel, I swear on my three-year-old daughter’s life.”
The 62-year-old Australian, addressing O’Rourke, said: “You are telling the press I can’t get a hard on – my wife wants to testify that you are a bloody liar.”
A screen separated him from Freeman, put in place to minimise the potential for the doctor, who faces being struck off, from feeling intimidated by Sutton, who described him as a “spineless individual.”
He added: “Richard, take the screen down and look me in the eye. There’s a word spineless that comes into play.”
After asking, “Am I the one who is on trial here?” – in response, O’Rourke said she believed the two witness statements he had given were false – Sutton announced he was leaving the tribunal, saying: “I have spent two days here, my children have taken the bullying to the gutter press.
“She is accusing me of all kinds of things so I am leaving the hearing now. I don’t need to be dragged into this shit fight.”
As he left, Sutton said: “The head of BC wanted him [Freeman] out, he turned up to work several times drunk, he was like a Scarlet Pimpernel. I had two critical cases when I couldn’t get hold of him.”
This morning lawyers for Sutton, who had been due to appear yesterday before the hearing was adjourned for 24 hours due to legal arguments, argued that he should be allowed to give evidence later in the week by videolink from Spain, citing a family emergency, but O’Rourke insisted she wanted to question him in person.
Responding to her allegations of doping, which he described as defamatory, he said: “My career spanned 100 tests and every one was negative.
“You have called me a serial liar but you don’t even know me. I just think you are totally out of order. An apology would be nice given you don’t even know me.”
He continued: “I am prepared to take a lie detector test. Who is lying? The guy [Freeman} who isn’t prepared to look his friend in the eye. This is a guy who came to hospital when I had bleeding on the brain when he had no reason to. To me he is a bloody good doctor and a friend.”
Freeman has accepted 18 of the 22 charges laid against him in the case, which has been brought by the General Medical Council and is being heard at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester.
While he has admitted ordering the Testogel in 2011, he denies that it was intended for use by an athlete, and his defence is that it was intended for Sutton.
The hearing continues.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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15 comments
Clearly I'm in the minority here, but his reaction comes off as that of a sociopath that has been called out.
No, it's not just you, I thought it was just me who thought that.
Thirded.
Had to laugh at those commenting on Twitter who doubted Jess Varnish and are now saying she's more credible. What? So they didn't believe her and all the people who backed her up before about what a bully he was/is?
How would you act if you'd been asked to attend a tribunal to answer some questions, so you cut your family holiday short, fly in from Spain and the first thing that happens is that you're called a cheat and liar, then tell everyone you've erectile dysfunction issues.
Maybe you'd just answer all the questions and not loose your temper. I think I'd personally think fuck it, I don't need this shit and 0121, probably in the same manner as Sutton has done (regardless of any alleged guilt or complicity).
.. or maybe he is a sociopath, I don't know. I'm pretty sure no one on here does either. What I do know is that things are rarely black and white. Our very own Lord of Cycling Chris of Boardman said three years ago that SS was forced out of his role as British Cycling technical director by a 'lynch mob' (despite most of us internet warriors agreeing he is a mean piece of work). Maybe CB knows more than we do.
I'm sure that Saint Chris certainly does. I'm glad to see that he'll be blessing the Question Time studio tonight with His Presence to cast out the devil's own gammons.
On an unrelated note, does anyone have any good guides on starting a holy war?
BeholdHIM.jpg
Sutton's off, can't say I blame him.
I'm not sure Steve Peters or anyone else would want to be bothered by turning up to be
character assassinatedsorry, cross examined by Mary o'Rourke unless they have to.. still I'm sure it keeps the whole PR fire stoked up a bit and I bet there'll be a few more expensive legal letters written.This whole case has become instantly interesting due to Sutton getting questioned. I was on the edge of my seat watching twitter feeds yesterday afternoon.
I do think it odd that Freeman's lawyer, Mary O'Rourke, was/is 'allowed' to attack Sutton with so much venom (although I can understand why she'd want to, discrediting Sutton makes Freeman's defense look more credible).
If I were Sutton who is not charged with anything and has already been kicked out of British sport for something unrelated, I'd be on the defensive as well. Clearly he wasn't expecting his character to be broken down (even further) publically. Consider the motivations why he should he sit there and answer questions publically about something he's supposedly involved in but indeed there is no evidence for.
Stepping back from this a little, I think this whole Freeman thing is part of one big orchestrated PR farce, Freeman may or may not be charged with something nefarious, but no-one will be able to pin anything on an athlete or anyone else within the organisation. The only winners from this particular tribunal will be Mark O'Rourke and the other legal 'Ankles' involved at god knows what hourly rate they get paid.
'Disgraced drug cheat Mr Bradley Wiggins'. Is he? Got any actual proven facts to back that up?
As for Sutton - the guy is a nasty peice of work. Always has been. He oozes it.
Really? There are Myriad reports into how Mr Bradley Wiggins doping, look them up Fan Boi and how he had his 'magical' 2012 season. To point out a couple one only needs to look at how the WWE scripting of Stage 17 played out when Froome was under team orders, being aressted whilst at Cofidis regarding doping across the team, then hiding like a little boy and burning his kit, the SKY Jiffy bags, David Millar remarking of all the drugs he ever took the one Mr Bradley was taking as a TUE was the most powerfull he ever took.
But possibly as you're after something a little more tangible; lets take the select comittees report into Mr Wiggins drug taking and "...used a banned powerful corticosteroid to enhance his performance to win the Tour de France" furthermore "not to treat medical need" — asthma — "but to improve his power to weight ratio." and "We believe this powerful corticosteroid was being used to prepare Bradley Wiggins... for the (2012) Tour de France,"
Above the House of Lords I'm not sure where you want to go from there regarding "actual proven facts" I suppose you could you ask Batman or something?
Sorry...but your lad Wiggins was a doper and a shit one, at least the 7 time tour winner and all round legend Lance Armstrong had the Raw Talent to back it up.
HOWEVER as far as I know Bradley Wiggins didn't bully other riders into keeping quiet or ending their careers - Filippo Simeoni, Christophe Bassons. Neither is Bradley a mysoginistic bully - Betsy Andreu, Emma O'Reilly....
Loads of cyclists have taken drugs. But hardly any have acted in the way Armstrong did. His behaviour towards Betsy Andreu and Emma O'Reilly is utterly unforgivable and it just shows Armstrong to be a bullying piece of shit.
Disgraced drug cheat Mr Bradley Wiggins; 'Theeeyyy'ree Comming for youuuu...'
Can't come soon enough.
Sutton does what he always does; blows blusters rages and denies everything. All around him are smoking turds yet he knows nothing about any of them. A masterclass in brazen BS.
This was predictable, Sutton isn't the type to be having a stick poked at him and not react, seems like the doctors brief was laying it on good and thick and from what I was reading not actually much substance.
Not actually naming a witness who was supposed to have seen him injecting stuff was it... hmmmmm shady as f.
I rather like Sutton's style , will the accusations stand up in court? Is there a stiff sentence coming? Or is it all bo##%^*ks ?
A big bag of a mess.