As you may have seen, when news broke that the Floyd Fairness Fund was up and running, I posted a copy of the press release and a brief mention that it was open for business. I would have liked to write more about it this morning, but a little thing called work got in the way. Life is like that.
Someday maybe I’ll be able to work in the same manner as Martin Dugard, but right now, I have to do my blogging and other writing in my free time.
Anyway, I should have mentioned in the initial version of my previous post that I would be coming back and writing more later. Now is later.
And now that I’ve had a chance to go through the site, here’s my take: With this step, Team Landis has kicked up his defense another notch. They’re taking the Wiki defense, and building upon it by including more documentation related to the case, a media page with links to a number of news stories about the case, as well as links to press releases, and ideas and suggestions on how to get involved. I get the sense that we’re seeing the beginnings of the Wiki defense on steroids. Then again, maybe that’s not the best analogy.
As we’ve been expecting, there’s a page where you can make a donation (through PayPal), if you’re so inclined. I’ve already made my first donation, and I plan on making monthly donations from here on out. Not large bucks, but over time it will add up to a fair amount. One thing to remember, however, is that the Floyd Fairness Fund is an advocacy group, so any donations you make are not tax deductible.
Among the new material that can be found on the FFF site is a an article by Arnie Baker outlining steps that could be taken to improve the fairness of the anti-doping system. Take the time to read Baker’s article. He makes a number of very good points about how the system can be reformed to make it more fair to everyone, and more open and transparent. Greater transparency will go a long way to shoring up the credibility of the overall system. And it will go a long way towards winning the trust of the athletes, which seems right now to be in short supply.
Overall, I think Michael Henson and company have done a very good job putting the site together, and I think it’s another big step in the long march towards a (hopefully) successful resolution to this case. And it’s a big step in drawing awareness to the issues related to Floyd’s case and beyond. If they keep this kind of effort up, Floyd may well win back some hearts and minds.
The site is just great! Well done, and very comprehensive. I was impressed! And I also made my first donation, it felt good!