Details on the Floyd Landis Fund

Interesting details on the Landis Fund listed here, by way of TNV.

Save the Lancaster One

01:15, Jan 5th by Carlton Reid

Friends and supporters of Tour de France champion Floyd Landis have joined together to create the Floyd Fairness Fund. The fund is accepting PayPal donations to help Landis pay for the estimated $500,000 legal bill he will incur fighting against the all-powerful, rich, judge-jury-research funder that is WADA. Later the fund may evolve into an advocacy organisation for athletes' rights

The Floyd Fairness Fund is led by Michael Henson, the New York based communications consultant for Landis. A key fund trustee is Arnie Baker M.D., a friend of Landis and fierce critic of WADA's modus operandi. The fund's executive director – and chief financial backer – is New York based cycling executive Brian Rafferty, MD and co-founder of Taylor Rafferty, an international financial consultancy firm. He's no slouch: he's the 2006
New York State Road Race Champion in the 45+ age group.

The Floyd Fairness Fund website was registered by Jeremy Hayter of Hayter Creative of London. The site is also designed by Hayter Creative. This company, founded in 2006, has produced design work for many blue-chip clients, including the website for Taylor Rafferty.

The Floyd Fairness Fund - click the PayPal button via here - is "an initiative supporting Landis in his efforts to clear his name of unsubstantiated doping allegations," said Henson... 

The fund need not run for ever. A hearing in front of experts appointed by the US Anti-doping Agency could be held in February or March. Landis has requested this hearing be made open and public, a first from an accused athlete. However, this has thrown USADA and it is taking a long time to finalise hearing details, a delay that costs Landis dearly, both in cash and continued damage to his reputation.

The goal of any post-FFF fund would be to "establish a legacy of advocacy for athletes’ rights to compete in fair and clean sport by advancing best practice standards in anti-doping testing and enforcement."

The fund is seeking to raise $2m.

The FFF website – topped with an amateurish logo - is a hotch-potch of PDFs, the majority of which are presented better elsewhere. However, there are some fresh materials, including a new plea for fairness, transparency and scientific rigour from Arnie Baker.

The superlative Trust But Verify blog says the set of pleas don't "seem like an irresponsible set of requests."