Ex-Training partner Ato Bolden sees red with Maurice Greene doping blues

The UK Guardian says that Maurice Greene's ex-training partner, Ato Bolden, sees red over Greene's drug blues.  (full letter here)

After the accusation that world champ Greene doped with steroids, HGH, and insulin, Bolden wrote a rather peeved letter to his former coach John Smith and to Greene.  Both worked with for HSI Sports Management.  This all came to light in the Angel Heredia doping scandal.

They were once the best of friends and the closest of training partners, as well as the greatest of rivals, but now it appears that Maurice Greene and Ato Boldon have fallen out spectacularly over allegations that Greene used banned performance-enhancing drugs.

A scandal that started nearly five years ago when Britain's Dwain Chambers tested positive for drugs given to him by Victor Conte's Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco) has now consumed Greene, statistically the greatest sprinter in history, and Boldon is furious, because he fears it has cast a shadow over his own achievements.

The letter as quoted in the Guardian starts with some historical nostalgia:

The letter begins by addressing Smith as 'Benedict Arnold', an American military hero during the War of Independence whose name has become synonymous with betrayal after he switched sides and fought for the British. 'My own coach, doping my competition while he smiles in my face and preaches the "we are clean and they are not" gospel,' he writes.

Then the letter waxes poetic:

In the 'Boldon letter', the writer refers sarcastically to Greene as 'GOAT' - the tattoo on his arm that stands for 'Greatest Of All Time' - and claims that the revelations 'now taint everyone who has worked with you [Smith], even if they decided not to go this DRUG route. I might have an ounce of respect left for either of the two of you, the "GOAT" or yourself, if you had called me up when this first broke, to at least attempt to explain - like MEN - who are supposedly down for each other, do. You knew I knew, and yet both of you have done what you do best. Huddle in a corner and hide.'

...It's not like I didn't spend the past 13 years defending anyone who dared to talk about anyone in my camp or in my group,' the letter says. 'I never did that, right? Donovan opened his mouth to DARE talk about my "boy" Maurice, and I was on him in a flash, why because when you are down, when you have each other's backs, that is what REAL MEN do - they back each other up... Donovan was right too. My bad for thinking that I could trust any of you or believe a word you said.'

Bolden goes on to jump on 'Larry's Rectus' and a positive test (Is this HSI's Larry Wade who tested positive for a nandrolone metabolite).

(more after the jump)

Greene is one of three Olympic champions Smith has coached, but a dark cloud was cast over his training group in July 2004 when Larry Wade, a 110m hurdler, tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone and was banned for two years, despite the support offered to him by Boldon.

'I vouched for everyone,' the letter says. 'When Larry's Rectus humongus [sic] went down (of course that mystery positive of his isn't so mysterious now, is it?) it was my house that I called the meeting to, because if one was going through anything WE ALL WERE.'

The post concludes:

Let me cut to the chase, as it concerns your ultimate betrayal, as you doped my competition and my team-mates while professing to the world (and, of course, to me) that you were the "drug-free coach". When you see me somewhere, just pretend you don't. You are dead to me.'

Boldon was unavailable for comment when Observer Sport tried to contact him, but last week he did speak to a Greek website he writes a column for. 'One thing is clear, that the evidence and the facts will show someone to be a fraud and someone will be vindicated,' he told them. 'I will make no further comment regarding this case until such time.'

And the letter continues on, with more acculades...check out the Guardian link...

Comments

[HGH]

Use of steriods in games diluting the spirit of sportsmanship