Motorsports

USADA Official Rips Danica for Comments
Posted Jun 01, 2009 9:06 PM
 By EDDIE PELLS
(AP Sports)
 Email  Print
Text Size A A A
IndyCar racer Danica Patrick insists she was joking when she said using performance-enhancing drugs would only be cheating if she got caught.

Latest Danica Patrick Photos

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 31: Danica Patrick, drives the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, during the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 31, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images

    Hideki Mutoh, left, of Japan, and Danica Patrick race out of a corner during the IndyCar Series' A.J. Foyt 225 auto race at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday, May 31, 2009, West Allis, Wis. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)

    AP

    Danica Patrick watches time trials for the AJ Foyt 225 auto race at the Milwaukee Mile, Saturday, May 30, 2009, in West Allis, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

    AP

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 30: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, prepares to qualify for the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 30, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 30: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, prepares to qualify for the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 30, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 30: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, prepares to qualify for the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 30, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 30: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, prepares to qualify for the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 30, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 30: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, prepares to qualify for the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 30, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 30: Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, prepares to qualify for the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 30, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images

    MILWAUKEE - MAY 30: Danica Patrick, drives the Boost Mobile/Motorola Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, during practice for the IRL IndyCar Series ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on May 30, 2009 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danica Patrick

    Getty Images




Not so funny, says the leader of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart said Patrick's comments, printed in Monday's edition of Sports Illustrated, were "totally irresponsible.''
"In one interview, she undercut what millions of parents try their best to teach their kids everyday in this country, that winners never cheat and cheaters never win,'' Tygart said.
In an interview with Dan Patrick published in Sports Illustrated, Danica Patrick was asked, if she could take a performance-enhancing drug and not get caught, would she do it if it allowed her to win the Indianapolis 500.
"Well, then it's not cheating, is it? If nobody finds out?'' she said.
Dan Patrick responded: "So you would do it?''
Danica's answer: "Yeah, it would be like finding a gray area. In motorsports, we work in the gray areas a lot. You're trying to find where the holes are in the rule book.''
Danica Patrick later said her answers were a joke and she apologized if they came across differently.
"It was a bad joke,'' she said in an interview published on the USA Today Web site. "There is a lot of sensitivity in our culture about (performance-enhancing drugs). With all the baseball stuff, I've followed it and this is a real problem. It's a shame kids think they have to do this to get ahead. It's very dangerous.''
Patrick's agent, Lewis Kay, told The Associated Press that Patrick felt she had "addressed the matter thoroughly with her comments to USA Today.''
Patrick finished third at Indy last month. Her contract with Andretti Green Racing expires after this year and there's speculation about her possibly moving to NASCAR or Formula One.
NASCAR, meanwhile, is taking a much more active approach against drugs in the garage. Six crew members and driver Jeremy Mayfield have been suspended since NASCAR began random testing this year.
Tygart said he was glad Patrick apologized for her comments.
"Although joking about the use of dangerous and unhealthy drugs that cheaters use to rob clean athletes of their dreams is no laughing matter,'' he said.
2009-06-01 21:34:20
COMMENTS ( 938 )
Page 1 of 94 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>
      Newest First
CindRkstrw
10:22PM Jun 5 2009 
Did Robbie Gordon write this comment????
REPLY RATING
(0 RATINGS)  
VidaLobo
12:02PM Jun 5 2009 
Danica herself is a "bad joke." She prances around in her underwear, does pseudo-lesbian television commercials, and spreads her thighs in any direction there happens to be a camera....and then claims it's "sexist" to criticize her for any of it. Well, bullsh*t. Milka Duno and especially Sarah Fischer are almost always professional and role models for women. Miss Danica tries to start a fight with every single person she meets...as long as they can't fight back. That is to say, she chooses to poke, punch, and kick at men who she knows can't haul off and wail on her a** the way she so richly deserves. This girl, not woman but girl, has no business in any sport and certainly not as a role model for anyone. The one race she "won" was a "victory" during which her teammate was leading into the last five laps and was "mysteriously" waved off so that Danica could win. Yeah, right. Does anyone want to buy a bridge in the middle of the desert? This is a perpetual whiner who has yet to LEGITIMATELY prove that she can win a race, who is little more than a camera whore, and will start a fight with anyone who dares call her on her misbehavior. All we can hope is that one day she finally messes with the wrong person and winds up with a mouthful of missing teeth.
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)  
VidaLobo
11:50AM Jun 5 2009 
Danica herself is a "bad joke." She prances around in her underwear, does pseudo-lesbian television commercials, and spreads her thighs in any direction there happens to be a camera....and then claims it's "sexist" to criticize her for any of it. Well, bullsh*t. Milka Duno and especially Sarah Fischer are almost always professional and role models for women. Miss Danica tries to start a fight with every single person she meets...as long as they can't fight back. That is to say, she chooses to poke, punch, and kick at men who she knows can't haul off and wail on her a** the way she so richly deserves. This girl, not woman but girl, has no business in any sport and certainly not as a role model for anyone. The one race she "won" was a "victory" during which her teammate was leading into the last five laps and was "mysteriously" waved off so that Danica could win. Yeah, right. Does anyone want to buy a bridge in the middle of the desert? This is a perpetual whiner who has yet to LEGITIMATELY prove that she can win a race, who is little more than a camera whore, and will start a fight with anyone who dares call her on her misbehavior. All we can hope is that one day she finally messes with the wrong person and winds up with a mouthful of missing teeth.
REPLY RATING
(3 RATINGS)  
acedogg90
9:58AM Jun 5 2009 
yes i have to agree! she is beautiful. wait what was the subject? oh yah. get off her back. it was a joke. a quite funny joke. a female indy driver using performance inhancemant drugs. one its nearly impossible to find performance inhancemnent drugs for women that doesnt make them grow a penis. and two... can someone tell me WTF she would be inhancing! she drives a car. yah its hard. ******* more of a conditioning thing. its like bill gates making a joke about seeling drugs in the hood. its friggin hillarious! and no i cant spell. and yes i will get into her pants... one day. one day i will.
REPLY RATING
(4 RATINGS)  
CSI Blackwell
9:22AM Jun 5 2009 
She heard it from a old NASCAR interview.
"It's only cheating if you get caught"
Most the responses are from jerk-offs that will not get into a race car.
And jerk-offs that will never get into her.
REPLY RATING
(4 RATINGS)  
Tinman0670
8:41AM Jun 5 2009 
Amazing. Jesse Ventura used to say the exact same thing, but there was never any outcry. Those of you talking smack about her are either jealous you can't get a woman that looks as good, or are jealous you'll never look as good. What kind of drugs can give someome an edge driving a car? The ones that need drugs are the rednecks who sit and watch these cars do nothing but one left turn after another, cause if I had to watch that I'd need drugs to keep from falling asleep
REPLY RATING
(3 RATINGS)  
HOTWHL56
8:24AM Jun 5 2009 
Hey you dummies, what she said is a take-off of a common racing saying "if you're not cheating, you're not racing and it's only cheating if you get caught". she is a racer, right?................lighten up!
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)  
azeka3
6:06AM Jun 5 2009 
Typical comment from a smart ass BITCH. And she does look like a boy.
REPLY RATING
(1 RATINGS)  
Thelonelyone1851
5:52AM Jun 5 2009 
She should have stayed on Spike TVs Power Block and stayed out of racing,she seemingly is saying something or doing something controversial every week.
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)  
chackett4113
5:46AM Jun 5 2009 
she looks like a boy
REPLY RATING
(2 RATINGS)  
Page 1 of 94 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
YOU'LL BE ASKED TO REGISTER OR SIGN IN BEFORE POSTING A COMMENT.
Make a Comment
Comment