Quote Of The Day

“There are 48 hours to save Sebastian Coe from his own vast superiority complex. The one that threatens to reveal itself again before a parliamentary select committee on Wednesday, which could just be the point of no return where his credibility is concerned …

His peremptory rejection of a Nike conflict of interest was especially dismal, considering we will need an International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) president who will ensure that company is scrutinised in the months ahead. Nike are sponsors of the athletics teams of Russia and Kenya, which are both under suspicion of institutionalised doping. The Nike Oregon Project remains at the centre of a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation following Panorama and ProPublica’s allegations that Salazar cheated …

With his awareness of the vagaries of working for the Nike monolith, Coe is well placed to subject them to the intense scrutiny that might be required in the months ahead. The relationship and the knowledge could actually be valuable. So might we see a shift in the Coe mindset, to see that this backstory is relevant and needs to be known? Well, time is running out. Please don’t hold your breath.”

– Excerpt from a column by The Independent‘s chief sports writer, Ian Herbert, entitled “Sebastian Coe’s complex ride with Nike makes him ideally placed to grill them. If only …”