Haven't these cyclists apologized enough for the masks?
BEIJING -- Like, they're sorry already, OK? Can we all just move on now so they can compete in peace?
Sure, in retrospect, it probably was not the greatest idea for some American track cyclists to wear surgical masks when they disembarked from their plane here last week. But they say that they didn't mean anything negative and that wearing the masks wasn't even their idea. The cyclists insist they were doing only what the U.S. Olympic Committee's medical staff advised because of concerns about Beijing's pollution.
"The thing about the masks is they're USOC-issued masks, and the doctor from the USOC sent [media rep] Andy Lee a note saying, 'You should wear this in airports and in all cities and all transportation systems,'" cyclist Taylor Phinney said. "The fact that the USOC didn't back them really wasn't cool. We'll see what happens. I just hope that Mike [Friedman], Jennie [Reed], Sarah [Hammer] and Bobby [Lea] can put it behind them and have a great performance. That's why they're here."
Hammer explained that wearing the masks seems to have served its intended purpose. "The point of what we were meaning to do by wearing the mask was to have our best performances, and I believe that's why I'm feeling good and feel like I'm coming into another race," she said. "I haven't had a problem, but I feel like I'm doing everything I can on every level."
Phinney was not among the riders who wore the masks because he was on another flight. He found out about the masks the next day when he picked up a copy of the Financial Times in London and saw Lea's face on the front page.
"I sort of laughed at it at first, but then I got here and heard what happened," he said. "Mike Friedman was really upset about it. It hasn't ruined their Olympic experience, but it's definitely made it a lot harder. Like Jennie said, it's tough to come to the Olympics and then have all this weird media attention on you.
"I know that Mike, on his blog, would get hate mail and he would be reading that every day, and we had to take his BlackBerry away from him because he just kept reading it and he would get all depressed and pissed off. He's sort of a fragile being to begin with."
Track event begins Friday
The track cycling competition will start Friday, but team manager Pat McDonough wasn't making any predictions other than, "We won't get shut out."
Phinney, who's only 18 years old, is an underdog for a medal, but he is a racing star in cycling because of his recent success -- a junior world championship -- and his lineage. He is the son of former Olympic cyclists Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter-Phinney.
Asked what he gained from his parents' experiences that help him as a cyclist, he gave a reply that ended with a laugh: "That's a good question. I've sort of been around my parents, obviously my whole life."
There were 57 posts on Friedman's Web site, and the vast majority of them expressed support and told him he didn't need to apologize for anything. A few criticized him and essentially called him an ugly American.
"For those of you who read this post and are familiar with at least part of the story must know in their hearts and minds how simply ridiculous it all is," Friedman responded on his site. "I'm not deleting any of these posts. I'm not replying to any of them. I have read them all, and the fire is beyond stoked.
"Everyone of the negative toned posts came from one postal address in Queensland, Australia. They are entitled to their opinions as I stated. Feel free to lash out simply because I'm American and have a personal blog."
Team manager Pat McDonough said wearing the masks was just part of being prudent in a sport in which "we're going to see riders qualify or not qualify by literally [thousandths] of a second."
When asked why the USOC chose to make the cyclists issue a formal apology to China instead of backing the cyclists better, McDonough said nothing for several seconds and smiled.
"That's called a 'no comment,'" he said with a grin. "You know, what it came down to was, we handed the masks to the athletes and said, 'This is how they work.' They wore them once. These guys have worked incredibly hard to get here, and hopefully we can put the story behind us."
Said Reed: "A lot of it is like a bad race. We have to put it behind us and refocus, and we have a lot of experience with that."
Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached here. His Web site is at jimcaple.net.
