Why...

That is pretty much my only response to the news that Dewey Dickey is likely to receive a 2-year (actually probably lifetime) ban because he refused to take an out of competition doping control. I raced with Dewey for several years while in the midwest. Note that this was after he served a 2-year suspension for testing positive for banned substances in 2001/2002; thus the possibility of a lifetime ban. Dewey was always a gritty, hard nosed racer who was always willing to push the pace and animate the race. Despite his former doping offense I've always had a good amount of respect for him. This is partly due to his style of racing, but mostly due to the fact that he was generally a nice guy.

The last time I saw Dewey he was on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance at the Tour of Ohio. He had not crashed, rather he was weakened due to blood loss related to the removal of his colon several years prior. Knowing that he is no stranger to adversity I knew that he'd be back. Since that time I've seen his name at the top of the results pages at several races in the midwest including a win at last year's Snake Alley Crit.

So back to the main question...Why? It sucks that USADA was dragging ass with processing his updated (Therapeutic Use Exemption) TUE, but why refuse to take the control? Dewey said that he refused the test because he knew he would test positive due to his medications. Had he agreed to the test (and he was only taking the meds specified on his TUE), the worst that could happen is that he tests positive for the drugs that are listed on prior TUE's and the one that is (was) currently being processed. At least then he could fight the positive on grounds of procedural issues. Now we are left to wonder if there were more nefarious reasons for refusing the test. It is possible that he's using a banned substance that is not on his TUE and he figured it was better to hide behind his pending TUE. I hate to say it but to me that sounds like the most probable situation.

Dewey's life revolved around cycling, and he was a fighter. He's come back from the abyss several times, why not fight this comparably small hurdle? Sadly we'll probably never know the real story, and as a consequence many people will question all of his accomplishments on the bike. Dewey, If you did fear testing positive for something else, come out and say it, and do so soon. That may erase any respect I have for you on the bike, but it will reaffirm my respect for you off of the bike.