Liberty Seguros terminate contract
Wow!
News from: www.cyclingnews.com or VeloNews.com
http://www.libertyseguroswurth.com/
Finally, someone actually forces a consequence! Since Liberty Seguros is the subsidiary of Liberty Mutual (located right around the corner from my house) I thought I’d send them a letter:
Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 10:57:32 -0400
To: PresidentialSvcTeam@libertymutual.com
Subject: You did the right thingThank you for cancelling your sponsorship of the Liberty Seguros-Würth cycling team. I know it was a tough decision, but it was the right one. Doping is a serious problem that cannot and will not be fixed unless there are real and serious consequences for engaging in the practice. It’s really unfortunate that innocent riders will be the most dramatically affected by your decision, but I honestly see no other way out. They, at least, have the chance to find another team. Team management, on the other hand, may now be tainted for life and that’s probably as it should be. If team management doesn’t get the message after Heras’ suspension, they’re not going to get the message at all. It’s best they get out of the sport for good.
I’m just a rider, not a racer, but I do like to watch the races and was quite excited at the prospect of meeting Heras when you brought him to last year’s Rodman Ride. A last minute scheduling conflict did not allow me to go to that ride, but I did get a couple of pictures from friends and Liberty employees who were there. The insurance industry does not have the best reputation around and you just can’t allow your company to be associated with cheaters like Heras and Saiz. One wonders if Cofidis will ever remove that stain.
Again, I think you did the right thing. It drives the point home even stronger that you did it mid-season. And, unlike Cofidis which tried a short hiatus until things blew over, there is no stronger statement you could have made. It was harsh but it was necessary and it’s good for the sport.
/s/ A fan.
