I received the following email today from the Brandt-Sorenson company –
Good Morning, I wanted to inform you that your internet blog Stevetilford.com contains damaging and false information about our trademark “brandt-sorenson”
Specifically:
“He served a 2 year ban for testing positive at Master’s Nationals a few years ago. But that obviously didn’t slow him down. He decided to profit from it by becoming a drug dealer.”
The accurate information is available publicly through the Federal Court filing system. The incorrect statement is damaging and negligent. Please remove any reference to our trademark “BRANDT-SORENSON” from your blog and comments section.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Brandt
Cecilia Sasso
co-owners BRANDT-SORENSON Cycling Apparel
And I also talked to Cecilia. She seemed nice enough.
I told her I was writing about Nicolas and not about their company. She told me the link to their clothing brand was damaging. I asked her what was inaccurate. She emailed what was bothering her, I guess.
I’m pretty positive that Nicolas did accept a two year ban for doping. An article from USAC from 2013 states –
USADA announced today that Nick Brandt-Sorenson of Los Angeles, Calif., a masters athlete in the sport of cycling, has accepted a two-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation.
Brandt-Sorenson, 32, tested positive for Efaproxiral, which artificially enhances delivery of oxygen to the tissues, as the result of a sample collected at the Masters Road Nationals in Bend, Ore. Efaproxiral is prohibited under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing and the International Cycling Union (UCI) Anti-Doping Rules, both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code.
So, suspension was true.
Then the part about profiting by dealing drugs. From the LA Times a couple days ago –
In his plea agreement, Brandt-Sorenson admitted to selling a vial of erythropoietin, or EPO, to an athlete in Boulder, Colo., for $631.
So, that seems to be truthful also. Maybe the part about obviously not slowing him down? That was just my opinion. If that is false, then I apologize.
I think my friend Seth received the same email from her. I think his response will be a joy to read.
Anyway, I might need to raise money through GoFundme to defend myself. This blog thing is getting a bit stressful.
Alert – Just received a clarification from the Brandt-Sorenson Co. It states –
I’m sorry I do not think you are understanding what I’m arguing. You need to not use the words “But that obviously didn’t slow him down. He decided to profit from it by becoming a drug dealer”
This implies an order in which things happened. Which is FALSE. This was not in this chronological order. This is a false statement. Please remove.
So, I guess I got it out of order. He must have been selling doping products before he tested positive? I guess they are confirming the truth of the statements, but saying it is out of order chronologically? I’m bad, sorry.