That’s how a supermarket tabloid might headline the news that Tyler Hamilton rang the Dope-O-Meter a second time and has retired, if that sort of rag bothered with niche-sport celebrities. VeloNews.com showed a touch more reserve. As the house fool I probably should be raving on this topic over there, but I can’t work up the requisite rage.
If Hamilton is telling the truth about suffering from depression — an assumption I do not make — I don’t feel obliged to add to his burdens in order to lighten mine. He may very well be the first U.S. national champion to test positive while wearing the stars and stripes. For sure he’s divorced from his wife of nine years, and his mom has cancer. That should satisfy any former fanboys aghast at the greasy skidmarks his feet of clay left on their man-crush dreamscapes.
I used to enjoy editing Hamilton when he wrote diaries for VeloNews.com. He seemed content in his work, and was generous in his comments about rivals and subordinates. And whether you believe he was doped or pure as the driven snow, he showed plenty of heart out there on the road.
A line from Shakespeare comes to mind — “Hamlet,” act 2, scene II: “(T)he devil hath power/To assume a pleasing shape. …” And another, from “As You Like It”, act 2, scene VII:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts. …
If the play’s the thing, as ol’ Will also wrote, then Tyler Hamilton must find some other role. This show has closed.
Mad Blog Media 
O’Grady has a heart? WTF? I’m going to the Bike Snob or the Drunk Cyclist. I don’t need this!
As someone who has wrestled with depression, I’d say the explanation is plausible. There were times when if you had told me that hitting my head with a hammer would help, I’d have done it 24/7. It is a sad way to end a career. I agree that we won’t know for sure, but call me a dupe if you want, I’ll go with it.
Hey, O’Grady is human and thus prone to the occasional failure of persona. Only large white cats can be in character (evil) all the time.
Hamilton, on the other hand, and no I am not an economist, is now just a bummer. On many levels: for what he seemed to to be back in the day, for what he looked like he could have been and the sadness that is his current plight.
Also having suffered from the ills of the Big “D”, I can say that the stuff he has had to deal with this explanation could be very plausible. The truly sad thing for me is that Tyler showed a lot more heart and soul than some other “pros” and this may be how we remember him. Hopefully he will find his peace and not follow Marco Pantani’s course of stage exit. Depression can be a real downer, and being a pro cyclist doesn’t help. Being an “ex-pro cyclist” might though as the devotion and focus required to be there all of the time, is what might see him through. Take that focus and put it to getting your life back on track on pedal stroke at a time.
Best of luck Tyler. Define your life by who you are, not what you are.
I wasn’t a Hamilton fan. (I reserve my man-crushes for Kelly, Roche Sr., Hinault, Moser, and Lemond.) I thought the vanishing twin defense was desperate. But I can’t kick a guy who says he’s fighting depression. I’m managing it myself, along with ADD. I’m glad he’s decided to step out. I wouldn’t call it a graceful exit, but it’s better than claiming he’s innocent and has been set up.
I hope he can find a way to get through the divorce/Mom’s cancer/retirement. That’s a lot for anyone all at once.
I have to say, regarding the Dope-O-Meter, I’m conflicted. Part of me thinks of performance enhancement as more about entertainment enhancement. If athletes choose to bring chemists and pharmacists into the tent with engineers and coaches, I think I’m ok with it.
Living this close to the Mexican drug war has pushed me to reconsider the legalization/licensing of drugs. If all this shit is illegal, it shoves the market underground where violence becomes the law. And it’s expensive to fight it. I think I’d rather have regulated drugs, less violence, and some federal revenue instead of a deficit.
Sports could lead the way in managing the drug culture. Sports could call a truce, declare performance enhancement legal, and let athletes get on with killing themselves for my entertainment in a scientific manner. Big Pharma could pump a lot of money into athletics.
Milan San Remo never used to finish in a pack sprint. Now it’s the norm. I’m waiting for the day when L’Alpe Duez finishes in a pack sprint. Then I’ll be sure guys aren’t on bananas and water anymore. (I’m pretty sure they never were.)
I’ll join present company in passing up a opportunity to Crap on Tyler. Sounds like he has enough on his plate already, regardless of pre-existing feet of clay. Having gone through those times when life seemed to be circling the bowl in darkening earnest, I can vouch for the tendency to do self-destructive things.
Agree with Jeff on the dope war stuff. All drug wars ever do is get people killed, get the criminals rich, and give more power to the government that it shouldn’t have in the first place. Enough already.
Hey Pat,
I hope you didn’t get all of the 30 inches I heard was on the roads near golden. It’s going to 74 sunny degrees here in Deeetroit, so I’m off for a bike ride……
For once, I agree with Michael Ball, who had some pointed comments on a different website. The dude has been through plenty, the UCI/WADA/USA Cycling is going to come down hard on the guy. Like he needs that. This will be Pantani Redux, is my bet. This is no different than all of those poor fools playing college football, basketball, baseball, what have you, pushing themselves to excel, then finding themselves on the outside looking in. Cynic that I am, my sympathy goes out to him and his family, for all of the heartbreak they havebben and are going through.