frtour1-6, Exercise 2: Ranking evidence

Model answer (check the details):

From most to least reliable for a specific claim:

1. A confession by the rider, made under oath or in a formal setting. Proves: use at the time and for the period described. Cannot prove: details outside what was admitted, or that the confession is complete.
2. A positive test confirmed by a laboratory and upheld by a tribunal. Proves: the presence of a banned substance in the sample, under the rules. Cannot prove: use on other occasions; and disputes about procedure, doses or contamination can arise.
3. Testimony from team-mates or staff, particularly if several independent accounts agree and are documented in a tribunal. Proves: a pattern of use. Cannot prove: details in every case, since witnesses may have motives or imperfect memories.
4. Documents, such as police seizures and medical records. Proves: possession or planning. Cannot prove: use by a specific person unless linked.
5. A rival's testimony alone, or newspaper allegations based on unnamed sources. Suggests a line of inquiry but is weak evidence by itself.
6. Unusual performance. Suggests nothing by itself, since training, equipment, tactics and talent also change results.

Care: a legal finding, a sporting finding and a public belief are different things, and a careful writer says which is meant.