He then went on to win the Route du Sud in preparation for the Tour de France as part of Lance Armstrong's team that went on to Armstrong's first win. When he brought up his concern with Doug Ellis, Ellis said, Well, how can we change that?. This is one of several revelations in Vaughterss long-awaited memoir, One-Way Ticket, which was published July 1 in the UKand will appear in the U.S. on August 27. And you can very much prove the metrics of that, thats its going to be of value to the company that does that. [32], On January 25, 2023 Vaughters signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), with whom he had been a member of one two previous occasions. Take a team like ours, if we had two people doping, and it comes out or not, you know, it is the end of the organization because there really is no way around it. Vaughters is also a member of Omega Psi Phi and was involved in other student organizations including Men Against Abuse Now (MAAN) and the Stanford PACS (Philanthropy and Civil Society) Community Grants Program. It will be the world closely following Jonathan Vaughters. On the other, you had people who were beginning to resent the corruption that pervaded the sport. When Team Garmin-Chipotle lines up in Brest, France, on Saturday for the start of the Tour, a world of fed-up cycling fans will see the Argyle Armys weekly drug tests as a guiding light. Absolutely not, according to at least one of Armstrong's former teammates, the talented climber Jonathan Vaughters , who retired early when he concluded that it was impossible to win without. In: E. Bacon and L. Birnie, ed., Learn how and when to remove this template message, team classification in the 2011 Tour de France, United States National Time Trial Champion, www.cyclingnews.com the world centre of cycling, "Ryder Hesjedal happy, hopeful heading into 2011", "Exclusive Interview: Vaughters Reveals More About His Doping", 2005 Pezcyclingnews interview of Jonathan Vaughters by Matt Wood, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jonathan_Vaughters&oldid=1141558605, BLP articles lacking sources from July 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 17:34. Then, with New York-based financial management executive Doug Ellis, Vaughters incrementally grew the modest organization based in Boulder, Colorado, into Garmin-Sharp, one of the UCI WorldTours most successful teamsa team that will be known as Cannondale-Garmin in 2015 after a recent merger with the former Italian-based squad. Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. All of a sudden he was passing everyone on the road. [15][16] He was released on September 12, but returned to the practice squad on October 29. His great moment of glory, winning a time trial up the feared Mont Ventoux in a 1999 race, should have been the best day of his life. From 2006, the team became the property of sports management Slipstream Sports, chaired by Doug Ellis with a view to creating an American Pro-Tour team by 2009. And thats what our sponsors have been promised. How can a mother look at her newborn baby and project hell change the image of an entire sport? So, looking at the sport from afar, what lessons have you learned? It infinitely annoyed me that that was against the law, he said. That market does not exist. He is now manager and influential figurehead of the renowned Education First World Tour team. Probably the most amazing claim in the book is that Lance was actually offered the same deal by the USADA that his teammates accepted: tell all and receive a minimal suspension. Even the biggest teams were functioning on half of that. So I had to sort of educate, be loud and do a lot of interviews, to get a lot of the issues that the athletes face, the teams face into the public forum. Suddenly, argyle is cool. Recruitment was done by Vaughters and Prime Alliance director Roy Knickman with Colby Pearce as the head Sporting Director. In early 2005 Vaughters met Doug Ellis at the launch party for the new season. Not race results, but publicity resultsmetrics for sponsors that are looking for a specific return on their investment. He helped Tucker to their first State Championship and two semi-final appearances. Former pro cyclist Jonathan Vaughters, photographed at his Denver home, June 27. [1] He earned honors as an Under Armour All-American, 2010 GA Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year, DeKalb County All-Class Defensive Player of the Year, two-time GA Merit Scholar, two-time President's Education Award recipient, National Beta Club, National Honors Society, and a Franklin D. Watkins Award finalist (Nations top African-American scholar-athlete). Now 41, Vaughters is constantly looking for new challenges. He went on to attend Winston Salem State University in Winston Salem, NC where he played football (on scholarship). Nobodys going to push back against him, theyre just going to listen to the ideas and let it go forward. This is a joke, he thinks, standing on the winners podium. He didnt like how the whole team one day suddenly started revolving around Lance Armstrong. Nov. 27, 2014 Since he retired from his successful racing career more than a decade ago, Jonathan Vaughters has been one of the most innovative (and successful) team managers in professional cycling. So one-quarter of what a top team is now. Leave a sympathy message to the family in the guestbook on this memorial page of Jonathan A Vaughters Sr. to show support. But theres a point where theres diminishing returns on being very publicly loud like that, and to me I thought now is the time to let go a lot of this stuff Id given a large kick-in-the-arse and let people who are more execution-oriented take over. We would be a completely dysfunctional organization if I didnt stand by you after giving you specific instructions on how to make the decision. And he said, Okay. And I think at that time, you could tell, he did not believe me because historically in his life, in dealing with professional cycling when something like that happens and blows up as big as that did, that theres always gonna be a fall guy that takes the blame and you kick him out, and everyone moves on and everything is oriented around keeping the sponsors happy. Jo Ann Vaughters was born on Tuesday, April 2, 1935 on James Island to the late Franklin and Josephine Judge. When you go through an MBA program, the two things that are abundantly clear about cycling are that (1) its very different from the rest of other professional sports out there, and (2) its very, very different from the business world as a whole, in that its not an effective business model. The Tour de France was over, and Jonathan Vaughtersthe American former cyclist, current team manager and doper turned antidoping activisthad one more stop to make. The coward actually turned out to be quite brave. It was at this esteemed HBCU in the year of 1998 that he met the apple of his eyethe lily of his valleythe cream in his coffee his wife, DeShanna (better known as, Shanny). Here is Jonathan A Vaughters Sr.'s obituary. The more you told him he wasnt doing or saying it right, the more he did it. If you want to be competitive with those teams then it further erodes your value, making it less likely for your sponsor to stick around. We cant make decisions based on sponsor wants or needs; we need to produce the best racing team we can, and if sponsors choose that they would like to be part of that organization, then great. In the staid world of cycling, Jonathan Vaughters, 35, is about as conventional as wingtip shoes on a track suit, which is what he wears at times. Instead he felt hollow inside. On January 8, 2019, Vaughters signed a reserve/future contract with the Chicago Bears. So with Cannondale, if we bring our resources together, then it gets us a little bit closer to being competitive with the oligarch-driven teams. [11], On August 15, 2016, Vaughters was signed by the San Diego Chargers. May our Lord continue to give peace to his family and friends!! Sign up today. Thats how you manage a good business. We chatted about the clocks, flying school and his historic housewhich just happens to be on the same street as Len Pettyjohns when the former Coors Light cycling team owner and college professor lived in Denver in the mid-1980s. Anyone whos familiar with the world of competitive cycling knows that, for some athletes, the sport is a means of escaping, or salving, or expiating, tremendous inner pain. But he doesnt address the elephant-in-the-room question that continues to loom: Is cycling finally clean? But Wiggins was the only one (so far) with the ability to win the Tour, and Vaughters was crushed to lose him to the hyperaggressive Team Sky in 2010, after only one year. Postal riders, and he independently doped using EPO during 2002, until reconsidering his ethical choices. Its mission was to enable riders to compete without having to use banned substances and methods. Power struggles ensued, as they always did with him. Savvy, trusted advisor, providing experience, expertise, and leadership to drive innovative solutions and business outcomes. Still, upon retirement Vaughters saw the gaping talent maw between Armstrong and the next great American racer. Horace Matthew Vaughters, Sr and Bishop Beatrice Vaughters, was born on November 25, 1976 in Salisbury, NC. Vaughters finds himself on the outs, disillusioned with Postals frat-party culture and looking for a way to stop doping. Suddenly, they were getting crushed by riders who were using reckless quantities of EPO, which increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood. In 2004, Vaughters took effective management of the team and in 2005 it was split between the 5280 junior team and the continental team TIAA-CREF. Vaughters returned to the Stampeders for the next two seasons where he played in 33 games, recording 50 defensive tackles, 11 quarterback sacks, and eight special teams tackles. One-Way Ticket tells two dovetailed stories about Vaughters: the coming of age of a young American bike racer, a misfit kid from Denver who found solace on long, lonely rides in the mountains and pursued his dream of racing in Europe at the highest levels; and his subsequent journey from corruption to redemption, when he became a leading force in the movement to clean up cycling. Understand, its not a direct sales return. [1] He also appeared in several national publications including the Wall Street Journal.[2]. It was striking 11 by the time Vaughters reappeared and sank into a cushioned settee opposite the brick fireplace. EF Pro Cycling's Luis Ricardo Villalobos has been provisionally suspended from racing after failing an anti-doping test in April 2019 several months before joining Jonathan Vaughters' team. That whole dynamic didnt exist in 2007, so right now, for teams that are truly trying to make a sponsor happy or have a sponsor thats doing it for commercial reasons, its a very, very hard game, where you have to be perfectly clairvoyant in strategy and execution, and so forthbecause at the end of the day, with a $40 million budget, your margin for error is much larger. Weve never had a positive test in the organization, in a decade, nor a hint of anyone doping inside the team, ever. Postal and Lance Armstrong, was a decent rider in his own right (once setting the record for the time trial up Mont Ventoux), then gradually fell out of the sport after witnessing and participating in the epidemic of EPO usage in the peloton. The most indelible scene in the book, hands down, remains the story Vaughters told me back in 2006, ofLance injecting himself inside a hotel room at the 1998 Vuelta a Espaa. And nothing would stop him, especially something petty like money. The Secure Act 2.0 will help a lot. And the fact that it didnt work out that way, that myself and Doug [Ellis]whos still the principal owner of Slipstream Sportsstood by Charly and said that that is the decision this organization made. Share a memory of Jonathan A Vaughters, Sr.. I always was coming at pretty much everything from a different angle, from real young on. Vaughters wasnt going to solve it at his real estate job. A respiratory infection he had been fighting [] He chose cycling as an escape, but at first he was hopelessly bad at it. This is going to work. . Send flowers, 1 memorial tree was planted in memory of Jonathan A Vaughters, Sr.. Plant a tree. Following the abandonment, he requested and received the termination of his contract with Crdit Agricole which had been due to run until the end of 2003. The competitors: Jonathan Vaughters, manager of the EF Education First WorldTour team, and yours truly, CyclingTips editor at large. Hes an anti-cyclist.. In fact, the doping saga takes up less than a third of the book. Thats supplanted by the athletes being the headlines because, again, thats a sustainable prospect. [23] In Week 5 of the 2020 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, Vaughters recorded his first career sack on Tom Brady during the 2019 win. But a computer is too rational. Vaughterss anecdotes are vivid and often hilarious. After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Vaughters signed with the Green Bay Packers on May 8, 2015. But his father had paid the $100 entry fee and insisted he get his moneys worth in the Zingers other races that week. Vaughters covers a lot of ground, and hes as hard on himself as anyone else. By Jonathan Vaughters Aug. 11, 2012 Jacob Thomas Denver WHY does an athlete dope? And hes doing it in argyle. There was something different about Jonathan. Jonathan attended the Davie County Public School System and received I said, Oh, its all right, Vaughters said. In 2000, Vaughters joined the French team Crdit Agricole. And he loves talkingever since speaking his first words . Read more about our policy. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Jonathan A Vaughters Sr. (Camden, New Jersey). From the get-go, he was out there to do something.. Why do it like everyone else when you can do it better another way? [20] He returned to the 53-man roster on November 16 after Trey Burton was placed on injured reserve. I said, Jonathan, people dont do this. [17] He was promoted to the active roster on November 2,[18] and made his NFL debut in that weekend's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Since we first started recruiting in 2007 for a bigger version of Slipstream Sports, the budgets have doubled. Bryan Harding. [33], Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 22:20, "James Vaughters - 2011 Football Roster - GoStanford.com | Stanford Athletics", "James Vaughters, Stanford, OLB, 2015 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football", "Packers sign WR James Jones, assemble practice squad", "Patriots sign Linebacker James Vaughters to future/reserve contract", "Patriots release DB Rashaan Melvin and LB James Vaughters", "Chargers make six roster moves; place Johnson, Lissemore on IR", "Bears sign 10 to reserve/future contracts", "Roster Moves: Bears add Vaughters, waive Sowell", "Bears re-sign Bradley Sowell, cut James Vaughters", "Roster Moves: Bears waive Davis, Sowell; sign two", "Roster Moves: Bears place Burton on IR, activate Vaughters", "Roster moves: Bears waive Vaughters, sign two to practice squad", "Roster Moves: Bears ink nine to reserve/future contracts", "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears - October 8th, 2020", "Roster Moves: Bears re-sign five exclusive free agents", "Chicago Bears waive former CFL linebacker James Vaughters", "Falcons sign James Vaughters, Keelan Doss to practice squad", "Falcons reportedly cut OLB Brandon Copeland. He is the third of four children: Jahnisa Tate, Jonathan Vaughters, and younger sister Ryan Vaughters.

Jonathan spent the majority of his career in the IT industry where he managed network operations for health care and property management organizations. I went to visit Vaughters on a recent autumnal morning in Denvers leafy Congress Park neighborhood. Is that because you needed to get more sponsorship dollars? People will say, what about sponsors of certain European football teams, but as a whole $40 million sponsorships are not sold, are not seen as of value to a company. In third grade, his teacher scolded him for not listening to her when she talked. Retweets. We were very united in that we wanted a child that would independently develop their approach and thinking, Donna said. Jun 9, 2021. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. He was the son of John Philip Hughes and the late Yvonne Hughes and the second of three siblings. When the Americans went over to race in Europe in the mid-1990s, they were in for a rude awakening. I dont think it can lead to anything productive as far as what Im trying to do.. He wanted to quit. John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com, Education: Cherry Creek High School, graduated 1991; attended University of Colorado-Denver, First place, team time trial, Tour de France, 2001, Stage winner, Dauphine Libere, 1999, 2000, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Get to know all 17 Denver mayor candidates , Saunders: Heart scare hasnt stopped Rockies Blair Calvo, Colorado state basketball tournaments 2023 Class 6A Great 8 results and coverage, Avalanche Journal: Finally, a vision of Avs playoff lineup after NHL trade deadline, How 21-year-old Littleton native Cole Bassett can return to being linchpin for the Colorado Rapids in 2023, Colorado property owners to face astronomical tax increases next year, After School Satan Club launching first Colorado chapter, but organizer promises "we are not devil worshippers", PHOTOS: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band play Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado landlords say eviction-protection proposal could make dropping problem renters too hard, No more greasy pizza boxes, paper towels or takeout containers in Front Range compost bins come April 1, 5 can't-miss menus for Denver Restaurant Week, After teen's death, Denver East High students walk out to advocate for gun legislation, Boulder house where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Metro Denver housing market crosses firmly into negative territory in February, Kiszla: With Brendan Rodgers down and out, Kris Bryant could become $182 million face of worst team in Rockies history, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Postal Service cycling team. After recoveringfrom cancer, Lance had been transformed into a potential Tour contender himselfwith plenty of chemical help. I obviously have a lot of input into our staff selection, rider selection and so forth, but Im not inserting myself into any one aspect of the organizationwhether thats sponsorship sales, e-commerce, race tactics, bus logisticsso that Im not absolutely necessary to the equation. Jonathan Vaughters 1973 610 - [ ] 1995 1997 (ITT) 1998 US 2 1999 I wanted nothing more to do with the race, I wanted nothing more to do with the team, and I wanted nothing more to do with Lance, he writes. When he was old enough to turn pro in late 1994, Colorado cycling was in its heydey. A computer engineer specializing in financial management software, Ellis was a huge fan of cycling since the 1980s. The world thought I was brave for even trying to finish. On the whole, its actually a fun read, with entertaining stories packed in among the drugs and the darkness. at that point. I had a dream and I just wanted to do it.. [27] On September 11, 2021, Vaughters was elevated to the active roster prior to the Falcons first game of the 2021 season versus the Philadelphia Eagles. He quit and established the TIAA-CREF youth cycling team. You have just earned an MBA, and that meant you havent been as closely connected with your team for the past year.