PELOTONIA
The man being investigated was named by some Pelotonia riders as their inspiration for riding in the annual charity ride. He was featured in at least one video talking about his battle with cancer.
“Let me make this short and sweet,” the man said at the conclusion of a 2011 video, looking straight at the camera. “I have stage 4 terminal brain cancer. I will ride tomorrow. And I won’t be making any excuses.”
The statement released by Pelotonia does not name the man being investigated. The Dispatch knows his identity but is not naming him at this time because the allegations are still being investigated. Messages left on phone numbers tied to the man were not returned.
Pelotonia President and CEO Doug Ulman said in the statement that the organization “heard rumors” as far back as 2015 that an individual was misrepresenting
himself as a cancer survivor. But it did not tell donors because there were rumors but no evidence, he said.
Pelotonia “consulted with legal counsel and our board of directors and decided, out of an abundance of caution, to discontinue referencing or using promotional materials that featured this individual,” Ulman said.
The Ohio State University Foundation Board was also consulted in 2015, but there was no evidence to support the claims, a university spokesman said in a statement.
Michael Caligiuri, the former CEO of Ohio State’s Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and co-founder of Pelotonia, said Wednesday he was aware in 2015 of the allegations that someone associated with the event had potentially faked their cancer, although he was not personally involved in investigating it. Federal medical privacy laws prevented the allegations from being checked out, said Caliguiri, who left Ohio State in November.
“I remotely remember hearing something about this, but the (federal) HIPAA law, you could never go there with anyone,” Caligiuri said. “It’s one of those things where you simply have to protect the patient’s privacy.
Asked if donors have a right to know if the profiles of cancer patients being used to solicit their donations are true, and whether Pelotonia has an obligation to check before using those emotional stories, Caligiuri responded: “That’s a really good question.”
“You have to take someone at face value,” he said. “There’s no reason not to.”
Ulman’s written statement said that, since first being put on notice about the man’s potential lies, “rumors have surfaced since that time, but we did not and do not have solid information to substantiate claims. ... As a cancer survivor myself, I find it disheartening and unimaginable that someone would misrepresent himself in this way, and so I am loath to accuse anyone of faking cancer survivorship without very convincing evidence.”
But in light of the most recent allegations, Pelotonia contacted the charitable section of the Ohio attorney general’s office and “will take all and any appropriate actions, as we continue to learn the facts.”
After being featured in the 2011 Pelotonia video, the man became “the face of Pelotonia” for a couple of years, said one rider who knew him but asked not to be named because of their relationship.
The promoted man “did say or claim that he was receiving treatment on a very regular basis over the past several years, including the weeks leading up to the last Pelotonia” that took place this month, the rider said. “I just thought he was a little bit of a medical miracle” to be so active while undergoing treatment. A rider profile on Pelotonia’s website indicated the man has participated in the charity event since 2009. His profile message for the 2018 ride mentioned other cancer patients he was supporting in his ride, but it made no mention of any personal cancer diagnoses.
“For us, he was Pelotonia,” said one Pelotonia rider who came to be friends with the man through the organization after he was featured in the 2011 opening ceremony video. “We’re just very, very confused. Very hurt.”
He was especially wellknown within the Pelotonia community early on and among longtime participants, the friend said.
“The first two or three years, for sure, he was somewhat of a hero there,” she said. “He was like a celebrity.”
The friend said she and her family never picked up on any signs that he wasn’t actually sick but found it puzzling that when he said he had stopped treatment a few years ago, he continued to look and feel well.
“We just kept waiting for him to decline, as they do when they stop treatment,” the friend said. “And he never did decline.”
One Pelotonia rider, in a 2015 Ohio State news article, said the man being investigated was the first patient to really inspire her, calling him “my super hero.”