James Stewart: More Than Just a Slap On The Wrist

After eight long months of apparent deliberation, it has now been confirmed that James Stewart will face a sixteen month ban from the sport that has given him so much. The FIM-induced penalty is retroactive to the date of Stewart’s infraction, so he will not be eligible to compete until August 11, 2015. The length of his suspension means that he’ll not only miss the entire 2015 Monster Energy Supercross Series but also most of the AMA Outdoor Series as well. Obviously, there’s an appeal process that James can go through, however since it took eight months to even come up with this ruling, I’m sure an appeal is a lengthy process and won’t get him back on the starting gate anytime soon. His season is virtually over before it even begins and he’ll just have to accept it.

While there has been a lot of speculation over the last few weeks as to what would happen to James, few thought he’d receive this long of a ban. Some speculated that it most likely would be a fine or maybe just a few rounds of Supercross, but sixteen months not only affects his 2015 season but it could also affect his future in the sport. I know I’m not alone when I say that this seems very harsh for what was a paperwork error on Stewart’s part. But when talking about the FIM, which is nothing more than a giant bureaucracy that oversees motorcycling at the international level, you just knew that they would be frothing at the mouth to throw the book at the first rider caught cheating. Unfortunately for James, he is a lamb thrown to the wolves.

The 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross isn’t going to be the same with the flashy style of James Stewart.

With the emergence of the new talent like Ken Roczen or the focus on the success of Ryan Villopoto the last few years, I think a lot of people may have forgotten just how much James Stewart has meant to the sport of supercross and motocross. For instance, every time we see a rider throw the bike sideways over a jump to stay low, do we not think of James? He introduced the “scrub” to this new generation of the sport. He single handedly changed how we all try to ride a dirt bike. His style and speed over the years has, at times, left us standing there in complete awe. This past March in Toronto was a perfect example of that Wayne Gretzky-like greatness when James went from near dead last to the lead during the 20 lap, 450 main event. There weren’t too many people at the Rogers Centre that night who weren’t standing and cheering for the big #7. To think that there’s a chance that we’ve seen the last of James Stewart’s talents grace a supercross track is really inexplicable.

Off the track James has also changed the way we view the elite level. Over the years he’s been the closest thing to a rock star that we’ve seen. Private jets, a big entourage and of course the sometimes painful to watch TV show “Bubba’s World” has thrust James into the mainstream spotlight. Everyone knows James Stewart. Perhaps this high profile fame all played a part in the FIM’s decision?

So what will James do now? I’m not sure anyone knows the definite answer to that, maybe not even James himself. If he wants to take his medicine this year and return to Supercross in 2016 then he has to find somewhere to race between now and then to keep his skills sharp. Doing practice lap after practice lap at his compound in Haines City, Florida isn’t going to cut it, not with how fast the young riders are advancing in this sport. One option, obviously, is to come north and race the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals. This would certainly provide James a stage to represent his loyal sponsors, and it would help to keep him in race mode. While I think he would be a favourite to win up here, on our tracks, against the likes of Brett Metcalfe and Colton Facciotti, the racing might be closer than you think. As awesome as it would be to have James race on Canadian soil, this scenario seems like a long shot as our Nationals don’t begin until the end of May, and since James’ suspension is over in early August, what’s another two and half months for him to wait to return to competition stateside?

The next few weeks will certainly be interesting as more and more information comes out, including the obvious and necessary interview with James. He needs to tell his story and he needs to explain to his loyal fans how he can be James Stewart on the bike, yet make such poor decisions off the bike. Although we’ve witnessed a few of these errors in judgment over the years, this one could be the biggest as it could cost him his career and erase any chance the former “fastest man on the planet “ has at ever winning again.

I hope we haven’t seen the last of these celebrations.