DeCoster speaks to why he stepped down from the MXoN - 'The Man" video from @TVmysport

If you are a US citizen and you love motocross, or have / had a career in the industry, you owe that man. You don't have to like it. You don't have to 'like' him, Ryno.... It's just a fact. 

I've said it before on some other DeCoster threads but it is always worth repeating. No one loves motocross and especially the Motocross of Nations more than Roger. He is moto and will always be "The Man". 

https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/moto-related/mysport-man 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17iNN4UiQq/

If you're under 60, there's just no way you could understand DeCoster's importance to the sport. All these silly nitwits nipping at his ankles - they're hilariously clueless. At the time he emerged into prominence on his twin-pipe CZ, moto-cross in America was fighting neck-and-neck for supremacy with flat track racing. Flat track stars Dick Mann, Gene Romero, Bart Markel, Mark Breslford, Dave Aldana - these guys were every bit as big in the world of American motorcycle racing as European moto-cross stars Joel Robert, Torsten Hallman (founder of Thor), Bengt Aberg, and DeCoster were - and those flat-track guys were bigger here than American moto-crossers like Brad Lackey and Gary Jones. "The Man" took every opportunity he was given to act as an ambassador for our sport during that time - often over-doing it and arriving at the races mentally exhausted - and his constant and ever-gracious presence is one of the primary reasons flat-track took a major back seat to this sport we all love. 

Modern motocross creates young multi-millionaire after young multi-millionaire now - in fact it's what we all expect it do now - and that all started with the efforts of people like him. He'd arrive at the races in a perfect red Ferrari with a perfect blonde in the passenger seat and grant one interview after another - youngsters like me took notice, believe me. At some point, the Dick Mann BSA poster in my bedroom came down, and the DeCoster Suzuki poster went up.

Belgium as a whole was so huge in its influence at that time. Joel Robert, DeCoster, Gaston Rahier, Sylvain Geboers, Jack Van Velthoven - these guys rode with such class and good sportsmanship, they set the tone. And when the season was over they often traveled to far-flung places to promote the sport. Rahier's trip to Australia, in particular, where his pace was so off-the-charts blistering fast it simply astonished them, made a huge impact. Heck, they still talk about it, almost 50 years later. R.I.P., Gaston. Gone too soon.

It's a sad but true fact that young racers all think the sport was invented by Jeremy McGrath, but oh well. Like I said - if you're under 60, there's just no way you could understand. In my heart, I feel nothing but gratitude for DeCoster and those of that era. They changed the lives of every single person who raced or races motocross, including mine.

Another example of how AI is nothing more than a slick aggregator of google search of copied info, no finding of his medical condition unless you watch the video. Excerpt from video:

Towards the end of the video, Roger De Coster reveals his retirement from his position as the American team manager, citing health issues, specifically spinal stenosis, which makes it difficult for him to be on his feet all day and perform his job at 100% (6:23-7:33). He states that it was his choice and the "right time to do it" (7:49-7:55).