Because he cheated in order to make himself millions... what sort of message does that put out?
That he was willing to do anything to win. Dishonestly, yes. Making him undeserving of his titles and resulting money? Yes.
Hate to break it to you, but cheating, bending the rules, and finding loopholes is a part of sports and has in fact altered how sports are played.
Finding ways around the rules brought us the forward pass in football, the wide range of pitches in baseball, the three point shot in basketball, new technologies in race car engineering, the new materials in swimming, running, and cycling uniforms, and every single trick play you can think of.
What have performance enhancing drugs brought? A new stage in physical prowess. One that should be set to a new standard, but there it is.
Irrelevant. There are millions of people who watch cycling and feel cheated, not just by Armstrong, but particularly by him - not least because he persisted for so long and seemingly was instrumental in perpetuating the cheating culture that has all but wrecked an otherwise great sport. The Tour De France is watched by millions every year (in person, not just on TV), and used to be (hopefully might still be) one of the greatest sporting spectacles on Earth - no matter that some of Armstrong's detractors are ignorant of the wider sport - millions of others are certainly not.
Place a man on a figurative pedestal and he will eventually fall. Part of my statement is a critique of our hero worshipping culture. No matter their achievements, their philosophy, or their acts they are still just men. I'm suppose to feel indignant about a guy who inspired my wife to pay $1 for a rubber bracelet that's lost somewhere in our house?
Maybe so. But we'll never know because he did cheat -
Did he beat non-cancer patients who were also cheating, placing them on an even playing field?
and, furthermore, he actually used his cancer treatment as cover (both in bolstering his sympathy vote from influential friends and fans, and in gaining leniency from officials/drug testing schemes that spotted some odd results coming from Armstrong years ago).
Does that make a cancer survivor winning over guys who did all the same things he did any less amazing?
Why? I'm asking in all honesty. Clearly, athletes all over are doing these things and looking impressive because of it. Why not separate them out? My thought is that if a guy has any form of performance altering modification, physical or chemical, they are placed, permanently, in a separate class. Some may find this higher level to be a wonder to watch, others may find it boring. In the US you see the same situation between pro and college levels of sports. College players show more heart and passion because they can't go any further otherwise, but they aren't as skilled and amazing plays are far and few between. Pro players have the riches and are living the dream, leaving them without a passion for the game and often not trying at all in certain areas, but the key to that money is being newsworthy. This leads to showmanship, always going for the big play that will get you on highlight reels but has a higher risk of failure than success. Few like both scenarios, but many like one or the other. A Modification league or class will just be a different form of performance again.
The rules of the contests in which Armstrong took part clearly prohibited the use of such chemicals and techniques. I don't personally wish to watch a sport where drugs are allowed, but if that was the set-up then fine - but it wasn't, hence it's a rather pathetic attempt to reverse-engineer some justification for cheats like Armstrong.
Did I say he was justified or shouldn't lose his titles and money? No. I just said that I don't get why everyone has made a big deal of it. Honestly, once this all blows over, will the lives of 99% of the world be affected?
I don't know about you, but I have far more important concerns in my day-to-day life.
Again, if there are those who wish to risk their lives for a career in sport, fair play to them - but it sends out completely the wrong message to aspiring athletes that their skill, physique, fitness and years of training are not enough.
Hence why I suggested separating them out. If these things will be this ingrained in sports for decades you will never be able to stop it, and all you will do is have stories like this time and time again, which does send the message that only the guys using can become champions, and by the time they are caught, if they are caught, it will be too late for you to gain recognition. Even worse because it goes on enough that you likely wouldn't have even been able to compete for a podium position.
I think it is debatable whether or not Armstrong's nose-diving reputation will affect cancer research in any substantive way
I did say "if." But after the earlier Komen debacle I won't be surprised if it does.
- but that aside, what a pathetic attempt at shifting the blame away from a man who persistently cheated and lied, bullied and abused staff and (now former) friends to get his way, and happily earned himself a fortune along the way.
But I should respect someone who only cared about disease research because of one man? If you don't want to give to Livestrong or wear your yellow bracelet, fine. Give to another cancer charity or wear a pink or red bracelet. Your awareness didn't end with Armstrong's reputation. If your concern about cancer does, then what does that make you? Why spite patients with testicular cancer because one of them lied to you. Don't punish the testicles because you feel like one guy gave you the shaft.
If you care about honesty, integrity, fairness, justice and truth, then you ought to care about this case and hope that Armstrong gets what he deserves.
I can care about those things and still wonder why the media is in orgasmic bliss anout these kinds of scandals and why the public rides the wave with them. My indignation will not have an affect on whether he gets justice.
Keep in mind, I say the same things about every celebrity sex scandal out there.
That's not the point, to some it means everything. It Usain Bolt were busted for taking PED's it would be exactly the same.
Yes, it would be the same, as would my reaction.
That was part of why he won. He was the UCI's poster boy, the proof that anyone could do it, even if you've just survived cancer. Hence why they didn't do anything about the positive at the Tour of Switzerland, and why they showed the world's leading cyclist the very test for EPO designed to catch him! So he couldn't fail.
I doubt the point was to say anyone can do it. If you believed anyone could do it then why is it an achievement? If anything it was to make him a poster boy because it is an amazing thing that draws attention from even non-fans of the sport. I don't watch things anyone can do. It us why walking and breathing aren't spectator sports.
People respond to the drugs in different ways. Never mind legalising that would lead to dangerous extreme's of PED just to win. The cyclists of Armstrong's era were limited by a level of Hematocrit. Without that, the bounds could be full of risk. People died from experimenting with drugs on the Tour in the past.
This sounds like a good argument for having it out in the open in a monitored capacity instead of in back rooms with no oversight.
It would indeed, though people could associate it with lies.
Cancer isn't a lie. Hopefully, neither is the concern of those who donate.
As a fan, I do feel cheated of an idol, and a false sport. Armstrong will get sympathy, but he's going to lose a lot too, which he deserves partially.
Unless he was put up to it he completely deserves to lose all sympathy.
By the way, don't create idols of men. Few truly deserve it.
Famine, good point. (I didn't see your post until I began typing this one) But I am not arguing he shouldn't be held fiscally responsible. Every penny from awards and sponsorships are up for legal scrutiny.
But it's just as easy to lose them when you grow up to see who they truly are. Lance bullying his way to 7 victories and no confession for years, whilst ruining others lives, is the way to lose that.
