Miscellaneous > The Sallyport

Lance Armstrong is without honor

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Sir Brian:
Well written article indeed Bradamante! I wouldn’t also attribute a lot of the Lance Armstrong’s sponsors’ interest in keeping any wrongdoings on his part kept secret. Pity he turned out to be a much lesser man than he posed to be. Arrogance is all well and good if it adds impetus to achieving difficult goals but is far too often the vehicle of narcissistic delusions.  :(

Bradamante:
Sir William,
Undoubtedly there were those in positions of power that helped him get away with this for so long. There are allegations that there was a positive test in the Tour of Switzerland that seemed to somehow go away during the investigation.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/10/news/lab-chief-lance-armstrongs-2001-tour-de-suisse-test-suspicious-not-proof_262117

Now they no longer have the sample, but then again, I don't know even if they retained a frozen aliquot how long you could retain the integrity of the sample.  Plus repeated freezing and thawing of specimens tend to degrade the integrity as well.

This then leads to the relying of the testimony from eyewitnesses at the time.

Sir Brian,
I think his sponsors were interested in having a celebrity linked with their product who was popular and revered. As soon as it became clear that he was not the man he purported to be, they dropped him.  I agree with your assessment that  "Arrogance is all well and good if it adds impetus to achieving difficult goals but is far too often the vehicle of narcissistic delusions."

If you are interested in reading the USADA's reasoned argument against him, here is a link to a PDF download:


http://cyclinginvestigation.usada.org/

Bradamante

Bradamante:
I started reading the USADA's reasoned argument, which is a 202 page summary of the evidence against Lance Armstrong.  It is devastating.

There are statements of not only blood doping, but use of EPO, testosterone, growth hormone, cortisone, and steroids.

Lance used these drugs in his career before he was diagnosed and treated for cancer as well as after he recovered from cancer.

The team not only used blood doping, but if they were about to have their hematocrits checked - they'd sneak off to get an infusion of saline to lower their crits.

It is a culture of deceit.

The power of this story is that if Lance Armstrong had never gotten cancer, he would never have become a worldwide celebrity. There are many men who have been winners of the Tour de France, but none had the stirring personal interest story that was the "Lance Armstrong facing Death and coming back to become a champion" myth.

I have read enough of the Reasoned Decision and several of the accompanying affidavits to accept that those men who I admired and cheered for were not worthy of my time. This includes Levi Leipheimer, a rider who calls my county his home.

I wonder if there are any professional cyclists who are clean.  I also don't know if there is any real way to enforce the anti-doping rules, since there is an entire industry designed to subvert the testing.

I have lost respect for this sport and am no longer interested in following it at all.  If I watch any of the Tour de France in the future, it will be with the sound off so that I can better enjoy watching the beauty of the French countryside zooming past a camera lens.

Sir Brian:
I certainly understand and concur with your sentiments Bradamante! Back in 1985 I stopped being a football fan when the then underdog New England Patriots surpassed all the long odds against them in the playoffs and made it to the Super Bowl for the first time, only to be destroyed by the Chicago Bears. I could accept the bittersweet loss until the Boston Globe revealed several days later that a handful of the Patriots players were using drugs during the season and that some players threw a cocaine party during Super Bowl week!  >:(

I decided then that I would not support or follow any professional sports since it only enables the entire sports industries to promote and glamorize 'star' athletes without concern or conscience of those same 'stars' integrity, honor or morality. I have much better heroes to admire and look up to; Like men, women and even children of courage, humility, diligence and self-sacrifice. Such heroes surround us each and every day but are not easily noticed because they do not do what they do for the glory or monetary riches but for the betterment of whom they serve and joy of making a difference. They are the kind of people I aspire to be like although I am woefully inadequate.

Sir James A:

--- Quote from: Sir Brian on 2012-10-28, 10:31:30 ---I decided then that I would not support or follow any professional sports since it only enables the entire sports industries to promote and glamorize 'star' athletes without concern or conscience of those same 'stars' integrity, honor or morality. I have much better heroes to admire and look up to; Like men, women and even children of courage, humility, diligence and self-sacrifice. Such heroes surround us each and every day but are not easily noticed because they do not do what they do for the glory or monetary riches but for the betterment of whom they serve and joy of making a difference. They are the kind of people I aspire to be like although I am woefully inadequate.

--- End quote ---

Hear hear!!

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