Lance Armstrong confesses

[ontheblack]

Cycling is the dirtiest sport on the planet. I don't really care if he did or not, the whole tour is corrupt. The guy lost a nut and won 7 times on what was essentially, for cycling, a level playing field. The Euros have always hated any American that was successful in the Tour. Not like you can hand the award down to the next in line, he is just as dirty.
Bottom line the guy, and his story, raised millions of dollars for charity. Nothing was gained by this and much was lost.
Tygart \was on a mission to make a name for himself and his useless USADA.

Nothing gained by this?

How about vindication for all the people Armstrong went after for daring to suggest he was cheating? He ruined Greg LeMond's business after the 3-time Tour winner got suspicious because Armstrong was seeing Dr. Ferrari, a known figure in the doping world. Armstrong also won at least one defamation lawsuit against a newspaper as part of his cover-up.

How about reparations for all the people he damaged (e.g. LeMond, sponsors, etc.)? They deserve far more than a public apology and he has the money ($100 million?) to do it.

The consequences of the cheating (i.e. being stripped of the titles) are minor compared to what in store for him due to the lengthy fraud and cover-up.

Pdad, well said. This is exactly what I was referring to in my earlier comment. Not everyone he went after was a lying, doping scumbag.

The London Sunday Times is suing him to recover what they paid him in the defamation suit, his previous sponsors are lining up to sue him for damaging their brands, the IOC is investigating donations he made to the governing cycling board and could remove cycling from the Olympics if the trail leads to those officials, and he could be prosecuted for perjury and obstruction of justice.

[NumeroUno]

When it rains it pours

[DonnieS]

Everyone's got their problems.

[PDad]

I watched part 1 of the Oprah interview and came away with the following:

- Lance's rationalizations:
- - It was the culture at that time.
- - He didn't do anything that wasn't available to the other riders.
- - It was like putting air in the tires and water in the bottle.

- Doping:
- - The Tour didn't test for EPO in 1999, the first year he won.
- - He didn't fail any tests the next 6 years because they only tested in competitions.
- - In 2005+, they found EPO in his samples from 1999 that they preserved.
- - Game changers were out of competition testing and the biological passport (historical results of all tests for comparison purposes).
- - He says he wouldn't have been caught if he didn't come back in 2009-10. He ran clean and that provided an incriminating baseline when compared to previous results when he won in 1999-2005.

- After fast forwarding through all the commercials OWN ran for their programs, I now understand why I had never watched anything on the channel before.

[exD1dad]

I met Greg LeMond in '89 in NYC, very humble champion & a little guy too

If you're a cancer survivor you see things differently like S. Scott of ESPN who notes how much $$ lance raised & the inspiration he gave others. There's something to be said for that but I think the prick just had a guilty conscience & needed a tax write-off.

My mother died of colon cancer & when she was diagnosed there hadn't been a new drug specifically for that disease in 18 years due to AIDs & breast cancer getting all the R & D $$$. Now between drugs & treatment it's mostly outpatient care. Armstrong did increase awareness & give people hope.

For me it's a double edged sword, for all his $ & fame & celebrity he's now gotta live a disgraced life...1) Armstrong ruined other peoples lives like the massage therapist who had to "mule" the drugs across international territories & former teammates. This guy brazenly lied for years going after everybody in court & winning ...for that I hope he loses penny he ever made. 2) He's a liar & a cheater & just because everybody else does it does not make it right IMHO, but that's just me.

[PDad]

Part 2:

Biggest thing was Lance having to deal with his kids about it. He found out his 13-year-old son was defending him and realized he couldn't let that go on. He sat down with his kids over the holidays and admitted what he had done. He told them not to defend him, just respond "My Dad says he's sorry."

He would like to compete again (e.g. run Chicago Marathon in 9 years when he's 50), but is resigned to the fact he can't enter any sanctioned events.

He feels his lifetime ban is "different" than the 6-month suspensions the others got for talking. He declined to say it's unfair, but you could read it on his face.

Personally, I hope the Livestrong foundation survives this and continues to help people.

[ontheblack]

Part 2:

Biggest thing was Lance having to deal with his kids about it. He found out his 13-year-old son was defending him and realized he couldn't let that go on. He sat down with his kids over the holidays and admitted what he had done. He told them not to defend him, just respond "My Dad says he's sorry."

He would like to compete again (e.g. run Chicago Marathon in 9 years when he's 50), but is resigned to the fact he can't enter any sanctioned events.

He feels his lifetime ban is "different" than the 6-month suspensions the others got for talking. He declined to say it's unfair, but you could read it on his face.

Personally, I hope the Livestrong foundation survives this and continues to help people.

People want to see remorse and regret. He has an edge over those who juiced in baseball continue to insult intelligent people with their ongoing denials.

I think he recent actions are what saves Livestrong and he now has platform from which to preach about the cost of cheating.

[PDad]

People want to see remorse and regret. He has an edge over those who juiced in baseball continue to insult intelligent people with their ongoing denials.

I think he recent actions are what saves Livestrong and he now has platform from which to preach about the cost of cheating.

I agree, but Lance only confessed - he really didn't show remorse or regret for cheating. Oprah asked him whether he could have won the 7 Tours without doping and he said no. If asked whether he thought he could have won the 7 Tours with nobody in the race doping, I'll bet he'd at least say probably. I doubt we'll see him preaching against cheating.

He has mainly showed remorse and regret for getting caught and his cover-up (i.e. the way he behaved and the people he harmed). He appears to be reaching out to apologize to all the people he harmed - it reminds me of part of AA's 12-step program.

I expect Livestrong will distance itself from Lance, especially from his cycling career. I also expect Lance will publish a book that goes back over his cycling career.

Lance still has a lot to offer with his inspirational cancer story. It remains to be seen what he'll be able to salvage from his athletic career.

[GIMNEPIWO]

People want to see remorse and regret. He has an edge over those who juiced in baseball continue to insult intelligent people with their ongoing denials.

I think he recent actions are what saves Livestrong and he now has platform from which to preach about the cost of cheating.

I agree, but Lance only confessed - he really didn't show remorse or regret for cheating. Oprah asked him whether he could have won the 7 Tours without doping and he said no. If asked whether he thought he could have won the 7 Tours with nobody in the race doping, I'll bet he'd at least say probably. I doubt we'll see him preaching against cheating.

He has mainly showed remorse and regret for getting caught and his cover-up (i.e. the way he behaved and the people he harmed). He appears to be reaching out to apologize to all the people he harmed - it reminds me of part of AA's 12-step program.

I expect Livestrong will distance itself from Lance, especially from his cycling career. I also expect Lance will publish a book that goes back over his cycling career.

Lance still has a lot to offer with his inspirational cancer story. It remains to be seen what he'll be able to salvage from his athletic career.

... I see a made for TV movie at the very least