Here we go again - another performance enhancing drug scandal, and another athlete swearing his innocence. This time it is different …way different. Lance Armstrong, prior to the last few months of allegations and testimonies, was the greatest sports story, well, maybe ever. This guy was infinitely more courageous than anyone else in an extremely courageous sport. He beat cancer. Then, after having his body ravaged by cancer and chemotherapy, he became the best there ever was in a sport which requires its champions to absolutely pound their bodies and their wills into submission. He is only the 2nd American cyclist ever to win the Tour de France. Then he just kept winning…and winning…7 straight times! In the process he started what has to be the most successful cancer research foundation in the history of the disease. He didn’t just start a foundation, he started a movement. Lance was so cool that he even got fat America riding bicycles again.
In a sport that has historically had more doping than any other sport, Lance was clean. He was winning in a dirty sport. He had to have been the most tested athlete in the world. This guy peed in more cups and gave blood samples more than any athlete…ever.
So what happened? How did we get from there to here? As they say, the cheaters are always one step ahead of the testers. We have seen also that he not only cheated, but he was a mastermind in doing so. Another factor is this: Never has there ever been a governing body who wanted their athlete to NOT test positive more than the cycling powers-that-be. They needed this guy.
And now we are faced with a mountain of evidence. Heck, forget about the science of testing and blood and urine and science, etc., 11 of his former teammates have testified against him. A serious question to be raised is, “where was this evidence 5 years ago?”
But here is what causes me to scratch my head as I follow this story – Lance still claims he is innocent!
He has said that he is going to give up fighting, but still claims that he is innocent. I don’t know who he thinks he’s kidding. He resigned his position at Livestrong, they are taking away his Tour victories, even Nike gave him the boot (Nike didn’t even give Tiger the boot – more on him later). In light of all of this, the question that must be asked is what do we, the court of public opinion, do with Lance Armstrong now? Hero? Cheater? Hero who cheated? Cheater who is still a hero because he beat cancer and raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer? Time will tell about the legacy of Lance Armstrong but I think there is something Lance, and all of us, can learn by looking at some case studies:
Barry Bonds – First off, Barry Bonds is no Lance Armstrong. Not only did all of America want him to be guilty, but they we also wanted him to fail. He did not fail, he has kind of been found guilty, and like Armstrong, he still claims his innocence. Now I have said many times that I think steroids in baseball is the most overrated news story of the last decade (I can say that now because Y2K was 12 years ago). Steroids in cycling is a different story. Baseball players chew tobacco and spit sunflower while working their craft, cyclists put their bodies through Hell, and then keep going. Bonds without the ‘roids was still great…Lance without the ‘roids…? Baseball fans hate Bonds not because of what he did to their team, but because of what he did to Hank, Willie, and the Babe. Barry had an amazing way of being the victim and the villain at the same time. He desecrated baseball’s most sacred records and makes us feel like the bad guys for being suspicious. The reason Barry is hated is not because he claims his innocence, it is not because he has not apologized, its not even so much because he cheated. He is hated because he is a prick. But even bad guys who apologize get a second chance with America (see Tiger example below). Ultimately, because Barry is Barry, he will always be the bad guy, and that will be his legacy.
Roger Clemens – Clemens is a difficult case because he never tested positive, the feds threw millions of dollars into a case against him and came up with nothing, and he still swears that his heroics at an advanced age are due to his unmatched work ethic. Like Armstrong, Clemens was ratted out by a teammate. Unlike Armstrong, the evidence is not a slam dunk. But here is the point of the whole article – what if Armstrong, Bonds, Clemens, etc. not only confessed their guilt, but gave a heartfelt explanation and apology? We know they are guilty, their self-proclaimed innocence just angers us further, so would we judge them the same if they apologized? If there is one thing I have learned about America it is that we love giving a second chance to the truly repentant.
Tiger Woods – Tiger is guilty of something significantly more serious than using PED’s. Armstrong, Bonds, Clemens, who can fault these guys for wanting to win that badly. Tiger is a scumbag. He destroyed lives. Barry and the Rocket have not done that. Tiger did not have the privilege of being able to deny what he was being accused of. But here is the difference – Tiger said he was sorry. Tiger is also no Lance Armstrong. The guy has to be (scandal aside) the most boring off-the-field athlete in professional sports. He cheated on his wife and his child with multiple women. So why is Tiger Woods cheered by golf fans today? America loves the apology. America loves the 2nd chance. America forgives those who ask for forgiveness.
Michael Vick – Vick is another case of America’s willingness to forgive. I would also say that Mike Vick’s crime was much more heinous than Bonds’, but after doing his time behind bars Vick was welcomed back with open arms by the fans of Philadelphia. And this wasn’t just Philly fans who were rooting for Vick, I got the feeling that most of America wanted him to succeed. Why? There is power in apology.
We could look at many more case studies of cheaters. We could look at ARod's sort-of-apology, or Ryan Braun getting away with winning the MVP award, testing positive for PED's, then getting off on a technicality (and what to do with his 2012 season which was as good as his 2011?). We could look at Pete Rose who has pretty much been forgiven in the court of public opinion, but not the court of the commissioners office. But the point in all these examples is the power of "sorry". America loves Lance Armstrong. Even still today. If he stood up manned up, faced the public and said he was sorry I believe his legacy would be different. If he told us he was sorry, that he cheated in a sport where everyone was dirty, that he had been through hell and just wanted to win, that he shouldn't have done it, and that he wants America and the world to forgive him - we will. USADA and whoever it was that had the authority to strip him of his 7 Tour titles will not forgive him, but we will. We will still hold him up as the best - the best cheater in a sport of cheaters, but still the best. He was still able to put his body through something that I don't want to put my body through. He was still able to become the most (drug aided) superhuman in a sport which required one to be a (drug aided) superhuman.
I still like Lance. I still respect his accomplishment. He still won 7 Tours in my book. I would respect him more if he owned up to his cheating, apologized, and was honest with those of us who bought yellow wrist bands, saved copies of Sports Illustrated with his picture on the cover, read his book, got excited to watch him race, and cheered his victories.
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