So, he’s finally come clean to Oprah. Lance Armstrong doped. Seriously, is anyone surprised? What is surprising to me is how upset people are. But I gotta ask, why? His deception doesn’t directly impact anyone’s life outside of the sport. Does it?
His doping admission won’t change the fact you have to get up and go to work tomorrow. So why are people so outraged? Possibly because we have this weird hero worship mentality for athletes. Let me just say at the start, I’m not a fan of professional sports. I’m a huge supporter of kids’ sports, I’m just not a fan of overpaid, over-idolized sports personalities who are held up and worshiped by millions.
So when one does what he says everyone else in the sport is doing, why are we so surprised? In essence, didn’t we push him to it? Only those at the top of the heap make millions and are idolized. Heck, we do the same to football teams – they flounder with no fans until they make the play-offs and then everyone’s a fan!
Sure, he lied and he shouldn’t get rewarded for it, but really he’s made millions. Even after all this settles down he’ll still have his millions, and we as a society gave it to him. And what about Livestrong. Should we cast the same distaste we now have for him over them? I say no. Despite what he did, the site is a fabulous resource for information on nutrition and exercise. I hope this isn’t the end of it, but perhaps a renaming is in order.
I don’t have the answers, I just know I don’t care that Lance Armstrong lied, that he came clean, or that he’s turned over a new leaf. His confession wasn’t that of a man who truly felt bad about what he did, but a man confessing because he got caught and is trying to gain sympathy.
Still he’s inconsequential in my life. I just wish others felt the same way because quite frankly I’m tired of hearing about it.
I believe that holding onto lies was eating him from the inside, so coming relatively clean was a first step in heading in the right direction. He is competitive and I know many cancer patients use EPO to get their red blood cell counts up when sick.
Sad to say, but I’m not really surprised. And, I imagine there are many more athletic celebrities who have done similar. In the scheme of things, the heroes we should give homage to are the doctors, teachers, emergency workers and so many more who give their
time to make the world a better place <3
I think people are upset because they invested so much emotionally into his Livestrong program. It was a way for people to aspire to be their best, and now there’s no foundation to it. If I was a big Livestrong follower, I’d feel duped.
I actually started to watch the interview last night. Confession – I fell asleep just shy of one hour in. I got sick of listening to him. I remember watching the Tour as a kid. I remember thinking what an amazing sport it was to tour all over France (as I was studying the language in school). At the time believed in Armstrong. As time went on I knew it was all a joke that he was full of it. I think what bothered me the most last night (what I saw) was his attitude. It seemed like he accepted guilt, but it was less because everyone else was doing it. What I am upset about is how he tried to protect his brand with lies all these years while destroying others who tried to come clean earlier. Sad on so many levels and will be interesting to see how many lawsuits from companies and people come forward now. As for Livestong he is not who they are and can be. I do hope that they survive this because as you noted, they are a great resource.
Beth,
His arrogance is nauseating. But I suppose that how he became the brand he is. Sad.
Connie
I agree that it really has no impact on our lives. We set people up to worship and then wait for them to fall. I think what he has done for cancer is amazing. I still support Livestrong 100%. It is an amazing cause. I just say let all the nonsense go.
If other sports take actions against players for doping, I think all the same should apply to him as well.
I don’t get the O network, but I feel as though he should also forfeit any monies made throughout the years too.