Livestrong or Diehard

“It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for me, for my family, for my friends, for this foundation.”

Lance Armstrong (quoted above from this year’s 15^th Anniversary Livestrong Gala) probably never thought (at least not before the 2 year investigation started in 2010) that he’d be in the position he’s in now. After some lengthy probing of records, he was found guilty of a slew of performance enhancers including blood transfusions, testosterone, and corticosteroids. Plus there was proof of bullying to keep others quiet about it. He was stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles, banned from the International Cycling Union and dropped from endorsements with Nike and Oakley. Unsurprisingly, he has stepped down as chairman (but still remains a board member) of the enormously successful and popular “Livestrong” (a.k.a. the Lance Armstrong Foundation).

Some fans and donors are outraged and say that they should get their money back for giving under false pretenses under Lance Armstrong’s character. Really??? True, what he did in the cycling arena was wrong, unethical…whatever you want to call it. But if we’re honest with ourselves, how many athletes at that level are really training naturally, using no steroids, enhancers or drugs??? I would argue that there aren’t many. So why is it that his accreditation as a cancer survivor and founder of a great organization are being tarnished? Shouldn’t that be handled as a separate issue? Why do we sometimes feel the need to kick people when they are already down?

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