Friday, February 1, 2013

Ex-Hero

On January 14, 2013 Lance Armstrong discussed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey the fact that when he competed in the Tour de France races illegally due to having taken performance enhancing drugs. The question now is what to do with this information. Others have been stripped of their medals for similar offenses. For years, Armstrong denied questions of being involved in this. He was adamant almost to the point of getting into fights over it. Now, years after the fact, he fesses up to his 'sins'. Will the government prosecute him for the illegal use? Or will they just strip him of his medals and move on.

I'm torn on how to respond to this news. On the one hand, it's illegal. He was in these races with the backing of several different sponsors who put not only their money but their names on the line for him and his venture. Millions of people watched their idol as he raced year after year bringing home medals, only to now find out that it was all a lie. Would he have one without the drugs? Could he have been strong enough on his own...to win maybe even just one medal? We'll never know. And what about those who came in second each year. They deserve the right to have the gold they should have rightly won. It's wrong.

But, he isn't a bad guy. Since his win he has been through several different things including cancer. He has done many many positive thing for the cancer community. Things that maybe he might not have been able to do if it were not for the fame and fortune that he received from being in and winning the races.

Now, coming out about this, I hope that any others who are out there and have done the same, come clean as well. It has to be a big lie to carry. It must be difficult to live with knowing that you have to constantly be watching what you are saying to so you don't slip up.

For me, my respect for him has dropped, even though he has done so many good things. It was wrong then, it's still wrong, he knew it at the time and he still knows it. The fact that it had to come out on Oprah Winfrey only makes it worse. It glorifies the situation even more when it should be embarrassing.

Ardeeemilla(:
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