Lance Armstrong is a late scratch

[j2k4]

Sad, sad, sad.

I know how to think about this, but I just don't want to.

Armstrong faces lifetime ban, loss of 7 Tour titles after dropping doping charges fight | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/08/23/armstrong-ending-fight-against-doping-charges-putting-7-tour-titles-at-risk/)

[green-lantern]

Can't believe he is walking away from a fight. I honestly don't know what to believe.

[j2k4]

I know I'm an idealist, but for shock value, Armstrong = Penn State.

[Valhallaz]

It's all that France has ever wanted...

So sad.

[93STLTH]

He never failed a drug test during his riding career, but it seems that there were some people (the French) who just couldn't accept the fact that he was so dominant in those 7 tours. They were going to find him guilty no matter what it took, so I can see why Armstrong chose to walk away from the court battles. They can take away those titles on paper, but those of us who watched him race, know who the real winner was.

[green-lantern]

It's all that France has ever wanted...

So sad.

Very true

[UTRacerX9]

He's passed every drug test he was ever given. However, there are ways to "cheat" a test.

After the first round of doping allegations, then the second, then the third... I still thought he was innocent. I thought he may have cheated in the past. But after you win a Tour, the scrutiny you are under must increase a hundredfold, not to mention everything that you have riding on you after that. Endorsement deals, public speaking engagements, his foundation... All of that is a lot to lose if he ever got caught, I would think the stakes were too high to cheat.

What really has me in doubt is all the former teammates who are willing to testify against him... 10. Two of those got caught doping themselves, but the other 8... What possible motive would they have to lie about whether he used drugs or not?

[j2k4]

I think we can assume, considering his medical history and downright miraculous convalescence, that he is perhaps as knowledgable about natural/unnatural augmentation as anyone.

Whether or not he did any of this in aid of his pursuits vis a vis cycling?

I have always wanted to know whether or not (for example) any of the therapies involved in helping him fight, beat, and recover from his cancer (remember now, he was essentially a dead man) utilized things that would have warranted a violation in competitive circumstances.

Decorum seems to have forestalled such questions, though - perhaps I preferred to believe it was a miracle...

[stealthee]

You cannot blame him for walking away. Like was said, no matter what he did they were going to keep coming at him and that alone has to wear on a man' soul.

He was probably ready to keep fighting then finally had the epiphany to just say fuck it.

[j2k4]

You cannot blame him for walking away. Like was said, no matter what he did they were going to keep coming at him and that alone has to wear on a man' soul.

He was probably ready to keep fighting then finally had the epiphany to just say fuck it.

Yeah - but Brian, Lance Armstrong defeats everything in his path, any and all opposition be damned.

I am sincerely conflicted; I want him to be innocent and I want him to hang in there.

He will now suffered the same slings and arrows as Mark McGwire, and largely for the same reasons.

[whitedragon]

Sometimes you have to know when to walk away. Even thought Lance's lawsuit againt the USADA was thrown out, the federal judge had this to say:


U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks acknowledged "the appearance of a conflict on the part of both organizations creates doubt the charges against Armstrong would receive fair consideration in either forum." But that doesn't mean federal courts should intervene, the judge said, adding "these matters should be resolved internally, by the parties most affected."

Apparently, the International Cycling Federation opposes the USADA's actions against Armstrong, citing that they have the authority in this matter and the USADA does not. The federal judge noted that as well.


"If these bodies (referring to the USADA and the Internation Cycling Federation) wish to damage the image of their sport through bitter infighting, they will have to do so without the involvement of the United States courts," Sparks said.

Also, it seems that the statute of limitations has long since run out, by the USADA's own rules they limit these things to 8 years, and the case against Lance is 17 years old. Basically, he's tired of dealing with it and is going to go back to helping out folks with cancer as he originally intended.

From Lance himself:

"I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today -- finished with this nonsense," he said. "I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities."

All this from the following article on CNN:
Official: U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to slap Armstrong with lifetime ban, loss of titles - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/23/sport/lance-armstrong-investigation/index.html?hpt=hp_c1)

[j2k4]

Perhaps I'm being a bit too fatalistic, Doug, but it still begins and ends with Lance himself.

The fact he beat cancer and the way he did it is one of the most heroic stories in recent history, even absent any of his post-cancer achievements, so that stands, at least in my eyes.

If a discernable truth never sees the light of day, the tarnish has still been applied, and that in itself is saddening.

No matter what, Lance's conduct before the media and the public has been hard to fault.

[green-lantern]

What really has me in doubt is all the former teammates who are willing to testify against him... 10. Two of those got caught doping themselves, but the other 8... What possible motive would they have to lie about whether he used drugs or not?

Agreed, That stuck out at me also. If it's really true IDK

[j2k4]

.What really has me in doubt is all the former teammates who are willing to testify against him... 10. Two of those got caught doping themselves, but the other 8... What possible motive would they have to lie about whether he used drugs or not?


Agreed, That stuck out at me also. If it's really true IDK

How about 7+ years of being instructed to serve as subordinate teammates of 'Lance Armstrong'?

Gotta be some surplus bitterness and a large dollop of group-think there.

[green-lantern]

How about 7+ years of being instructed to serve as subordinate teammates of 'Lance Armstrong'?

Gotta be some surplus bitterness and a large dollop of group-think there.

I wondered if it was like that also but that's a lot of people. The bad thing about this is, him dropping out does make people wonder. The relentless prusuit of him is mind bogling though. I can see why he would want to say F.U! and go on with his life.

[j2k4]

I wondered if it was like that also but that's a lot of people. The bad thing about this is, him dropping out does make people wonder. The relentless prusuit of him is mind bogling though. I can see why he would want to say F.U! and go on with his life.

Well, do you think Floyd Landis is a big Armstrong fan?

I'm sure he was more than a bit put-out when Armstrong didn't speak up for him when he got caught.

If Landis' treatment - immediately post-Armstrong - was indicative of what a US cyclist could expect, and Armstrong is no longer in the game, but fighting his own battles...Armstrong might by default become kinda persona-non-grata with those he 'left behind'.

Sheer speculation, of course.

[IPD]

i don't know anymore. i have always had suspicions--the closest any american has come to that level of dominance was greg lemond--and lemond was unquestionably legitimate; not even a whiff of suspicion.

some sports it's almost irrelevant if someone is "juicing"--i don't think you could really argue that it's that effective in basketball. other sports, it really does factor in, and becomes a big issue when someone appears to suddenly exceed their previous performance, or somehow has an astonishingly long streak of dominance. there's lots of ways to cheat the system--not all of which are on the radar of a drug test. for example, did you know that paralympians have been known to smash/break one of their toes before a competition? although they can't feel the pain, the body responds to it in ways which enhance performance.

i have much respect for armstrong--although this does seem eerily similar to mcguire/bonds/etc.

p.s.

it's not just relentless pursuit of him. he's also been on the giving end of litigation as well.

[stealthee]

There was just a two year long investigation closed involving this EXACT SAME THING, and NOTHING was found. NOTHING.

As it stands the USADA does not have the juridstiction to strip Armstrong of his titles or to ban him.