Lance Armstrong Banned for Life and Stripped of Titles

[peejman]

So, all things being equal...if everyone was doing it...he was still the best...

At the end of the day, that's the bottom line. In a sport of cheaters, he was the best. They waited until now to burn him because he's not making them rich anymore.

[Daniel]

At the end of the day, that's the bottom line. In a sport of cheaters, he was the best. They waited until now to burn him because he's not making them rich anymore.

/agree

[Smith]

At the end of the day, that's the bottom line. In a sport of cheaters, he was the best. They waited until now to burn him because he's not making them rich anymore.

Not only that, but he did it 7 times in a row. With all the other PED users, not one of them has been able to get half of that. impressive no matter how you look at it.

[Guest nysos]

Politics, making money for the industry, everyone else doping - all that aside.

The rules state no performance enhancers. He used them, he gets burned for it. I don't know the guy personally, but outside of cycling I know he has raised a lot of money for many good causes. He didn't have to do that. He may have dropped a few notches in my mind personally, but I just hope this doesn't hurt the good things he was trying to do by dirtying his name.

[mav]

I think this story is truly representative of how many in the public love to build up heroes only to equally enjoy tearing them down when they do something wrong.

Edited October 15, 2012 by mav

[analog_kidd]

Wow. Just wow. This man is an icon and an inspiration to millions of people worldwide, and you won't leave the damned man alone?

Even if he did dope (which they can't prove) the man is a hero to so many people.

Why can't they just leave him alone and let him live his life,instead of trying to prove him a fraud?

I hate, hate, HATE these agencys and groups.

Dang, I didn't realize Lance's girlfriend was on TGO! Sorry I didn't mean to offend you, but TGO is a place where people come together to talk about stuff. This was a big deal at the time, and folks everywhere were talking about it. I didn't say anything one way or another whether I thought he is right or wrong, I just supplied a link to the story, If, you're gonna get yer panties in a wad every time someone mentions one of your superheroes, maybe you should stay off the Internet.

[TGO David]

I'm surprised this thread still has legs like this on a gun forum. Surely there are cycling forums out there. Are they just all tired of talking about it?

[Oh Shoot]

He just stepped down a chairman of his LiveStrong Foundation (staying on the board, though) and Nike has dropped him.

And now an accusation that Nike bribed UCI to hide doping test results.

- OS

[Lumber_Jack]

He just stepped down a chairman of his LiveStrong Foundation (staying on the board, though) and Nike has dropped him.

And now an accusation that Nike bribed UCI to hide doping test results.

- OS

The thing I find funny is Nike's statement that "we were misled by Armstrong". That's BS, if you sponsored a pro cycler and didn't know they were taking EPO, then you're a moron.

I wouldn't doubt it for a second if Nike paid off UCI, Lance was the cash pony.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

You would think, if Nike`s hands where clean.. they would stand behind him.?

[enfield]

I wonder who won all of those races he finished first in?

[MacGyver]

I wonder who won all of those races he finished first in?

That's only one of the crazy parts of this story. As it stands right now, 20 of 21 people on the podium between the years of 1999 and 2005 have been tied to doping through admissions, sanctions or failing tests. And it's not like it stopped when Armstrong left. In 2006, Floyd Landis was stripped of his title. In 2010, Alberto Contador was stripped of his. I think you may have an event where they don't have reassign a winner for those years.

I love cycling, but haven't watched a single stage of the tour since 2006. I don't know if even this will be a big enough event to clean it up. It's disgusting, really.

[Lumber_Jack]

That's only one of the crazy parts of this story. As it stands right now, 20 of 21 people on the podium between the years of 1999 and 2005 have been tied to doping through admissions, sanctions or failing tests. And it's not like it stopped when Armstrong left. In 2006, Floyd Landis was stripped of his title. In 2010, Alberto Contador was stripped of his. I think you may have an event where they don't have reassign a winner for those years.

I love cycling, but haven't watched a single stage of the tour since 2006. I don't know if even this will be a big enough event to clean it up. It's disgusting, really.

Yep, in 2005, Lance's last Tour win, you have to go down 23 places to find someone not caught doping. And in reality it's probably further down than that, they just didn't get caught.

[Guest BungieCord]

Brennan: Lance needs to fade away

Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

10:21AM EDT October 18. 2012 - It's not enough that Lance Armstrong resigned Wednesday morning as chairman of his Livestrong Foundation. Nor is it enough that Nike, which dumps almost no one, no matter how egregious the misbehavior, finally dropped him. Nor is it enough that one of the world's most famous cultural icons is banned, disgraced and stripped of his titles.

Lance Armstrong needs to go away.

Can't touch this: Armstrong done as endorser

He must sever all ties to his famous — now infamous — charity by not only leaving as chairman but also resigning from the foundation's 15-member board. How can a man who now appears to be one of the most elaborate liars and cheaters of our time (and perhaps any other time as well) ever be associated again with a cause so noble as that of helping cancer survivors and victims and their families?

Armstrong needs to shut down his public persona. He has said he wants to spend time with his family. He finally should be true to his word, at least on this one subject, and disappear with them. He should shut down his belligerent and bombastic Twitter account today; no one needs to hear another word from a man who has deceived and disappointed millions. He should make no more public appearances and stand in front of no more microphones.

How can we believe anything he has to say? Those 1,000 pages of allegations from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency are doing all of Armstrong's talking these days, and it's a terrible but enlightening tale they are telling. It's an important one, too. It was way past time to find out the truth about Armstrong. He has been such a force in our culture and, frankly, in the world that we must know how badly he cheated and deceived us all. Although the news is devastating to those who held him in high esteem, even he said nearly two years ago on Twitter that he welcomed USADA's investigation, predicting his own vindication. It was hardly that, but the investigation was warranted and necessary. Armstrong said so himself.

What's more, he's no typical athlete. Armstrong long ago transcended sports and became a symbol, a touchstone and a cause. He knew it. He worked it. He relished it. And he made a lot of money off it — a lot of your money.

It's for that exact reason that we hold Armstrong to a higher standard than any other athlete and are even more saddened by the depth of his devious actions. He doesn't just have fans; he has donors. And they have every right to know how badly he was cheating. This charade had lasted long enough. The cancer community deserves much better.

If and when Armstrong is ready to finally tell the truth, to finally stand before the people that so trusted him, he should be ready to answer every question for as long as it takes, working his way through the years and the lies. He owes it to every sponsor, to everyone who has ever worn a yellow bracelet, to every child and adult who once looked up to him.

Until he is ready to do this, he should disappear. Sadly, that likely won't happen. Armstrong's overinflated ego probably will not allow him to ever feel the guilt and remorse we would hope he would feel. In fact, he's expected at a Friday gala to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his foundation. Talk about bad timing. You couldn't pick a worse week out of those 15 years to celebrate Lance and Livestrong.

Those who are expected to attend the festivities include Maria Shriver, Ben Stiller, Sean Penn, Robin Penn and Norah Jones. Let's hope at least a couple of them have the decency to refuse to stand on the same stage with Armstrong.

Support the cause? Absolutely. But the man? He shouldn't be anywhere near the event. He's toxic.

But he won't go away. And he's still speaking, only in prepared statements this time.

"This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart," Armstrong's statement read Wednesday. "Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of the controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship."

It was typical Armstrong. Of course he blamed the controversy. No way he would ever blame himself.

Edited October 20, 2012 by BungieCord

[S&WForty]

That Brennan piece is rough. Someone needs to knock her off of her highhorse.

I never liked Armstrong. I had a coworker that worshipped the guy. That just totally turned me off. But in the light that cycling is a sport full of dopers, what he did wasn't THAT bad. He excelled over all of the other dopers.

If he had found a way go dope and not get caught, then win against a complete field of competitors that never touched a performance-enhancing drug, then yeah, he'd be one true low life.