This story is about much more than cycling, because Lance Armstrong is much more than a cyclist. Lance Armstrong became a folk hero; had this ugly chapter never taken place, he would've been the subject of Bob Dylan-style folk songs which would've lived forever. He's not famous because he won the Tour De France (who won this year? they still have the event). As a cancer survivor who rode his bike for hours in his hospital room after chemo treatments, he became the superhero who found pummeling the cycling competition easy compared to the epic battle that he won against cancer; that's why he was famous. His foundation Livestrong (whose band I'm still wearing and refuse to take off because of the effect the foundation has had) has raised over $500 MILLION for cancer research, saving an immeasurable amount of lives along the way. I heard Scott Van Pelt of ESPN say "the easiest story to sell is a story that people want to here." If the story ends there, it's a heroic story of epic proportions. You'd see this man in person and want to run up and kiss his feet. Problem is, he'd probably kick you in the face. By multiple accounts from many ppl who have met him or know him personally, he's a terrible person; egotistical, self-centered, merciless manipulative, deceptive, calculated, and without shame. As the sport's reputation continued to fade due to so many big names being implicated in either PED use or blood doping, they started snitching (I don't fuck with snitches, if you're man enough to cheat, be man enough to shut up and accept when you're caught red handed) on Lance. Then, he told the lie we all wanted to hear; even if we knew it didn't make sense. So here we all were believing - well, more hoping - that in a sport full of dopers, the one guy who's clean is destroying all the dopers. Hell, they can't give away his stripped Tour De France titles, because all the guys who got 2nd and 3rd in those competitions were dirty too. Not only did he lie though (which honestly was understandable at that time), he vehemently and vociferously denied the charges, even going so far as to go on a internationally respected show like "Larry King Live" and used the "I beat a death sentence like cancer, why would I risk my health again?" narrative on TV; that was pretty low in hindsight. He then viciously and mercifully decided to ruin the lives (via lawsuits, defamation, alienation, etc.) of all his accusers and even everyone who disagreed with him; All while knowing they were telling the truth. The truth, or at least what he currently know of it is this: 1) Lance Armstrong admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey (a fairly safe person to confess to) to using PEDs and blood doping with what seemed like a very calculated, one-word answer laden, non-contrite interview. He brought his team of lawyers and crisis counselors with him so he didn't overly expose himself. 2) USADA stripped him of his 7 Tour De France titles after their investigation (including testimony from countless former teammates and competitors) led them to the conclusion that he ran "the most sophisticated doping program on the planet." 3) Even Livestrong, the organization that he founded/elevated, has cast him out due to the USADA actions. So which part of his story should last? This is why the dichotomy of influential human beings interests me. I've heard arguments he's still the best cyclist of all time, he was the best cheater (with the best back story) among a sport where every prominent performer was cheating; this is likely the dirtiest sport of them all. Regardless of the actions that lifted his foundation to prominence, the amount of good that Livestrong has done far outweighs the results of bike races. ESPN anchor Stuart Scott, who is fighting cancer, loves Lance for what Livestrong has done and I fully understand how him and anyone else who's dealt with cancer would feel that way. But at the same time, what we've now found - which was irrelevant to us before - is that he's a terrible person who ruined lives to sell the public on his lies. In baseball, those implicated with PEDs attempted to stay secluded hoping not to be subpoenaed long enough to slide into the Hall of Fame. They didn't go to Larry King's desk and use his show on a platform to put their acting lessons on display for their grand lie. It's easy to ask how he slept at night through all of this. I wish I could ask him, but I doubt I'd get a straight answer. This is a very convoluted study in the dichotomy of a man whose good deeds and fatal flaws provoke a twisted polarity. It's on each of us to decide what we believe he should truly be remembered for. Real Talk...
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