The world needs heroes but it is devastating to see them fall one by one.
Lance Armstrong won seven Tours De France, after winning a highly publicized battle with cancer. Armstrong made the little yellow rubber wristband a permanent part of American culture. Then it was revealed that Armstrong was the heavy-handed ringleader of what Travis Tygart, chief executive of the US Anti-Doping Agency, has called the “most sophisticated successful doping program sports has ever seen.” Armstrong not only won his record seven Tour de France titles “from start to finish by doping,” the agency said, but he also trafficked in banned substances, pressured teammates to dope as well, and threatened those who would testify against him or any of his close-knit circle of suppliers. USADA says it has “conclusive and undeniable proof” of Armstrong’s doping plot, accusing him of engaging in the biggest doping conspiracy in sports history.
The Tour de France winner will now be stripped of those titles, his bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics as well as any other titles, accolades, and money he earned during his career in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Agency protocol. He will also never be allowed to have an active role in any Olympic sport or any sport that adopts the World Anti-Doping agencies code.
But as inexcusable and reprehensible as his misdemeanors are, there is hope. Even though Armstrong has now lost his reputation, his Tour de France victories, his well-cultivated image as a hero, and even his money, he still has a chance to lose everything, and in doing so, gain the most valuable prize of all. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” – Jim Elliot
Those of you who know what I mean, know what I mean.
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Come on, Armstrong, you have till now refused to admit your wrongdoings.
I urge you to come clean and fight no more.
Let the truth set you free.