Bad Time to be an Armstrong

Generic photo of Lance not looking pleased

This article is totally about Lance Armstrong, but hey, I can’t write this article and not mention that a few days later, an even more famous Armstrong in the great Neil Armstrong passed away. I certainly don’t think there was any performance enhancing drug scandal about the moon landing though.

I deliberately waited a while before writing about the Lance Armstrong case, partly so some of the dust could settle, but also because I figured and still think this story isn’t over yet. Yes he has officially been stripped of his titles and says he is done fighting the charges, but I still think you’ll hear the occasional comment from him in the media and you’ll also get new information from others coming out every once in a while.

Overall, public opinion on this one seems to be divided. Most people I’ve spoken to or read their thoughts seem to think Lance is guilty. Others think he is either innocent or that they didn’t get anywhere near close enough to proof to take this sort of action. As usual, I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I do think Lance most likely was doping, however I think he was doping only as much as literally every other guy in the race was. Also I do have some concerns about the unusual way in which this decision was reached.

Normally when someone gets banned for doping, it’s simply a matter of failing a drug test, testing the B sample to confirm and then taking the appropriate action. This situation on the other hand came from testimony in court from witnesses and blood tests that whilst not proving he was on drugs, imply that he may have been taking EPO. If that sounds confusing, it is because it is. The best source I’ve found to explain the situation is this piece from Deadspin.

Whilst the testimony of some of Lance’s former teammates doesn’t really carry much value with me because it’s obvious why these people may have been willing to cut a deal, there is one man whose testimony certainly stands out. George Hincapie, at least in my opinion, had nothing to gain by lying to cut a deal. The guy is by all accounts one of Armstrong’s closest friends in cycling, even after his testimony, he was retiring anyway so a reduced sentence on his own doping ban was irrelevant and most importantly he didn’t have to testify that he was doping at all. No one was coming after George Hincapie and he is one of the most respected guys in the sport, yet he chose to testify that he was cheating along with Armstrong. The only options in my mind as to why this would occur is that he took being under oath seriously and wasn’t going to lie, or he was bribed or something else sinister. Of course I don’t believe he was bribed, so I’m going with the former.

If I had to believe one conspiracy theory in all this mess, it’s probably the long standing rumour that Armstrong did in fact fail drug tests in 2001, but they were covered up by the UCI because it would destroy the sport. However, obviously those are just rumours and I can’t use that as complete justification for what has happened now.

I still have concerns about the precedent that has been set by this situation. Regardless of whether I personally think Armstrong is guilty, it should take a serious amount of proof to get to the stage where you strip him of his titles. I know the stakes aren’t the same, but if Casey Anthony is found not guilty because there wasn’t enough proof, you’d think it might be similar in this case, but I guess USADA disagrees.

That’s why I don’t think Armstrong should have had the titles stripped, I just would put an * next to them. Much like Barry Bonds’ home run record and other controversial drug scandals, there isn’t the proof to wipe it from the books, but I think we can all agree it was very fishy. Most importantly, I don’t want the titles given to the guys who came second. Much like giving the 1988 Men’s 100m sprint gold to Carl Lewis, giving titles to guys like Jan Ullrich and others who were either definitely doping or allegedly doping doesn’t sit right with me. Let those years be blank and let’s just move on.

I would like to think these sorts of scandals are going to become a thing of the past as testing improves, however that is probably somewhat naive, as newer and sneakier drugs are always coming out and some athletes are always going to look for that edge. But as long as they get caught at the time, the sport should be able to maintain some level of integrity.