If Lance Armstrong is a fake, then should he still be a hero?

1. 0

   Stevennix2001posted 12 years ago

   Recently several of Lance Armstrong's teammates have come out and admitted that they not only took performance enhancing drugs..but they saw and KNOW that Lance took them as well.  Although there's no positive tests to support this, nor any evidence outside of circumstanstial ones to prove he's cheated.  However, what I would like to ask you all is this.  Do YOU think he's been lying and cheating about using performance and enhancing drugs?  Please state valid reasons for your opinion.  Also, if he is lying, then do you think this will hurt his legacy?  if so, then how much?  Do you think cancer victims that look up to Lance will lose hope altogether if their hero is a fraud?  Or do you think they'll get over it in time?  Should Lance be considered a hero still to cancer survivors IF he's turns out to be nothing more than a cheater?  What are your thoughts on this?

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      qwarkposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Give me a list of the "illegal" drugs he took, then I'll give you my answer.
      
      If that can't be done, rumor is all ya have.
      
      Here in the US, a man (alledgedly) is innocent until he is found guilty in a court of law.
      
      I'm a CLEAN powerlifter.
      
      I am clean but take creatine, DHEA, androstenodione, and a few other legal testosterone precursors. I also take pure powdered carbohydrate to burn for extended energy.
      
      If a professional athlete takes these LEGAL precursors, he'd be booted from the sport...why? Everything he took is legal! Ya can buy 'em all in yer local healthfood store!
      
      If Lance took those...cool...! He was prepping himself for an arduous 1500 mile bicycle ride! More power to him!
      
      Qwark

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2. 81

   earnestshubposted 12 years ago

   The most tested athlete on the planet? I don't think he cheated, but I know his detractors did.
   Track records speak volumes.

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      Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree.  Personally, I think these people that are coming out are either getting paid, or they're being blackmailed into claiming all this. I find it hard to believe that out of all the tests he's taken that there hasn't been a positive test to come out yet if he truly is doping like they claim he is.  Unless they want to present proof that the doctors are being paid off, then I doubt this is going to hold any water. as lance armstrong said it himself, the test results alone say everything.
      
      Personally, I think they should just leave the man alone, as he hasn't done anything wrong.

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3. 88

   Len Cannonposted 12 years ago

   I had cancer and I think I can survive knowing he doped a little. The man had stage 4 testicular cancer, all the way up into his brain and he was riding again within a year. I'm still barely getting back to running every day.  The dude is a badass.

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      Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, i'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I hope you're feeling a lot better these days. I can't imagine what it must've been like for you to have cancer, but I am glad to hear your recovering. And you're right, the guy is a badass for how he dominated the "Tour de France" seven times in a row. Even if the guy did take performance enhancing drugs, then it's still quite a feat considering how almost everyone in that sport have been caught using performance enhancers, and none of them ever dominated that sport almost 7 times in a row like he did. It's a rare feat that I doubt anyone is going to see again.

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4. 81

   earnestshubposted 12 years ago

   I had cancer too, but I didn't ride in the hardest race on the planet!
   
   The guy has big ones, has never tested positive and I reckon when you look in his eyes you can see why he won 7 times.

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      Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yep, I definitely can't disagree with you there.  As I said earlier, I doubt we're ever going to ever see anyone break that record of winning 7 tour de france races in a row. 
      
      edit:  By the way, I'm sorry to hear you had cancer too.  That must've been horrible, but I hope you're feeling okay, and glad to see that it seems like you've been recovering quite nicely.

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         earnestshubposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         It was a bit rough for a while. It took 10 years for feeling to return to my upper back, but apart from 2 years of itching deep within the graft which drove me nuts I got through it pretty well I think!
         
         
         The rest has been fine. I am fit, strong and exceedingly well these days. Thanks for your interest.

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   Emile Rposted 12 years ago

   I don't think it matters..I've never understood why this is an issue. Athletes use performance enhancing drugs. I'd be shocked to find one that didn't. The ones you think don't simply haven't been caught.
   
   It's little different in my mind than actors and actresses undergoing plastic surgery and saying they didn't. It's part of  staying at the top in their profession.

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6. 69

   Richard83posted 12 years ago

   Lance just got caught. Thats all. Everyone does it. I would say 40% of athletes. The competition is so tough this age and time, so any edge is a must have.

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      earnestshubposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The whole point is that he was never caught cheating.
      
      He is the most tested athlete ever, but has never tested positive to drugs.
      He is being targeted by those who have tested positive.

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   Stevennix2001posted 8 years ago

   Considering there's a movie about this guy being released fairly soon I figured it might be a good idea to resurrect this thread to see how many of you still see Lance as a hero. 

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      Colin Quartermainposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I have to say I never liked him when he was racing, as always mores of a Pantani fan, but have to say he has been very harshly treated.
      
      90% of the Peloton were probably taking drugs at the time, he didn't get caught at the time, but gets caught when others who were also taking the drugs spill the beans. Those same people then get a few months ban and Armstrong gets a lifetime ban.

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         Stevennix2001posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I think because Lance Armstrong is a bigger name than those other guys that they might be using him to set an example.  Is it fair?  Not really, but what can you do?

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8. 84

   psycheskinnerposted 8 years ago

   He resigned all his positions and deals and as far as I know is treated like dirt these days now  the cheating is well proven.

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9. 85

   DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years ago

   I'm not in favor of cheating.  But what I do have a problem with, is scapegoating.
   Some athlete or other gets called out for supposedly using performance-enhancing substances, and he's run through the ringer.
   Lance Armstrong, IF he actually did use (which has not been proven fully), is no different than probably 90% of US athletes across all sports.
   Barry Bonds was also "outed," and whether he did or did not use, why wasn't the entire team tested, or ALL the teams nationwide in all sports, for that matter?
   
   It's apparently a practice that is largely ignored until someone with an axe to grind against a single individual stirs up a fuss, then all eyes are on that one person, while the rest remains swept under the rug.
   It should be an all-encompassing enforcement, or none at all, if they're going to have the rule in place.
   That's just my two cents worth.

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10. 56

    SanXuaryposted 8 years ago

    I quit believing he was anyone but a cheater a long time ago. The question is how many losers were doing the same thing?

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11. 84

    psycheskinnerposted 8 years ago

    He has actually admitted it now, so I think that constitutes proof.

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