Day 180
Todays word: MUMPSIMUS A person who insists they are right when all then evidence points the other way. Say no more!!!
I have recently watched the two BBC shown programmes on Lance Armstrong. I was never a fan, even when he was winning his seven tours. There was an aura about him that I found deeply unattractive, I just thought he was not likeable. Since he has had to admit he was “doping” (not just him it was widespread throughout the sport) something he would never have done willingly, he appears to be contrite and has said that he knows he was a bully and treated people very badly. Having been caught and admitted his doping he has to say all sorts of things he regrets or knows he did wrong. Having watched the interviews with him I do not get the impression that he means a single word he says. He is saying it either because he knows it’s what he should or it is expected of him. He himself says he would not change a thing and under the circumstances and prevailing culture of the sport at the time he still feels he won those Tours!
His power and dominance of the sport at that time corrupted many riders who might otherwise have stayed “clean”. Everyone has a choice to say no but if you did you were either hounded out or told if you did not comply your living was gone and Armstrong was guilty of much of that. He destroyed many people’s reputations and in some cases their lives. I think a secret like this was so large it would have always come out in one way or another, it was to well known and too big to be kept. If it had not Armstrong would still bask in the glory of his achievements and continue to lie and cover up his doping. He would never admitted any of it voluntarily!
He is a despicable character with in my opinion no real remorse and even when he appears to get emotional I am sure he is playing to the camera, he is a master manipulator and he is still trying fool the his audience into believing he has become a “nicer” man! He used his recovery from life threatening cancer as a shield and bulwark against any accusation of cheating, well done for surviving, as a fellow survivor a few years after him I know how traumatic and tough it can be. Whilst I understand that recovery would have driven him on to succeed once more, for most it would have only made you determined to race clean? His choice to rush headlong into EPO and other substances showed he wanted to win at any cost. It transpires he had already taken banned substances before his illness but that is not an excuse!
I am not naive, I know that all sport has its cheats and cover ups, There are always those who seek to gain an unfair advantage and hope they don’t get caught. I’m sure many pro riders took these substances and were never caught. The spectre of drug enhanced performance has not gone away. The testing is better but in science the cheats are usually one step ahead of the testers. There are still riders who get caught but now there is a system in place with a range of sentences depending on the severity of your “crime”. In my opinion it is simple if it is proven you sought to take unfair advantage From performance enhancing substances, you should be banned from the sport for good, with no reprieve!
Armstrong was not the first to dope and he won’t be the last but don’t for one moment think that he would not do it again if he thought he could get away with it and win!
Stay well
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