Lance Armstrong - Innocent or Guilty?

[thisisveryodd]

He has been in the news so much lately for resurfacing charges of steroid use; primarily of course the blood booster EPO. The amount he has done in terms of charity and raising money for people in need, I'm sure a lot of you have read at least one of his books.

Do you think he is innocent or guilty? The evidence seems to be stacking up so quickly that it must be close to bursting, yet, my opinion has always been the fact that in his time racing, especially when he was at his best, he was being tested constantly for steroid use yet failed only 1 test. But is 1 test all it takes? So many questions; I guess I've just been inspired by this man as one of my sporting idols for such a long time now that I simply don't want the charges to prove true.

Anyone got any thoughts and opinions on this? Does anybody know something that can shed any light?

 

[ninjawarrior]

It's cycling, they're all at and have been since it's inception. The fact he's had cancer is irrevelent.

 

[Tgirltdoggiexlovet]

Would that make it more acceptable? Since everyone else does it it's ok for him to despite his public figure? It's just a tough concept for me to get I guess

 

[whxremoans]

To get the edge it wouldn't surprise me, and it's not like the runners who can 'accidentally' take a cold remedy that has an illegal product in it. But to win a tour takes a combination of factors. I thought I read somewhere he was doing the Hawaii Ironman this year?

 

[youngj042004]

When you say the level he's at, do you mean in cycling or over other sports as well? I struggle to come to grips with that when there are so many other sports and the majority of them aren't considered to have steroids as a simple fact of the sport. You never see a rower being charged with drug allegations (unless they're Russian or Chinese, spoken only out of the only rowing drug allegations I've ever heard of) and rowing could be considered one of the most demanding sports on the body.

 

[nilesh]

If you believe in the principle of innocent until proven guilty, then he's innocent. There is absolutely no evidence of his guilt. The idea that you would take the word of men who have been proven guilty as evidence against Armstrong is ludicrous.

Professional Road Cycling has become a joke.

 

[Goldiggar]

I believe one of his team mates has come out against him. Professional road cycling has always been like this, at least they're not taking the car like they used to

 

[seanpatrick]

Two former team mates have spoken against him, both of whom have been found guilty of doping offences themselves. They've already shown they have absolutely no integrity whatsoever, so why take them at their word.

Drug tests are the only real evidence and Armstrong has passed more than any other professional sportsman.

 

[JBLove]

I just want to address this one point. And I'm hopeful it might help you to retain this man as one of your idols. Even if he did take steroids, he'd still have needed to train to his absolute limit in order to get to where he is in cycling. Whether he's using or not, whether they're all using or not, it doesn't take anything away from the effort they put into their training.

 

[InLoVe]

Osu,


A professional cyclist claiming he is not guilty in substance abuse is highly suspect... That does not mean it can be proven.
The fact that 2 of his team members have been convicted reinforces the suspicion; however, innocent until proven guilty it is...

Nobody is rowing 6 hours a day for 3 weeks to win!


Osu!

 

[CeeT]

Not just former team mates. His masseuse, his ex-PA, money changed hands over that one & even a doctor.
He does seem to spend a lot of money proving his innocence

 

[fiza_618]

Very true point you have Fred! Only exceptions I can think of are those who have for example crossed the Tasman Sea, but that's not quite a famous sporting event as such.

It is true what you say Coma about the effort he really did have to put in. It's merely that I think drug use was instilled in me as cheating and as such, you just shouldn't do it. If only the world were so rosy!

It is sad though, I have quite a few friends who are cyclists and they're split in their personal judgement of him. Some think he is guilty and are disgusted while some, as has been mentioned, think he is guilty but that it's not such a big deal. Still others don't think he did at all.

I think I'll keep him on the idol list nonetheless for his contributions to cancer anyway.

 

[SignsOfTheTimes]

How many of those people are disgruntled ex-employees and how many didn't benefit financially from those allegations? How many court cases has Armstrong won or received significant out of court settlements in relation to those accusations?

I want to know how Armstrong could have survived all those years if, as these allegations suggest, he made sure everyone he came into contact with saw him stick a needle in his arm.

 

[MrseReznor]

Money seems to flow both ways. Paying off ex-employees is not exactly a defence




certainly all the people close to him.

I'm not really bothered whether he has or not but I doubtt he'd have got were he was in the sport without them. I refuse to believe he's superman

 

[NH]

It would have been cheaper than mounting a defence though. Disgruntled ex-employees are notoriously unreliable witnesses. He wasn't a whistleblower, he was a man trying to extort money from his former boss.


Maybe, maybe not, but he still has the right to be presumed innocent and none of the accusations levied towards him have ever been backed up by anything more than hear say, he-said-she-said, or anecdotes from unreliable sources.

The French media have a loathing for Armstrong that is absolutely unrelenting and I believe that has led them into unethical reporting against Armstrong over the years. He gets worse press than alleged sex offenders (I'm thinking Strauss Kahn as a current example). It's disproportionate and inexplicable.

If Armstrong is guilty, let them prove it.

 

[rschmidt92]

Osu,


As someone who spent his early '20es chasing Marita Koch's 400m world record, and failing by 0.40 seconds, I also entertain high doubts about supermen...



Osu!

 

[Duece22]

There are far worse crimes than doing steroids.

 

[KarthikP]

Osu,


That's true, for instance, managing a bank or lying to Congress... or both!
... But these crimes are not prosecuted!


osu!

 

[gkyle56]

I think sport should just give up regulating drugs all together. I would find freak sports far more entertaining, especially when they all die after 10 years from drug abuse.

The Bear.

 

[KatherineD]

I had an interesting conversation with a cell biologist/physiologist a few years back about Armstrong. He made the suggestion that perhaps the steriods and other treatments given to Lance for his cancer actually altered his cell physiology to make them more efficient at delivering oxygen and nutrients etc to his system, which in turn (when combined with his obvious massive will power and determination to succeed) allowed him to achieve the results he did. Obviously, this is not a currently testable theory and was just something that came up in converstation, but it would be a possible explanation other than drug abuse for why he did so well.