In the past few months, the world has witnessed one of the greatest sport athletes be beaten down by lies, fraud, and cheating. So much, that even his best sponsors have left him to hang which will probably end up leaving him with little to no money. More disturbingly, he had to step down from the Livestrong organization. The same charity foundation Lance Armstrong started from scratch using his own personal trials, tribulations, and accomplishments to benefit those that are being ravaged by cancer(1)[This is a footnote...since I don't have a fancy website or even know how to make footnotes, I will be using this for now on. They aren't necessary to the piece but simple digressions that add to the story].
(1) The Livestrong Foundation was the first organization to promote support during remission. After cancer treatment, one can be damaged goods, always thinking they are sick or will never be able to return to the person they once were. Even Armstrong had to be convinced and begged to get back into professional cycling from his friends and family. The first group of rides after treatment, he always thought he was sick when the slightest tick in his body would occur. It made him paranoid. Therefore, a big part of The Livestrong Foundation is providing psychiatric help during remission.
After the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) pummeled Armstrong with citations, forced him out of cycling, berated him, and unconstitutionally paid old teammates to testify against (2) him, Armstrong gave up the fight. He couldn't do it anymore. The money was mounting from court fees, lawyers, and loads of research to defend his case. It was enough. He knew he couldn't win. It was the only option that he had left.
(2) I can't prove USADA did this because if there was proof out there that a government agency used fraudulent tactics to strip Lance Armstrong of his accolades, there would be a much bigger story here, but numerous resources have hinted at it and the timing of old teammates coming out was more than coincidental (Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis and many others). It is just very fishy. Even a few judges in Armstrong's case accused USADA of using unethical and unlawful means to build evidence against the 7 time Tour de France Champion.
Now, I am not writing this because I believe Lance Armstrong is innocent. Trust me, I am not. He is guilty as they come. I know he took performance enhancing drugs whether it was EPOs or blood transfers, Armstrong done them. And he did it better than any cyclist before or after. Lance has been tested over 500 times throughout his career and has never tested positive. He just found a way to cheat better than anyone else. Any cyclist will tell you that everyone does it (I have met a few professional cyclists through my triathlon experiences). It is just apart of the sport.
Cycling is a dirty, simple as that.
However, I am merely writing this because of USADA's unconstitutional witch hunt which in turn, ended a legacy that was exponentially more benign than evil just to enhance their own image and brand.
There have been plenty worse users than Lance Armstrong. He was just the biggest name. USADA had no problem with Armstrong for years after his 2009 retirement. It wasn't until Lance decided to compete in Ironman triathlons (3) in mid-2011. He started bringing popularity to an underground sport, which was fine, but it wasn't until Lance started breaking bike course records and winning a few races that USADA decided to step in. The moment after Lance Armstrong won Ironman Texas, USADA forced the Ironman Corporation to suspend Lance Armstrong from any professional competitions until the investigation and hearings were finished.
(3) As a triathlete, this is the underrated tragedy during this whole thing. Triathlons are growing around the world and Lance would have brought a whole new market in clientele into the spectrum leading to enhancing the sport and the Livestrong Foundation. Only good things would have come from this. Now, it becomes another what if.
Lance Armstrong biggest mistake was.... (come back on Thursday for Part 2)
Thanks for reading.
Don't forget to check out the site www.triforlifefoundation.com
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