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Sports

 

War of the Words: Lance Armstrong loses it

Armstrongs still a hero (even with zero)

 

Lance Armstrong

By Josh Martin,
Sports Editor

ance Armstrong
won the Tour de
France seven years

in a row from 1999 to 2005,
and the U.S. Anti-Doping
Agency (USADA) doesn’t
believe he did it fairly. Even

Not buying what Armstrong's pedaling

By Eric Wilkins,
Staff Writer

e all know Lance
Armstrong and
his inspiring

story. The man was
diagnosed with testicular
cancer in 1996, but didn’t
quit. He fought through the
extensive treatments and
survived. Not content with
being a cancer survivor,
Armstrong returned to
cycling. Refusing to settle
for just being a racer again,
Armstrong would go on to
win seven Tour de France
titles from 1999 to 2005.
Incredible.

However, Armstrong

though throughout those
seven years Mr. Armstrong
did numerous drug tests
to prove that he’s innocent
(blood, urine, whatever,)
they still aren’t satisfied.
They would like him to do
some more tests because,
“how on earth could
someone win seven titles
in a row of the Tour de
France?” Even though he
hasn’t crowned the trophy
in seven years.

So, Lance decides to
stand up for himself and
say no to these USADA
bullies.

“No, I’m not going to
do another stupid drug test
because you think I was
doping.”

And they say back,
“Well then, since you’ re
refusing that means you're
guilty and we will take

recently gave up his fight
with the U.S. Anti-Doping
Agency (USADA), which
had accused him of taking
performance-enhancing
drugs during his career.
In doing so, Armstrong
has been stripped of all
his accomplishments from

away all of your titles and
on top of that ban you from
ever partaking in the sport...
for the rest of your life!”

Yes, it has ridiculous
animated movie written
all over it. The hero takes a
stand and the villain tries
to rip him apart. The only
difference is that in most
movies, the hero comes
out on top and defeats
the villain. In this case,
Armstrong is taking a stand
but there’s nothing he can
do. He hits rock bottom.
Perhaps this movie isn’t
over?

Perhaps, Mr. Armstrong
himself put it best; “If I
thought for one moment
that by participating in
USADA’s process, I could
confront these allegations
in a fair setting and once
and for all put these charges

secret. Countless riders have
been busted for taking illicit
substances, and countless
more have come forward
and outright admitted it.
All one needs to do is take

a look at the top finishes in
the Tour de France. Alberto
Contador, Floyd Landis,

to rest, | would jump at
the chance. But I refuse
to participate in a process
that is so one-sided and
unfair. Regardless of what
Travis Tygart [the CEO of
the USADA] says, there is
zero physical evidence to
support his outlandish and
heinous claims. The only
physical evidence here is
the hundreds of controls
I have passed with flying
colours. I made myself
available around the clock
and around the world.
In—competition. Out of
competition. Blood. Urine.
Whatever they asked for |
provided. What is the point
of all this testing if, in the
end, USADA will not stand
by it?”

Why are all of these
drug tests necessary if the
USADA is going to second-

these are just the ones who
have either been caught
or confessed. A startling
statistic is that, since Bjarne
Riis’ win in 1996, only three
winners of the tour have
been clean.

Further evidence
against Armstrong is the

6 An innocent man has nothing to be ashamed of.

August 1, 1998 and onward.

But is he actually
guilty? Was that miraculous
run of Tour de France titles
really just a drug-fuelled
mirage? Is the American just
another pretender? Signs
point to yes.

Cycling is a sport rife
with drugs. This is no

Marco Pantani, Jan Ullrich,
and Bjarne Riis have all
been nailed for doping, and
these are just the winners
of the event. The top 10

of most of the recent Tour
de France races generally
have at least half of the
cyclists implicated in some
sort of drug scandal, and

simple fact that he’s giving
up fighting against the
USADA’s charges. An
innocent man has nothing
to be ashamed of, and thus
can, and should, stand up
to all accusations levelled
against him because he has
done no wrong. Armstrong
has refused to carry on

guess their tests and re-do
them? Were their own
prior tests not up to par
with their tests now? The
only evidence that Lance
Armstrong did indeed take
athletic enhancing drugs
during his productive
tenure is the fact that he will
not take another drug test
seven years after his final
title.

Where does that leave
us? The villain succeeding
in taking down the hero
who overcame testicular
cancer—along with taking
away his titles and banning
him of ever competing in
the sport again...and so far
nobody can stop him.

defending himself, and one
may interpret this as an
admission of guilt.
Armstrong has always
been a fighter. He doesn’t
give up. He doesn’t settle
for less. So why, after
having been through so
much, is he giving up now?
Most likely, Armstrong
knows that the USADA will
get some hard evidence on
him eventually, and, instead
of fruitlessly continuing
to defend himself, he has
chosen to muddy the waters
sufficiently enough that
no one will ever know for
certain whether he doped
or not, thus ensuring his
fame will live on in some

capacity.
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