Lance Armstrong a cheater? I just got into it with my Bro in law

[WannabeMego]

This is my take. We all know he did. He knows he did. But he did it in a sport where EVERYONE dopes. Cycling is the most notorious sport for doping. They all do it. They all find ways to get around the tests. If every person in cycling were honest, they would all admit they dope. So...if everyone he was competing against was doping, and he was doping, they all had a pretty level playing field.

Since he won 7 times (more than anyone else)....that makes him the DOPEST OF THE DOPES.

I agree 1,000% and I'm guessing from the majority of responses here that most folks do NOT follow the sport of cycling.

It is probably THE MOST JUICED sport of all with Track-n-Field following a close 2nd...Football and Baseball don't even come close.

Now, having said that...regardless of what comes out, the overwhelming majority of folks that actually follow cycling will still tell you that he is the BEST cyclist in the sport...PERIOD.

If EVERYONE is cheating, then who is being cheated?!?!

Am I advocating what these folks do...HELL NO...but I don't see anyone that got hurt here except the sport itself and now possibly the Cancer Foundation...so was it worth it...I don't think so.

Did anyone win here...did the sport of cycling suddenly get cleaner and now a ton of folks will start watching it that never had before because of all the doping...I don't think so.

Folks just want to nail him cause they couldn't nail him.

Regardless of the sport...they just damaged one of the biggest Cancer Icon/Idol that people who have cancer look up to, who has raised over $500 Million Dollars and Global Awareness to the cause...was it worth it...

I...Personally...Do Not Think So.

[MegoMark71]

Want to know why i hate the sport all together? Cause they are all farking cheating pieces of crap. That for me does not make it right. Remember as a kid when your parents would say stuff like, "well if everyone else was jumping off a 50 story building, would you still do it" For a man who beat cancer cause he would not quit, to me for him to say he gives up only makes me firmly believe they finally have the proof he cheated. And i'm sorry but i don't care if he raised a billion farking dollars, that is something different, In the sport he made a name for himself in, he is a piece of garbage. If he is innocent, he would fight till the day he died. I know i'm not going to throw in the towel if someone says something about me that isn't true.
Now for a joke i love. He is now truly ball less.

[toys2cool]

Want to know why i hate the sport all together? Cause they are all farking cheating pieces of crap. That for me does not make it right. Remember as a kid when your parents would say stuff like, "well if everyone else was jumping off a 50 story building, would you still do it" For a man who beat cancer cause he would not quit, to me for him to say he gives up only makes me firmly believe they finally have the proof he cheated. And i'm sorry but i don't care if he raised a billion farking dollars, that is something different, In the sport he made a name for himself in, he is a piece of garbage. If he is innocent, he would fight till the day he died. I know i'm not going to throw in the towel if someone says something about me that isn't true.
Now for a joke i love. He is now truly ball less.

why don't you tell us how you really feel

[MegoSteve]

Was it proven? Beyond the shadow of a doubt that he did such a thing? Were there other witnesses? Was it recorded either on camera or on audio?

If it's simply the official's word against his, I have my doubts.

The legal standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, not proof beyond ALL doubt. This isn't a case where it's the word of one person against another; the USADA had at least ten people willing to testify that he did it, including former teammates. I think Lance knew his back was against the wall this time, and decided to give up knowing that there are people who believe anything they hear as long as it's from someone they personally admire or agree with, even if it runs counter to facts and evidence.

[kingdom warrior]

"he is the BEST cyclist in the sport" If that's the case then why was he compelled to dope up? If you are the best then you can beat anyone doing anything, period and if you lost soooo What? at least you lost honestly.... again if you knew you were representing cancer awareness and helping raise money he didn't stop to think of what would happen if he got busted and tarnish a sport.......again big money makes men do stupid things......

[batmanrocks]

I have to agree personally I think he did take some kind of ped but as was stated earlier he never failed a test, granted there are ways around it but they never found a way to catch him, so without hard evidence how can they strip him of the titles, also as stated earlier, if they all dope then its not cheating it's just par for the course

[Fuzzysnail]

"What I find peculiar...is that Armstrong...the tremendous competitive athlete that he was on the track...never giving up...always giving it his all...finally decides to surrender and call it a day...to me...that's a clear sign that he cheated. Like Damien said...you fight those charges to the death...no matter how long it takes...no matter how difficult the struggle is...you keep on fighting and never surrender...well...he did just that.

Guilty as charged. "

Really? When is enough enough. This isn't life or death. This isn't a competition he chose to compete in. This is an allegation, unproven, undocumented which is continually thrusyt before him. I was under the impression in America we are Innocent until proven guilty. Why does Lance have top prove his innosence. They sure haven't proven his guilt in any court. The guy is tired of playing their game, pure an simple. He would like to generate his time, energy and MONEY in a more positive direction. His family, and Cancer fundraising. The man retired from the sport clean. He won 7 Tour De France championships without testing positive. He played within the rules and guidelines he was given, why should he be continually hounded by people who cant even stand in his shadow. Now breaking up with sharon Crow, I can fault him for, but everything else....let the man alone. Is he a great man, history will decide. The government of the United Staes of America has better things to worry about with their tiome and our money.

[Fuzzysnail]

People that say they would fight till the day they die, have never been involved in a lawsuit. These lawsuits cost money...money that comes from Lances pockets, money that is taken away from his organization or his family. The government has much deeper pockets, and lawsuits are won with deep pockets not right or wrong. If the loser doesn't like the outcome they appeal, and continue to appeal....etc. The only people who truly win a lawsuit is the lawyers...who have nothing invested to begin with.

[toys2cool]

"What I find peculiar...is that Armstrong...the tremendous competitive athlete that he was on the track...never giving up...always giving it his all...finally decides to surrender and call it a day...to me...that's a clear sign that he cheated. Like Damien said...you fight those charges to the death...no matter how long it takes...no matter how difficult the struggle is...you keep on fighting and never surrender...well...he did just that.

Guilty as charged. "

Really? When is enough enough. This isn't life or death. This isn't a competition he chose to compete in. This is an allegation, unproven, undocumented which is continually thrusyt before him. I was under the impression in America we are Innocent until proven guilty. Why does Lance have top prove his innosence. They sure haven't proven his guilt in any court. The guy is tired of playing their game, pure an simple. He would like to generate his time, energy and MONEY in a more positive direction. His family, and Cancer fundraising. The man retired from the sport clean. He won 7 Tour De France championships without testing positive. He played within the rules and guidelines he was given, why should he be continually hounded by people who cant even stand in his shadow. Now breaking up with sharon Crow, I can fault him for, but everything else....let the man alone. Is he a great man, history will decide. The government of the United Staes of America has better things to worry about with their tiome and our money.

Yea Sheryl Crow was hot....back to the topic

That's the thing, had he kept on fighting he would've had the whole nation on his side..But to quit? Even if they don't take his titles away he will forever have doubt on his career..Could you really live with that for the rest of your life? Knowing everywhere you go and every question you'll get for the rest of your life will be the same thing? I'm sorry If you didn't do it you just don't quit that easily

Hell Pete Rose put up a fight for what 30+ years? and he actually did lie

[Fuzzysnail]

I guess it comes down to how much is your pride worth. I think he was willing to put aside what others thought, and is ready to move forward with his life.

[MIB41]

He's walking away so he won't have to be humiliated when his team mates bust him in court. It's that simple. He has a number of people who believe in him for a variety of reasons, not all bad. But where he's wrong is thinking he will be able to manage public opinion better, than going to trial. Walking away IS an omission of guilt. It's the 11th hour of his fight. And instead of digging in and making good on his claims of innocence, he's chosen to quit and manage damage control on a bogus PR campaign. In time the support he still enjoys will evaporate and he will be left isolated and disgraced. It's a delayed reaction because he has made so much money and touched a number of people through his charitable organizations. But that disgrace will come. Companies will be forced to separate themselves from his name and that will be that. The only thing that bothers me is that it took this long to nail him down. That is a lot of time spent cheating to NOT get caught. Which only deepens my skepticism for this sport and any future champions. So here's the question now... Who gets those titles? The guy who came in second? Or did he cheat too? This sport is a disaster.

[toys2cool]

He's walking away so he won't have to be humiliated when his team mates bust him in court. It's that simple. He has a number of people who believe in him for a variety of reasons, not all bad. But where he's wrong is thinking he will be able to manage public opinion better, than going to trial. Walking away IS an omission of guilt. It's the 11th hour of his fight. And instead of digging in and making good on his claims of innocence, he's chosen to quit and manage damage control on a bogus PR campaign. In time the support he still enjoys will evaporate and he will be left isolated and disgraced. It's a delayed reaction because he has made so much money and touched a number of people through his charitable organizations. But that disgrace will come. Companies will be forced to separate themselves from his name and that will be that. The only thing that bothers me is that it took this long to nail him down. That is a lot of time spent cheating to NOT get caught. Which only deepens my skepticism for this sport and any future champions. So here's the question now... Who gets those titles? The guy who came in second? Or did he cheat too? This sport is a disaster.

Great post