Lance to Admit to Oprah

It looks like Lance is going to admit to Oprah about doping. The interview is to be taped Monday and shown on the air Thursday. If this is true and he does admit to doping, does it really make it any better? Especially considering that everyone believes that he was doping.



http://msn.foxsports.com/cycling/story/report-lance-armstrong-to-admit-doping-oprah-winfrey-interview-011113

I see it as a mixed blessing. On one hand, I feel that anytime anyone confesses to wrongs is the beginning of healing wounds, but also in this case, it could open a can of worms for potential lawsuits.

But, I'm assuming people (lawyers) smarter than me have already thought this through and have carefully crafted his words and answers for him.

Will be interesting to see.

For the most part, doping and drug use in sports doesn't bother me as much as it does a lot of other people. I get the rationale behind it, and while I don't think I would ever do it, if someone decides that's the route they want to take, so be it. However, this "confession" kind of annoys me (of course that could change depending on what he says).

The guy has vehemently denied any wrong doing for 15 years and strong armed anyone who dared say he cheated. Now that they finally caught him, he's going to be a good guy and confess? Sorry, but when someone is absolutely backed into a corner and have no other option but to admit that they cheated, they don't get any extra respect in my book for coming clean....even if it is on the Oprah Show .

Exactly what Bob said, this has to be all calculated out considering he has lawsuits against him (whistle blower) but this would admit he lied under oath. Still, he's pretty arogant and may have a hard time with all the fallout.

I think Lance is such a competitor that it kills him to not be able to compete - he has been training hard and had done extremely well in his triathlon debuts. I wonder if it isn't just worth it to him to take the backlash if it means he can compete again - especially when some other triathletes were calling him out, suggesting he wouldn't make much noise on the ironman circuit.

And, I totally agree with the second part of what Greg said - he has been not very nice to a lot of people.

Lance is a strange cookie, for sure. I want to like him so badly, but he sure doesn't make it easy........

GregC wrote: The guy has vehemently denied any wrong doing for 15 years and strong armed anyone who dared say he cheated. Now that they finally caught him, he's going to be a good guy and confess? Sorry, but when someone is absolutely backed into a corner and have no other option but to admit that they cheated, they don't get any extra respect in my book for coming clean....even if it is on the Oprah Show .

+1

John Kilpatrick wrote:I think Lance is such a competitor that it kills him to not be able to compete - he has been training hard and had done extremely well in his triathlon debuts. I wonder if it isn't just worth it to him to take the backlash if it means he can compete again - especially when some other triathletes were calling him out, suggesting he wouldn't make much noise on the ironman circuit.

And, I totally agree with the second part of what Greg said - he has been not very nice to a lot of people.

Lance is a strange cookie, for sure. I want to like him so badly, but he sure doesn't make it easy........

Unfortunately, he won't make a splash on the Ironman circuit. His running/swimming will never be strong enough to be a Kona winner.

Nick Morris wrote:

GregC wrote: The guy has vehemently denied any wrong doing for 15 years and strong armed anyone who dared say he cheated. Now that they finally caught him, he's going to be a good guy and confess? Sorry, but when someone is absolutely backed into a corner and have no other option but to admit that they cheated, they don't get any extra respect in my book for coming clean....even if it is on the Oprah Show .

+1

+2

Bob wrote:I see it as a mixed blessing. On one hand, I feel that anytime anyone confesses to wrongs is the beginning of healing wounds, but also in this case, it could open a can of worms for potential lawsuits.

But, I'm assuming people (lawyers) smarter than me have already thought this through and have carefully crafted his words and answers for him.

Will be interesting to see.

+4











(Sorry, can't let Greg beat me.)

I've had this discussion with Greg and Dave through emails and know that we see this differently. I do have issues with athletes that do "cheat" by whatever means. Not that I live this "holy than thou" life, cause anyone who knows me probably knows that isn't true. But, I think what bothers me most is that I've seen what it does to the attitudes of the younger ones in our world and worry that they learn the perception that that is the way to get ahead in life.

We have seen our society change as of late to a "what about me" world. I know I deal with kids/parents/whoever that think they never do anything wrong, or if their child doesn't make a team, doesn't start, gets a "B", or whatever, that they have been wronged. There seem to be fewer people, young and old, that realize that if you want something, work hard at it.

Is this a stretch from what Lance has done...maybe...but I think it does at some level all tie in together.

And that is my rant and my 2 cents.

You make a great point Bob, and what I think most of the people who look at a situation like this and say "Well, Lance did it so I'm going to" don't think about all the hours, blood, sweat, and tears that went into getting him (or any elite athlete) to the point that a little PED use put them over the top. They may justify it by saying that they've worked as hard as they can (doubtful) and they want to use it to get to the next level, whatever that may be.

I can't get very upset about it really, especially in cycling, where seemingly everyone is cheating in some way or other. Is it any different in running? football? baseball? Who knows. And honestly, if I was to be in the position Lance was to do something historic, I have a hard time saying with any conviction that I'd be able to say no.

I guess it doesn't matter to me... not even a little bit. I don't care how Lance won 7 TdF titles. I don't care if he has lied over the years. I don't care if he admits it now.

What I do care about is the sport and how it's going to become a 'clean, level playing field' for the riders. Lance rode against other dirty riders in a dirty sport. He did it better than the rest. If they can actually clean it up and get professional riders out there competing fairly then that matters to me. The rest? Bleh.

Mr MattM wrote:Lance rode against other dirty riders in a dirty sport. He did it better than the rest.

Another good point. Everyone who could afford it doped. Before you say, "Well, yeah, but the smaller teams couldn't afford it so it was unfair!!!" keep in mind that there's still a huge advantage to having money (accommodations, better staff, better bikes, better coaches, etc.) in cycling today.

I doubt the sport will ever be clean. Too much pressure to perform well. Sure, a couple teams are standing up to fight doping, but it's not enough.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Unfortunately, he won't make a splash on the Ironman circuit. His running/swimming will never be strong enough to be a Kona winner.

I wouldn't count him out - maybe he wouldn't win, but he would definitely be competitive. He raced 5 ironman 70.3 races last year and finished 2nd, 7th, 3rd, and 1st and 1st. One of which was the Hawaii HIM where he broke the course record previously held by Chris McCormack. He was 3rd on the swim there and had the 4th fastest run there. In Florida, his other win, he was 6th in the swim and 2nd fastest in the run. And he is basically a newbie at HIM distances. I would say he had a fighting chance of making a significant splash...

Here's an update on today's interview.



http://msn.foxsports.com/cycling/story/lance-armstrong-oprah-winfrey-performance-enhancing-drugs-tour-de-france-011413

John Kilpatrick wrote:

Mike MacLellan wrote:Unfortunately, he won't make a splash on the Ironman circuit. His running/swimming will never be strong enough to be a Kona winner.

I wouldn't count him out - maybe he wouldn't win, but he would definitely be competitive. He raced 5 ironman 70.3 races last year and finished 2nd, 7th, 3rd, and 1st and 1st. One of which was the Hawaii HIM where he broke the course record previously held by Chris McCormack. He was 3rd on the swim there and had the 4th fastest run there. In Florida, his other win, he was 6th in the swim and 2nd fastest in the run. And he is basically a newbie at HIM distances. I would say he had a fighting chance of making a significant splash...

In an interview today on Good Morning America, USA Today Columnist Christine Brennan stated that by the time Lance is 50 (and served his ban), he would have no shot at winning. None. Wow. I would never ever say never. Very strong words.

Don't know if Nick's article says it, but now the interview has been split to two nights. Way to go, Oprah. Milk it for all the ratings you can.

Mike MacLellan wrote:Don't know if Nick's article says it, but now the interview has been split to two nights. Way to go, Oprah. Milk it for all the ratings you can.

Her network is ailing afterall - so she'll get a temporary boost.

Unfortunately for Lance, this is too little too late and does not change my opinion of him.

It was about what I expected. It refreshing to hear that yes, he used PEDs for all 7 TdF victories. The rest of his admissions were pretty vague, most likely for legal purposes. I did read that by stating he last doped in 2005 the statute of limitations has run on all claims. That was most certainly a carefully crafted answer.

But anyone that was expecting a gushing admission and apology, in my opinion, doesn't answer the sociopathic nature of Lance's desire to win at all costs. It would be like Jordan apologizing for treating his teammates like pieces of crap that were there only for his to use to achieve his goals. It's just how those guys are wired.

Dave-O wrote:It was about what I expected. It refreshing to hear that yes, he used PEDs for all 7 TdF victories. The rest of his admissions were pretty vague, most likely for legal purposes. I did read that by stating he last doped in 2005 the statute of limitations has run on all claims. That was most certainly a carefully crafted answer.

But anyone that was expecting a gushing admission and apology, in my opinion, doesn't answer the sociopathic nature of Lance's desire to win at all costs. It would be like Jordan apologizing for treating his teammates like pieces of crap that were there only for his to use to achieve his goals. It's just how those guys are wired.

Did you notice how he said that he had never failed a test, but then admitted to covering up a failed cortisone test? For some reason that erked me a little.

The whole thing irked me. He seemed to be in control the entire time and that bugged me as well. Maybe tonight will be a bit more "emotional". After all what do you say to your 13 yr old son who has defended you vehemently? I feel so very sorry for him. Sure his wife and everyone covered up for him (may be why she finally was granted the divorce and why Sheryl Crow wised up), but hurting your own children just plain sucks.

Anyway, here is an interesting take from Lauren Fleshman - http://asklaurenfleshman.com/journal/2013/01/17/a-letter-to-lance-armstrong-a-fellow-pro-athletes-plee/

Nick Morris wrote:

Dave-O wrote:It was about what I expected. It refreshing to hear that yes, he used PEDs for all 7 TdF victories. The rest of his admissions were pretty vague, most likely for legal purposes. I did read that by stating he last doped in 2005 the statute of limitations has run on all claims. That was most certainly a carefully crafted answer.

But anyone that was expecting a gushing admission and apology, in my opinion, doesn't answer the sociopathic nature of Lance's desire to win at all costs. It would be like Jordan apologizing for treating his teammates like pieces of crap that were there only for his to use to achieve his goals. It's just how those guys are wired.

Did you notice how he said that he had never failed a test, but then admitted to covering up a failed cortisone test? For some reason that erked me a little.

I actually didn't mind his answer to that one. He never, by definition, "failed" a drug test. I thought he was pretty open that they beat the tests because of the scheduling and because they couldn't test for EPO back then. But yes, he was vague about the cortisone test.

Did O ask L exactly what L's motive was to come out of closet?

Jerry would've just kept quiet and run, far away like to China.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:The whole thing irked me. He seemed to be in control the entire time and that bugged me as well. Maybe tonight will be a bit more "emotional".

I don't think he's going to get emotional because I don't believe he regrets what he did. Whether correct or not, he viewed his time on the tour as a level playing field.

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:
After all what do you say to your 13 yr old son who has defended you vehemently?

"Yes, son, I took PEDs during my time on the tour. It was wrong but I justified it at the time because everyone on the tour was taking the same drugs, I am most sorry for lying to you about it, but I had to to avoid going to jail. See, the UCI, WADA, USADA, and the French all wanted to nail me, the best rider on the tour, more than anyone. They wanted me, not the other 199 riders in the event, to be the poster boy for the disgraced PED user. I understand why they did so - since I was the most outspoken about my claims of being clean - but when I was solo'd out, I felt backed into a corner and became defensive. It's my nature. I never meant to harm you or have you come in the middle of this. But I also wanted to be here for you."

I'm not a parent so my skills are probably off. Of all the issues with athletes and fatherhood, though, I don't think Lance really put his son in harm's way.