AP: Armstrong won't challenge doping allegations; loses Tour titles (Lance to confess)

[Hersh]

People want to remember him as a great guy who inspired people, and that's the truth. But he was also a bully, and that is also the truth. The image of him wasn't squeaky clean. He vigorously pursued anyone who would dare question him, and beat them down verbally. He ruined many reputations of people who simply implied that he cheated. I was fine with this, if he was clean. If he didn't cheat. But he did. When given the chance to challenge these accusations, he backed out. To me, that implied he was cheating. Yeah, he fought those allegations for decades, and maybe he burned out. But if you were truly innocent, and people called you a sham and a cheat, wouldn't you defend your honor too?

The reason the media doesn't go after him as hard as they did the other cheaters...this guy raised money for cancer research, and he inspired so many people. But that's only one side. Everyone, Lance defender or not, knows that he vigorously defended himself against allegations. That's indisputable fact. To just lie down and give up, that's not him.

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 12:54 AM ----------

http://twitter.com/SIDavidEpstein/st...26327287947264

I don't disagree with anything you said and he my be as guilty as anyone in that sport. I just wonder what it's like facing an agency (USADA) with unlimited time and money. How much of your life do you spend defending yourself after you already have for 10+ years? Gotta be draining and life's too short to spend the rest of time in the court room.

[Stophovr6]

I have a solution. End the tour. That's right, end it. Only way to insure no one dopes.

[FrFan]

I have a solution. End the tour. That's right, end it. Only way to insure no one dopes.

Not only the Tour de "farce" but also all cycling competitions

---------- Post added August-24th-2012 at 08:47 AM ----------

How is he a cheat if he never failed a drug test?

Marion Jones never failed a drug test too, and she was sentenced to jail just because she lied !. Something is really wrong here compared to others. About Armstrong, too many people turned him in, and his doctor was Michelle Ferrari. USADA doesn't have any authority to strip him from his titles.
If he is stripped from the ICU, concerning the tour de France 2003 after Lance Armstrong we've got: 2nd Jan Ullrich, 3rd Alexandre Vinokourov, 4th Tyler Hamilton, all of them failed drug tests that leaves us with 5th Haimar Zubeldia as the winner !!!, just ridiculous.

[Deebs]

Not To Be Left Out, Roger Goodell Announces He’s Suspending Lance Armstrong Too

[Corcaigh]

Lance is relying on the fact that a sizable number of Americans don't care if you cheat, so long as you win.

The dude stole seven yellow shirts from the French in their favorite damn race. What a hero.

[LeesburgSkinFan]

Looks like Lance is taking his ball and going home.

[Mursilis]

But why did he give up, then? If they threatened to take my legacy and my allegedly hard fought 7 straight that I won "cleanly", I'd fight till the end. That's what bothers me about Lance just giving up because he's tired of fighting accusations. It's just such a stark contrast from his normally combative demeanor towards anyone who dared to accuse him of cheating.

It's easy to talk that talk when you don't have to walk the walk, too. I used to bill for a law firm, and it wasn't unusual for some of our bigger clients to get monthly bills well into 6 figures during litigation. Bleeding out that sort of cash is going to get old after a while for anyone, and for what? He's done racing. If he gets banned for life from cycling, that's pointless at this point in time.

[MattFancy]

Something about it doesn't sit well with me. He's never tested positive and hasn't competed in the event in many years.

You don't see the NFL going back and testing all the players from the 2004 super bowl winner do you?

That's how I feel. Its not like baseball where there was no testing at all. These guys on the Tour are tested constantly.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Lance is relying on the fact that a sizable number of Americans don't care if you cheat, so long as you win.

The dude stole seven yellow shirts from the French in their favorite damn race. What a hero.

Your proof? Oh....none.

[Mursilis]

That's how I feel. Its not like baseball where there was no testing at all. These guys on the Tour are tested constantly.

Very true, and not just in-season. They've got to keep the WADA informed of their whereabout year round, and can be subjected to random testing at any time with just a few hours' notice.

That being said, the testing always lags behind the doping - for years, EPO could not be detected, and was widely abused. I'm sure there are PEDs out there which aren't detectable in any test.

[Hersh]

The USADA needs to release all it's information/evidence related to this case.

[MattFancy]

Very true, and not just in-season. They've got to keep the WADA informed of their whereabout year round, and can be subjected to random testing at any time with just a few hours' notice.

That being said, the testing always lags behind the doping - for years, EPO could not be detected, and was widely abused. I'm sure there are PEDs out there which aren't detectable in any test.

True, but just because we think there's ways around the test doesn't mean he used. There is no proof that he used except from random people that say they saw him do it.

As already discussed in here, Lance didn't make many friends, so I can't tell who's telling the truth and who's not. But all I can do is go by the facts which say he never tested positive.

[AsburySkinsFan]

That's how I feel. Its not like baseball where there was no testing at all. These guys on the Tour are tested constantly.

400+ tests all clean. People want a vilain and they think Lance is Barry Bonds, they think every one who has an allegation brought gainst them is guilty, and the USADA is on a witch hunt in order to justify their existence since most professional sporting leagues are doing what they were created to do. How the USADA can strip Lance of his French titles is beyond me though.

[MattFancy]

The USADA needs to release all it's information/evidence related to this case.

That I agree with 100%. If you're going to ruin a man's life, let's see what you have on him.

[Larry]

Kind of conflicted.

Yeah, I've suspected that he was cheating, for some time. Simply because he won that many races, for so long. And, to do all that after cancer? Certainly makes me wonder.

OTOH, I also have to feel for a guy who submitted every sample they demanded, was tested by the best technology available at the time, submitted to probably thousands of forensic tests, and passed all of them.

And one where, even when people go back to decades-old samples, and run new tests, he still comes up clean?

Yeah, I see a whole lot of really guilty people, pulling the "I'm not really guilty, I'm just taking this plea bargain because it's cheap" claim. But in Lance's case? Given how long people have been after him?

In his case, I can at least admit that it's possible.

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I don't know whether he was cheating or not. (And I really love the people in the thread who seem to be certain that they do know.)