Don't Cry For Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong is shoving his name back in the news. The disgraced cyclist admitted his cheating in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. He also doesn’t feel he was cheating because “everyone else was doing it.” Way to show contrition for lying Lance.

Armstrong is a man who misled an entire country and cheated his way to the top of a sport very few people in this country care about. Those who do follow cycling likely do so because they believed in the feel-good story of a man who recovered from testicular cancer to win multiple Tour-de-France titles.

I see a different story when I look at this man. I see a man who lied for years and preached to the world about how clean he was despite knowing the truth. He successfully sued a London newspaper for daring to write articles about his cheating ways. Hopefully they are able to recoup some or all of that money in the wake of this admission.

How many millions of dollars did he earn in endorsements? How many millions did he earn in prize money and performance bonuses for winning six straight times in the Tour-de-France? His entire career was built on a lie, one he vehemently denied.

Some of us work hard in our careers. We don’t lie, we don’t cheat. We do things the right way. Every raise, promotion and accolade I’ve earned, I’ve done so the right way. This man cheated his way to titles and tons of money and endorsements.

I know Armstrong still has his supporters, the ones who like to point out all the good he did with his money as if he’s suddenly a beacon of morality. It’s real easy to give away other people’s money. By cheating to win he stole that prize money from other more deserving candidates. Maybe they would have been more generous with their money had they been the ones who won it?

Armstrong is just the latest in a long line of “role models” who are setting a horrible example to the youth of today. Look at the story coming out of Notre Dame this week about Manti Te’o and his fake girlfriend. Look at all the steroid users from the 90’s and 2000’s in major league baseball. What kind of example have they set?

Personally I am sick of the idolization of sports athletes in this country. Maybe if they weren’t so grossly overpaid the incentive to cheat wouldn’t be as prevalent?

The real heroes in this country aren’t a bunch of egotistical arrogant athletes playing a game; the real heroes are firefighters, policemen, teachers, and other people who try to make a difference in our society. Isn’t it funny how I don’t hear stories of doping and cheating in those professions?

Personally I hope Armstrong loses every last cent of falsely earned money. It’s one thing to lie; it’s another thing to complete fraud against people. Make no mistake that’s all Armstrong is, a fraud. He got millions of dollars fraudulently by “winning” titles he didn’t deserve. He won lawsuit money by lying in court against that newspaper. He’s nothing but a con artist.

Like all other criminals, I hope he gets what’s coming to him.