Posted on 08/27/2012 8:22:05 AM PDT by luv2ski
First of all, Lance Armstrong is a good man. There’s nothing that I can learn about him short of murder that would alter my opinion on that. Second, I don’t know if he’s telling the truth when he insists he didn’t use performance-enhancing drugs in the Tour de France — never have known. I do know that he beat cancer fair and square, that he’s not the mastermind criminal the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency makes him out to be, and that the process of stripping him of his titles reeks. A federal judge wrote last week, “USADA’s conduct raises serious questions about whether its real interest in charging Armstrong is to combat doping, or if it is acting according to less noble motives.” You don’t say. Then when is a judge, or better yet Congress, going to do something about it? Quite independently of Lance, with whom I wrote two books, for a long, long time I’ve had serious doubts about the motives, efficiency and wisdom of these “doping” investigations. In the Balco affair, all the wrong people were prosecuted. It’s the only so-called drug investigation in which the manufacturers and the distributors were given plea deals in order to throw the book at the users. What that told us was that it was big-game hunting, not justice. It was careerist investigators trying to put athletes’ antlers on their walls. Meanwhile, the Fourth Amendment became a muddy, stomped-on, kicked-aside doormat. So forget Lance. I have so many problems with USADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) — which is supposed to be where athletes can appeal, only they never, ever win — that it’s hard to know where to begin.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This is partly the same mob (The French sports press) that said he had an unnatutal advantage because he (now) only has one testicle (due to cancer and resulting treatments). Really.
There is no way, a guy worth possibly north of $125 million dollars would fold this easily if the charges weren’t true - I just don’t buy it. Much as I hate to think it, I suspect the allegations are true.
No doubt he’s a great cyclist. She wrote two books with him? This makes her look dopey. Follow the money.
You can never prove that you are innocent, and they know it. This reminds me so much of the double-speak we get in our own governement now.
So this is what we are supposed to believe ... Throw out baseless accusations by nameless accusers, hold “trial” in a closed kangaroo court where normal rules do not apply, and judges are not subject to any actual law or factual evidence. What overwhelming factual evidence does exist (600+ negative tests with no positives) is ignored, then declare him guilty of all charges when he refuses to participate ... oh, and have his title stripped by a body that does not rule the event that actually conferred it. I also like the part about how he is supposed to return all the money he won as well ...
Substance abuse and performance enhancing drugs is a problem, but the USADA and World ADA is a joke, except jokes are funny. Ask Alberto Contador. The USADA is a vicious quasi-governmental repository for scum that cannot compete on the playing field so they want to eliminate the true champions so that lesser atheletes can win. Any funding they are getting, public or private, should be pulled permanently.
No one said he was Miss Congeniality.
Many of the elite TdF cyclists are ruthless in how they "lead" their teams and how they treat their opponents. You may know, the top riders often have nicknames given by their fellow riders ---- such as "The Cannibal" and "The Badger". Somehow, those names were earned.
most people, including many here, choose to believe and accept their own limited knowledge and perceptions of the facts. Life must be so simple and so ignorant.
A champion is revered and envied at the same time. A quitter is viled regardless of the circumstances. God forbid facts get in the way of that little tiny box that so many use to make sense of everything in this world they know nothing about.
Gee was not Sarah Palin a quitter?. Maybe she is found wanting and of course GUILTY from the same folks. Of course we all know she is such a jerk. /s
Anyone watching those Tour events, the skill, strategy and all that it encompassed and then hear others who do not have a fricken clue call Lance a cheat, a jerk or whatever it is that makes them feel good. . . should spend more time extracting their own head from somewhere it appears to be permanently stuck
I am referring more to off-the-bike behavior, but the crap he pulled with Simeoni in 2004 spoke volumes.
Simeoni gets busted for doping. Gets a few months suspension. Accuses Lance of doing the same. Lets not forget that Lance is also sampling but by some incredible miracle, none of his samples turn positive.
So this Simeoni guy accuses Lance of doping. Lance calls him a liar. Simeoni being of such quality character then SUES Lance of defamation in the Italian courts. Now if you have ever been sued in a foreign court, you would understand what a pain in the butt this becomes.
So a few years later, Simeoni breaks away from the pack and joins the lead group, which happens to include Lance. So now Lance up to this point was minding his own business, decides to "fall" back and harass Simeoni.
OK so this Simeoni is SUING my butt for defamation, lying to the world and accusing Lance for something Simeoni has ALREADY been found guilty of and you want to tell me Lance is a bad person for harassing him???
Yesh Simeoni only gets two months suspension for doping. WHY? In exchange to bring down a big name??
This game can go on forever
He was more into blood transfusions. Will you be reading Hamilton’s book?
Is an accusation enough to prove guilt now?
Evidence (several hundred negative blood and urine tests) trumps testimony, every time.
“In the Balco affair, all the wrong people were prosecuted. ItÂ’s the only so-called drug investigation in which the manufacturers and the distributors were given plea deals in order to throw the book at the users. What that told us was that it was big-game hunting, not justice.”
We’re not talking about street drugs, these were specialty drugs created only to fill the demand of a small group of cheating professional athletes. If they had just busted the manufacturers, those rich athletes would have found someone else to supply them. Of course you throw the book at the users in a situation like that, because they created the problem.
I agree. After all he’s been through, he can’t deal with people testifying against him? If you really didn’t do something, your attitude would be, “I can’t wait to hear what they have to say, and I can’t wait to respond.”
WaPo doesn`t know s**t.
Read what the non-doping pro cyclists are saying. Overwhelming majority say ‘ it`s about time ‘.
The circumstantial evidence is a landslide. Every pro racer knew he was on something.
The non-doping pros are happy. The dopers are bitter.
Lance was,and still is, a c**t.
A doper. The circumstantial evidence would convict anyone.
Justice finally caught up to this punk cheat who hated non-doping pros .
I saw the 60 Minutes interview with Armstrong's teammate. I though the guy was a weasel himself, but I found what he said about Armstrong to be credible.
How would the USADA be able to strip champion titles when they are awarded by other groups ? I can see some groups tell the USADA to fornicate themselves.
Just because Lance was very abrasive, does this justify the “Star Chamber” judgment from the USADA to a lifetime ban and titles stripped ?
> oh, and have his title stripped by a body that does not rule the event that actually conferred it.
Sooooo... you thought someone you described as “a weasel” gave credible testimony based upon what? Your experiences with Lance Armstrong on the World Cup circuit?
On the 18th stage – with Armstrong well-ensconced in the yellow jersey – Simeoni joined an otherwise benign break on a relatively flat stage. None of the riders in the break constituted a threat on GC and most of us know the drill by now: Guys attack, they get a gap, they get chased down and then there’s a field sprint.
Not that day. When he learned that Simeoni was in the break, Armstrong chased it down and stayed glued to the Italian’s wheel. As you might imagine, a break with the yellow jersey in it will get chased down. The other riders in the break begged Armstrong to drop back. He said he wouldn’t do so without Simeoni. Simeoni finally agreed, drifted back to the field and the break went on its happy way.
On the way back, Armstrong reportedly showed the Italian one of those “zip-the-lip” gestures. It was that which caught the interest of Italian investigators. He was asked to meet with investigators in Italy. Nothing came of that interview and the intimidation charge wasn’t filed.
Ferrari, meanwhile, was found guilty and given a one-year suspended sentence in October of 2004. Armstrong then cut his ties with the doctor and, we believe, he has not re-established that relationship despite the fact that Ferrari’s conviction was subsequently over-turned.
Simeoni’s defamation suit – and Armstrong’s subsequent counter-suit – were both withdrawn in April of 2006. So Armstrong is free to attend the Giro in May, without fear of being served, arrested or otherwise embroiled in the courts. We, meanwhile, have that really weird photo from the 2004 Tour for our scrapbooks.
And a link here to an article about Lance's "chat" with Tyler Hamilton in Aspen this year.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.