Posted on 09/01/2012 7:51:33 AM PDT by Para-Ord.45
I was Lance’s personal assistant for two years, during the height of his racing career. Do I think he cheated? Yep. But my real problem is something that diehard fans seem unable to grasp: the vengeful tactics he uses against people who tell the truth about him, on and off the bike.
(Excerpt) Read more at outsideonline.com ...
Very few athletes who perform at that level are scrupulous or decent human beings. The type of personality required for that kind of achievement is as much a curse as the prizes are blessing, perhaps more so.
Here’s what I think.
1. Lance probably did cheat.
2. Probably no way to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
3. If not everyone else, then probably most of his competitors were cheating as well.
Ty Cobb sharpened his spikes. Bobby Thomson stole the sign for the big homerun. Boxers hit below the belt. Offensive linemen hold. Car racers basically do anything they can get away with. It’s always been this way and guess what? It always will.
Actually at least 1 positive test, which was later “cleared”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/5043260.stm
The fact of the matter is the dopers tend to be ahead of the testers. That’s why they store samples for later with better testing. In track and field and cycling a really significant percentage of awarded winners have their wins stripped 5 or 6 years later. There’s an Olympic sprint from the 90s that no longer has a bronze medal winner because 6 of the 8 women to run in the finals had their stored samples test positive.
He passed the drug tests. They where administer the same way to him as to all the other athletes, some of whom failed, that is the standard. Going back and besmirching a person's achievements in a completely unprovable way is wrong regardless of how much of an SOB he was or is to his employees.
Ty Cobb was a raving lunatic alcoholic asshole. He abused people, played dirty and bent or broke every rule to get an advantage. Yet, he is still amongst greatest ball players of all time.
The USADA should cease to exist. It is money waisted by these ‘private’ organizations that are publicly funded that are the hallmark of massive government over spending.
I believe he took a bunch of PEDs. But I also don’t give a sh*t. All riders are cheats pretty much
Also, the USADA has no power to strip Lance of his TDF titles. That falls to the UIC and WADA which are standing by Lance and against the USADA.(as of now)
Isn't there some kind of best evidence rule that applies in these situations.
The only evidence that should be admissible are the tests. The whole point of their existence is to determine whether someone is cheating. If you pass the tests, then by virtue of the rules of the applicable sport, you haven't cheated. No other evidence matters. Even if they had videotape of Armstrong doping himself, presumably it wouldn't matter because he passed the doping tests.
He was allowed to take cortisone for saddle sores, so that isn’t failing a drug test. I’m aware of the storage of samples for future testing. I stated in an earlier post that I wouldn’t be surprised if he used, but hearsay isn’t proof.
Who's everyone dude? You mean the hundreds upon hundreds of medical professionals who actually tested Armstrong and found no evidence of doping? They are ALL LYING?
Who cares? It’s just a sport. Get a life.
You *MUST* acquit!
Sad but true.
I’d rather wear a LIVESTRONG helmet than a Michael Vick jersey.
I find your comments to be the clearest and best on this thread. The tesare just be THE standard, period. If now the USADA lets hearsay over rule their tests, testing has been made a mockery.
If the tests can’t show the correct result of possible doping, the tests need to be changed until such time as they are reliable. Verbal sniping to get rid of heroes’ achievement should be banned from any recognized (thereby ENCOURAGED) position in any sport.
Furthermore, if a championship is removed, no reliance can be placed on the previous #2’s tests. To apply the same standard, all of his past associates will have to be given a chance to take a swipe at the athlete! WHAT A REDICULOUS CAN OF WORMS!
Any parallel sports bodies that shadow the legal system should also be wiped out entirely! (read: NCAA sanctions)
HF
That FACT is known by the Tour, by the USADA and by everyone else. In order for him to have any testosterone in his system it HAS TO BE EXOGENOUS testosterone. So while being treated for testicular cancer he would have been prohibited from taking this because of how it may stimulate his cancer. OK, so far.
Now we talk about rehabilitation. In order for him to continue he may have been given testosterone in order to get him to "baseline" levels. These levels vary throughout the day and even hourly depending on sleep, diet and stress. The methods used to find "cheaters" has gone to a place where the ratio of precursor to final testosterone is used, the percentage of free testosterone is used or the total level of testosterone is used. Some of the ratios find that "normal ratios" of epi/testosterone of 4-1 up to 8-1 are within the ranges of normals and some of the positive tests have levels up to 15 or 16 to 1. (baseball players recently).
He may have been given a waiver, he may have been given it in bursts and now there is a short acting testosterone that clears daily.
My point in this long rant is that unless his testicular cancer is addressed and the treatment is also addressed then all the testing is useless because of Lance's unique problem. (having his balls cut off) As far as what type of person he is, I have no idea.
What do I think of this USADA ruling... it's all a scam power play to take over cycling by typical bureaucrats. Whoever controls the samples controls the sport.
tesare = tests are
Yeah, it’s looking kinda bad for Lance. I grew up a fan of LeMond, a humble fella who won races and loved bicycling. Then there’s Mr. Sheryl Crow.
In the middle of this purge, I found a prescription box in the medicine cabinet—to the side of the vanity in the bathroom—that sent everything spiraling. I knew what it was. Not exactly at first, but I sensed from my rudimentary knowledge of medicine that this box shouldn’t be in the bathroom of a professional cyclist.
The label said Androstenedione. I looked it up on a laptop computer Armstrong had given me months before. I was searching for valid reasons why he would have this substance, a banned steroid. There were none. I put it back and did my best to forget about it. But I was torn. Should I risk alienating Armstrong and losing my job by calling him out?
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