After revealing that he suffered from testicular cancer in 1996, Lance Armstrong lived as the poster boy for cancer in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Along the way he won the Tour de France an astounding seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005.
His yellow LIVESTRONG bracelets spawned scores of other bracelet related causes. He could do no wrong. He would fight anything until the end.
Allegations of Armstrong’s guilt related to blood doping would be thrown around and just as quickly dismissed as someone trying to tarnish his legacy.
In May 2010, Floyd Landis, Armstrong’s U.S. Postal Service teammate, sent email messages to U.S. and European cycling officials admitting to his use of performance enhancing drugs. Landis also accused Armstrong, and other teammates, of engaging in the same actions.
Armstrong continued to fight the claims.
But on Friday he quit.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong of all cycling results starting August 1, 1998. Armstrong said he was tired of the continual fight, and that he doesn’t believe that USADA was credible enough to damage his reputation.
If Armstrong were to continue his fight he would eventually have to testify under oath, something he may not be ready to do, especially after watching the circus strewn with elephant feces in front of Congress staring Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Mark McGwire.
This way he creates a shadow of a doubt, without risking jail time.
Losing a few cycling titles, in the record books, is much better than facing a federal trial for perjury.
Forever Armstong is tarnished as a cheater. A true hero would never conceded defeat unless he knew he could not win the war. I learned that from Armstrong.
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