Listen now by clicking here: [audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/spokesmen/The_Spokesmen_94.mp3]
Panelists:
Topics Included:
- Lance Armstrong meets Oprah Winfrey
How to Listen:
Listen now by clicking here: [audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/spokesmen/The_Spokesmen_94.mp3]
Panelists:
Topics Included:
How to Listen:
Jim MOss, You made a good point about LA never failing a drug test, but he did! He admitted to the backdated prescription incident during the 1999 tour.
Also, his B samples from 1999 are “flaming positive” for EPO, according to Tygart. Isn’t that considered failing a drug test?
The comparison to Bill Clinton is very limited. If all Lance did was lie about drugs you guys wouldn’t be so negative. What he did that Clinton did not do is run over people. Clinton is not a malicious person the way that LA is. Clinton may be a dirty old man, but if you had the entire Republican party messing in your private life then you may lie too. Getting a BJ in the oval office, while not admirable, is not cheating or ruining peoples lives.
Andy – Great point. You are right, and I completely agree. While I don’t condone taking drugs/blood doping and certainly do not condone lying, in some respects, it was part of that diseased culture they were “all” living in at the time. However, what makes Lance so much worse than the Floyds or Tylers of the day is the destruction of people’s lives along the way. He didn’t just lie, he destroyed. That isn’t something people will forgive…and they shouldn’t.
As much as I dislike Lance, I only made it about 12 minutes into the 1/19 show before marki g the podcast as played. It seems that many pundits of the cycling world want their pound of Lance and eat it too.
I especially liked the comment that “I didn’t watch the show but followed it on twitter.” Wow, that makes one qualified to go into a long self-serving diatribe on how Lance sucks? Geez, it’s almost worse than the Lance apologists.
Dennis – Sorry to disappoint this time around…the good news is that this “should” be the last time we talk about Lance at length…right?! (fingers crossed)
Thanks for the comments…we do love hearing them.
Ride Safe.
My take on the Oprah interview is that he is still lying.
“It’s what he does next” – My thoughts exactly. And let’s hope he does and does it right, but I do not hold my breath.
Nice episode.
Cheers,
Chris.
Andy- you are very wrong about Clinton. He was an absolutely ruthless person who abused the powers of his office, both DC as well as Arkansas. There are whole libraries of books on the things he did. Also the difference between Lance and Clinton is starkly the other way. One is a leader of a country, the other bicycle rider, so lets please keep things in perspective.
Dennis- I’m with you. I was very disappointed in the level of discourse as well. Good and valid points were made but anyone who decided not to watch the interview should have declined to sit in on that podcast. I understand people are not compensated for their appearances but please, just a bit of professionalism goes a long way, and this is only the biggest cycling story, maybe ever.
Donna- Ill still put Lance above Floyd on the slime scale here, perhaps Tyler as well. Hamilton comes real close to saying he was forced into doping. Floyd went and screamed innocence, like Lance, but he went much further over the line and begged for money in order to prove his lies.
On the denial of allowing him to compete again, I don’t think he should receive any more than anyone else has gotten. One person said the 2 year bans were for one offense and Lance has admitted to doping over a period of years. Well so did Floyd and Tyler, they got 2 year bans. Technically this admission is only 1 offense like Floyd’s positive, despite their history. Tyler was caught more than once.
I understand a lot of people hate Lance, that some people have legit personal reasons for those feelings, but the bottom line is he is a symptom like all the others, not the cause. Lets treat him the same as others guilty of the same or similar things.
And again, we are still talking about a bicycle racer, not a war criminal.
My 2 cents anyway…
Drew – thanks for the thoughtful comments. You are right, they are all symptoms of the system that was in place during that time. Let’s hope for the sake of the sport – and all of our sanity, that the sport IS moving forward and that the racers today can race without fear or bullying to take enhancements. And…someday bunnies may fly…but, I know we all want this for the sport. Fingers crossed that we get there sooner rather than later.