Lance Armstrong, the 41-year-old Tour de France legend, has been dominating the headlines again. This time, however, it was for all the wrong reasons.
Armstrong, who is no stranger to doping allegations, is a sports hero to me and countless others. Whenever I hear drug accusations involving him, I attribute it to jealousy. This guy has won seven consecutive Tour de France titles after all, a seemingly impossible feat. There must be many out there who are trying to prove that the impossible was only possible thanks to performance enhancing drugs.
When this long list of allegations was proven true recently, I was, and still am, in a state of shock and disappointment. Although I respect Armstrong more as a cancer survivor than as a cycling hero, this still affected how I perceived him. Momentarily, I had even wondered if he put his fingers in the cookie jar of Livestrong, the cancer foundation which he founded.
This is the power of bad press. Being an objective person is something I pride myself in, but I was no different when it came to judging Armstrong as a bad person just because of his dishonest career decisions. I had forgotten to differentiate Lance Armstrong the Philanthropist from Lance Armstrong the Cheat.
Armstrong’s Livestrong is one of the most prominent foundations for cancer patients. He founded it after surviving advance testicular cancer in 1997, a difficult process that involved numerous surgeries and chemotherapy. As the Chairman , he not only took charge of the foundation, but also contributed to it. In 2006, he single-handedly raised US $600,000 for it by completing the New York City Marathon.
I feel that Armstrong made the right decision by stepping down as chairman for Livestrong after the doping convictions were confirmed. It is appropriate to stop his association to the foundation as quickly as possible because the foundation should not suffer from his bad image.
So far, I think he has been taking the right steps to combat the situation. Apologising would be the most important thing for him to do next. Appearing humble in the eyes of the public is fundamental in salvaging the damage he made to himself and the foundation he loves.
Gracefully accepting the stripping of his titles since August 1999 and the lifetime ban is also imperative. I think he still has a chance to redeem himself and the credibility of Livestrong. What Armstrong decides to do in the next few months following this scandal is vital for that.
As someone who has respected and admired him since I was a teenager, I hope that he makes all the right choices which will cushion his fall from grace. I believe that the strict punishment he has received is cruel but necessary. This is because fairness and sportsmanship are two of the most important ethos that should be practised in all sports, especially competitive sports.
Yes, Lance Armstrong has made a grave mistake. However, we should keep in mind his charitable contributions to the society. He is not the evil man that the press has painted him to be, merely a sportsman who has cheated. I believe we should support him when he admits his mistakes and forgive him when the time comes.