Lance Armstrong: Performance Enhancing Drugs~
In light of recent events in sports, I thought I would spend a few moments recalling some of the most memorable scandals in sports history. Scandals that turned our notable athletes into villains and made us say “shame on you!”
#9 Heroes to Zeros: Lance Armstrong
Perhaps no one has fallen out of the good graces of the public limelight so quickly in recent memory more than Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong did something that no one thought could be done. He won seven consecutive Tour de France bike racing titles from 1999 to 2005, ranking him as one of the top cyclists of all time. After a fierce battle with cancer, Armstrong had become America’s favorite son, and everyone was rooting for him to win. However all that changed in 2011 following Armstrong’s immediate and abrupt retirement from competition. It was soon revealed that Lance Armstrong was under federal investigation for allegations of doping, or taking illegal steroids to enhance his performance.
Armstrong Admitted To Using Banned Substances
Armstrong initially denied the allegations, however in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in January of 2013, Armstrong admitted to using banned substances however it’s hard to say if he admitted the entire truth to Winfrey in his come clean interview, too. Although the grand jury eventually dropped the case, Armstrong was banned from cycling for life and stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency due to evidence they found that supported the fact that Lance Armstrong had indeed been doping. Suffice to say, he is no longer America’s favorite son.
Sheryl Crow, Lance Armstrong’s former girlfriend, recently admitted in her new book that she witnessed Armstrong receiving an illegal blood transfusion. She said that Lance Armstrong did not hide the transfusion from her, but rather “was open about it.” He trusted that Crow would not tell the media about it. Crow was also subpoenaed to testify in the case against Armstrong, after being promised immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony. Several former teammates of Lance Armstrong were also subpoenaed to testify. Lance Armstrong remains a strong advocate in the fight against cancer, however, his days as a revered cyclist appear to be over.
It is very frustrating, but I think in a way drug-abuse has been around for as long as sports has… it sucks, but is true!
It seems like drug use is rampant in all sports these days. My hubby and I watch mixed martial arts, and it seems at least one or two fighters a month are getting trouble with failed drug tests. Very sad that they feel the need to do that to win.
It is. And it puts others in danger that they can’t even be prepared for by giving the user an unfair advantage.
Its human nature to want to be the best and we as humans will do anything to get it. thus the grass is greener on the other side. Some use drugs as their vice, others use money, food, physical attention, etc. Its easy to point to the finger at someone and be little. None of us are without shame, I’m not saying what he did was right I just feel bad. Because we all make mistakes in life and to have them pointed out over and over must be hard.
That’s true. I am sure the people that he pointed the finger at felt bad, too.
That is true, but, had he not made the choice to do what he did, especially being in the public eye, then he would not have to face the consequences.
It is sad to see such talent wasted or abused.
This was such a sad thing to see! I hope he learned his lesson!
This is a very informative post.
Got to wonder why they would throw everything away! Sad!
I feel like there are so many other athletes who also used illegal enhancers. If they are gonna strip his medals, and titles they should look into every sport, and make every athlete take random drug tests.
I agree. It seems like they target a certain few.
Actually, most all major professional sports do random drug testing. I know the NFL randomly tests its athletes as much as three times per week. The problem is that the drugs that the athletes are using now are very difficult to catch with a simple urine test. Athletes have become masters at masking their use of illegal substances so that they don’t get caught.
This story is so sad…..
I was a big fan of Lance Armstron, but I’m really dissapointed now 🙁
It is sad to see stories like this. Lance had a lot going for him.
So very sad that people waste a good thing.
Wow, I had no idea about any of this!
The part that astounds me is the years of denying it only to finally come out and admit it hoping he would be spared.
Isn’t it weird who we idolize? I’m not sure why, but I really wanted to like this guy. Sad to see such a waste of talent.
That is just awful….. it’s such a shame to see! Thanks for the full story, this is my first time getting the whole scoop!
It is a shame that people have to use any thing to alter the way their body works. I think he cheated himself and all of those who looked up to him.
This whole story is very sad. What a great athlete too.
I think about people like this a lot. It’s too bad they ‘threw it all away’ – because there are so many of us who would love to be in their position.
For real!
This is unfortunate, for someone who has also worked so hard toward a charitable cause. Perhaps it’s karmic. But I also wonder, how many more athletes are there doing such things that simply haven’t been ‘caught’ yet? If the name of the game is to win, I bet more than we realize are willing to take drastic measures.
I really hate to see this happen. I don’t think that the athletes that do these types of things are capable at the time of seeing what their choices can do to a lot of people. When you are in the public eye people look up to you and donate to causes because of what you, the athlete stand for. So, when these types of things come to light it not only disappoints the people you lied to but also tarnishes all the good that you have done along the way. So sad.
I didn’t know Sheryl Crow knew about it. The whole thing is such a shame.
I had no idea she knew either. What a tough position that he put her in.
That’s so sad and tragic. All of that for nothing.
i don’t believe he fully admitted it, and he won’t. i think when the egos get as big as they do and people think they aren’t needing to be accountable they will say only what they must. look how long he so adamantly denied using anything!! he had an amazing story and was so revered — and his ego got in the way so he took the drugs and ruined it all. its’ sad.
It is sad when people fall from great heights to embarrassing lows. I know it happens with regular people, but regular people do not have their whole history spread out for the world.
That is probably part of the reason they do the things they do to achieve such crazy difficult goals. That fear of failure is so scary, many people will do anything to avoid it, even if they know getting caught cheating could make it even worse. It’s sad.
It’s also sad how many people may have won these races and that deserved to who will never get to experience this now, because someone else’s cheating stole that from them. The whole situation is messed up.
It is just something I do not understand. Why make such a foolish move in life.
While I am disappointed in his actions and athletes like him. It always pains me to see anyone down.
very disappointing to see someone who others look up to do things like that.
To me his was the most shocking because you would always hear about Lance Armstrong anytime someone talked about cycling and now you barely here his name anywhere. It’s so sad that a lot of these athletes have messed up their lives and for what.