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.
View Comments (37)
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 :(