Esma Taylor
Justin Hodgson
Rhetoric and Sports
5 March 2018
Lance Through Public Eyes
‘The riskiest thing you can do is get greedy,’ said once untouchable road racing cyclist, Lance Armstrong. Though, some may argue greedy is exactly what Armstrong became. Lance Armstrong was seen as an icon for people and cyclers of all sorts. After being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, he went on to winning Tour De France 7 consecutive times. 7 years later he would not only be stripped of these titles, but banned for life from the program. Throughout Armstrong’s career, he faced persistent doping allegations. It wasn’t until 2006 an official investigation was undertaken. Yet, it wasn’t until 2012 that Armstrong officially confessed to doping. The portrayal of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal took shape in many ways and on many platforms. Through media, the public formed their own opinions of Armstrong and what they viewed as right or wrong and true or false. Armstrong may have achieved incredible feats, but did the doping and the scandal itself discredit these accomplishments?
Armstrong founded his own cancer research foundation in 1997, originally known as The Lance Armstrong Foundation, but later renamed to LIVESTRONG. The company quickly dropped Armstrong after his confession and official charges. A Reuters article from November of 2012 stated, ‘The Lance Armstrong Foundation has formally dropped the name of the disgraced cyclist from its title, the organization said on Wednesday, marking the latest move by the cancer charity to distance itself following the biggest doping scandal in the sport’s history.’ LIVESTRONG along with other organizations, tried to separate themselves from the so called ‘disgraced’ cyclist. Media articles were titled, ‘Lance Armstrong’s epic downfall’, ‘Lance Armstrong steps down from charity, Nike drops him’, and ‘Banned for life! Disgraced Lance Armstrong STRIPPED of seven Tour de France titles as he stops fighting doping charges.’ Armstrong defiantly left his mark behind him and to everyone, he was made out to be public enemy number one.
Within all the headlines calling Armstrong out for his wrongs, there seemed to be a lack of apology coming from Armstrong himself. To the media and the public, this is what angered them the most. After his much desired public confession came out on Oprah, Armstrong was only attacked more. As the 2013 The New Yorker article states, ‘One reaction to Armstrong’s interview has been to remark on his lack of emotion, but that’s not really right. There was plenty of emotion there, just not what one might call the appropriate kind. He didn’t wallow in regret; instead there was an electric hostility toward remorse. There was also, as always with Lance, a passion for himself.’ Articles around the country were still picking out flaws to use against Armstrong and dilute any sympathy one may feel towards him. Armstrong made it clear in his confession along with many other public acknowledgements, he did not believe what he did was wrong, therefore it would be hard for him to express genuine feelings of sorrow. The public saw him as a monster, because of his lack of regret and despair. Armstrong was not sorry at all for using the drugs, but instead getting caught using the drugs.
Fast forward 5 years and the Lance Armstrong doping scandal is no longer the largest doping scandal being talked about. Armstrong was ahead of his time when he stated, ‘the definition of cheat is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe that they don’t have. I didn’t view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field.’ Armstrong was simply aware that some of the best athletes doped and they were the ones who won. In the 2017 Oscar winning documentary, Icarus, the truth about doping in sports is uncovered. Director and producer, Bryan Fogel, is an enthusiastic rider who has ridden alongside pros for years and idolized Lance Armstrong himself. Fogel was determined to find out if Armstrong was to blame or the system itself was to blame. He put himself through a similar doping agenda as Armstrong did and like Armstrong, slips through the system uncaught. Even after going through the doping program, Fogel was unable to win a strenuous amateur bike race. He makes statements that align with Armstrongs beliefs back in 2012 by saying that there are athletes who can not possibly be as good as they are without doping and that it would be impossible to win if you didn't. This documentary made it apparent that doping is much more common than people first believed and is easing the backlash Armstrong still faces today.
Others agree that Armstrong should be cut some slack this much time after the scandal occurred. In 2017, the federal government filed a lawsuit against Armstrong for $100 million. The Guardians article, ‘It's time for the government to get off Lance Armstrong's back,’ came out asking when is it going to be enough. When talking about previous cyclers who had admitted to doping it states, ‘Most of these cyclists are living in relative peace today. Some are commentators on cycling broadcasts. Some have business interests in cycling. They’re generally not being hounded over their years of participating in a performance-enhanced peloton. So what exactly is the point here? To demonstrate that Armstrong isn’t a role model? Hasn’t that been done? Or is simply that we don’t know when to stop?’ Armstrong today may not be idolized, but the public is starting to forgive him and understand the complexity of the situation that is doping in sports. Like every other scandal, Armstrong has slowly diminished from the headlines and daily gossip. The public believes that he has faced enough repercussions and that is evident in his reclaimed social group and life.
Doping confessions are slowly being uncovered and exposed within the sport world. Lance Armstrong was beating the system and would have walked away with 7 Tour De France titles if he didn’t have so may allegations made against him. The public viewed Armstrong as disgraceful and shameful to cycling. Patty Briguglie, a CEO of MMI Public Relation, states, ‘Tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth.’ Unfortunately, she says, ‘Armstrong didn’t do any of those things.’ The way Armstrong was presented to us is significant, because it proves everyone and every article was trying to distance him as much as possible. The media was not satisfied with Armstrong and continued to want more sorrow coming from him. We never quite got that sorrow and Armstrong is now living in Aspen with ‘a lot of friends and a lot of money.’ Despite, the media and public continuously attacking him,
Although, Armstrong's record of winning the tour de France has been completely swept,
Works Cited
Association, Press. ‘Lance Armstrong fined $10m for drugs lies in SCA Promotions case.’ The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Feb. 2015, www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/feb/16/lance-armstrong-fined-10m-drugs-lies-sca-promotions
Dure, Beau. ‘It's time for the government to get off Lance Armstrong's back.’ The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 Oct. 2017, www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/oct/05/lance-armstrong-usps-lawsuit-government.
Fotheringham, William. ‘Timeline: Lance Armstrongs journey from deity to disgrace.’ The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/09/lance-armstrong-cycling-doping-scandal.
Kluger, Jeffrey. ‘Lance Armstrong, Doping and Oprah: Why We Wont Forgive Him.’ Time, Time, 4 June 2014, time.com/2822189/lance-armstrong-forgive-oprah/.
‘Lance Armstrong doping case.’ Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Mar. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong_doping_case.
Levs, Josh. ‘Lance Armstrong's epic downfall.’ CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Oct. 2012, edition.cnn.com/2012/10/22/sport/lance-armstrong-controversy/index.html.
MacLaggan, Corrie. ‘Exclusive: Livestrong cancer charity drops Lance Armstrong name…’ Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 14 Nov. 2012, www.reuters.com/article/us-cycling-armstrong-livestrong/exclusive-livestrong-cancer-charity-drops-lance-armstrong-name-from-title-idUSBRE8AE00020121115.
MacLaggan, Corrie. ‘Lance Armstrong steps down from charity, Nike drops him.’ Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 17 Oct. 2012, www.reuters.com/article/us-cycling-armstrong/lance-armstrong-steps-down-from-charity-nike-drops-him-idUSBRE89G0S020121017.
Sorkin, Amy Davidson. ‘Lance Armstrongs Flawed Confession.’ The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 18 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/lance-armstrongs-flawed-confession.
Zennie, Michael. ‘Banned for life! Disgraced Lance Armstrong STRIPPED of seven Tour de France titles as he stops fighting doping charges.’ Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 24 Aug. 2012, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192864/Lance-Armstrong-banned-cycling-life-stripped-Tour-France-titles.html.