Lance Armstrong doping ?

JK_Livin wrote:

I have zero interest in watching or evening hearing about it.

what is fascinating about all of this is how many different people and parties had to be involved in this cover up ... it's staggering ... from the UCI to Nike to Oakley to US Postal ... it's mind boggling to think that it's taken this long ... and that it really wouldn't have happened if Lance doesn't make that comeback at the tour ...

it points to how corrupt the system is especially when money is involved ... a lot of people made money off lance and on that basis alone motivated them to perpetuate this lie ...

g under p wrote:

I'm not going to dismiss LA's usage of PED's but what I'm most bothered by was his intimidation/bullying of those who testified or spoke out against him. To me this was far worse than his drug usage in that how it impacted those who were speaking the truth about what he did, even though many other riders were using in that 6 of the 7 races he won they couldn't name any other riders as winner of TDF. :(

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more- ... -1.1188512


Maybe he should become a whisleblower for the government or cycling agencies on how he was able to keep his testing undetected for so long.

Peace

Yes, that is what makes Lance different from the other dopers. His intimidation and bullying tactics that cost other people their careers, jobs, and reputations. He is mean and ruthless. AND for those of you saying the "good" that he did for his foundation he had ulterior motives. Livestrong was/is his brand. He made money - lots of money - off of that brand. Further, it appears as if he made money off of the foundation and for sure had expenses paid by the foundation. I read an article not too long ago where the foundation sponsored a ride in Canada or Alaska and rich people paid a large sum of money to "ride with Lance." I can't remember the sum but it seems like it was $2,500 or $5,000.00 per person. He came to the ride just in time to start riding, then took off ahead of the people who paid to ride with him, then left right after the ride. And the worst thing, his fee was one-half of the amount each person paid. The other half went to the foundation. So he makes money from foundation appearances. The foundation is important to him for that reason.

JK_Livin wrote:

Riverrunner wrote:

g under p wrote:

I'm not going to dismiss LA's usage of PED's but what I'm most bothered by was his intimidation/bullying of those who testified or spoke out against him. To me this was far worse than his drug usage in that how it impacted those who were speaking the truth about what he did, even though many other riders were using in that 6 of the 7 races he won they couldn't name any other riders as winner of TDF. :(

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more- ... -1.1188512


Maybe he should become a whisleblower for the government or cycling agencies on how he was able to keep his testing undetected for so long.

Peace

Yes, that is what makes Lance different from the other dopers. His intimidation and bullying tactics that cost other people their careers, jobs, and reputations. He is mean and ruthless. AND for those of you saying the "good" that he did for his foundation he had ulterior motives. Livestrong was/is his brand. He made money - lots of money - off of that brand. Further, it appears as if he made money off of the foundation and for sure had expenses paid by the foundation. I read an article not too long ago where the foundation sponsored a ride in Canada or Alaska and rich people paid a large sum of money to "ride with Lance." I can't remember the sum but it seems like it was $2,500 or $5,000.00 per person. He came to the ride just in time to start riding, then took off ahead of the people who paid to ride with him, then left right after the ride. And the worst thing, his fee was one-half of the amount each person paid. The other half went to the foundation. So he makes money from foundation appearances. The foundation is important to him for that reason.

I'd love to see a breakdown of Livestrongs finances. How much did cancer research, Nike, and Lance each receive?

Me too, but the records that Livestrong has made public are not clear or defined (on purpose more than likely). Although I've heard rumors in the cycling community that the IRS is taking a hard look at the organization. And another "in the know" guy that posts on CN forum said that Livestrong will be the next to fall.

hostis wrote:

pjhawks wrote:

the bloke is douche. any fake tears he gives will never compensate the clean, morally strong riders that could have won the tour.

I don't think any non-dopers were even in the top 20, that's why they just vacated those years. It wasn't just Lance but pretty much all the top guys of that era.

eddiec wrote:

hostis wrote:

pjhawks wrote:

the bloke is douche. any fake tears he gives will never compensate the clean, morally strong riders that could have won the tour.

I don't think any non-dopers were even in the top 20, that's why they just vacated those years. It wasn't just Lance but pretty much all the top guys of that era.

There were non-dopers, but they couldn't finish at the top because they didn't dope, or weren't even in the pro's - forced to quit because of the pressure to dope or run out of town by people like Lance for trying make a change.

(from dan wetzel of yahoo! sports)

So here are some of the questions we hope Oprah asked Lance:

1. Why now, Lance? Is it because in one potential perjury case the statute of limitations has passed? Is it because you've already lost almost all your sponsors, had to step back from your foundation and are no longer getting the attention you once earned?

Did you have to lose nearly everything until you sought the only possible out? And at this point, why are you worth listening to at all?

2. Why are you doing this with me, Oprah Winfrey? I'm not known for my cycling knowledge or for pointed follow-up questions or my investigative journalistic skills. In fact, it's the opposite.

Wouldn't sitting down with Scott Pelley at "60 Minutes" have been a more legitimate forum? How about the Sunday Times of London, which you sued for libel for printing the truth? Or any of the French or American media that you bashed all along when in fact they weren't wrong at all?

You always fashioned yourself as a tough guy, Lance. You beat cancer for crying out loud, why go soft now?

3. Let's talk Betsy Andreu, the wife of one your former teammates, Frankie. Both Andreus testified under oath that they were in a hospital room in 1996 when you admitted to a doctor to using EPO, HGH and steroids. You responded by calling them "vindictive, bitter, vengeful and jealous." And that's the stuff we can say on TV.

And what would you say directly to Betsy, who dealt with a voicemail from one of your henchmen that included, she's testified, this:

"I hope somebody breaks a baseball bat over your head. I also hope that one day you have adversity in your life and you have some type of tragedy that will … definitely make an impact on you."

When you heard about that voicemail, why didn't you call Betsy and apologize then?

4. By the way, did you take performance-enhancing drugs prior to your diagnosis of testicular cancer, as Betsy Andreu, who I now have every single reason to believe, says you admitted to doing? Do you think it played a role in your diagnosis?

And while the reason you contracted cancer does nothing to diminish the intensity of your battle, or the great example of strength it provided, don't you think it would've been an essential part of your public campaign against the disease to mention that you used performance-enhancing drugs?

5. Just to get it on the record, because the way things are going I'm pretty sure this will come out at a later date, did you or your minions ever pressure federal authorities to stall out investigations into your doping?

Now, you wouldn't lie to me, right, Lance?

6. What do you say to Emma O'Reilly, who was a young Dublin native when she was first hired by the U.S. Postal team to give massages to the riders after races?

In the early 2000s, she told stories of rampant doping and how she was used to transport the drugs across international borders. In the USADA report, she testified that you tried to "make my life hell."

Her story was true, Lance, wasn't it? And you knew it was true. Yet despite knowing it was true, you, a famous multimillionaire superstar, used high-priced lawyers to sue this simple woman for more money than she was worth in England, where slander laws favor the famous. She had no chance to fight it.

She testified that you tried to ruin her by spreading word that she was a prostitute with a heavy drinking problem.

"The traumatizing part," she once told the New York Times, "was dealing with telling the truth."

Do you want to apologize to her? Not in general. I mean directly and by name. I mean, Lance, of all the people to attack like that, of all the people you had power and wealth over, you had to go after her? How Lance, could you do this to someone, and why would anyone want to believe again in someone capable of doing this to someone?

7. In 2011, former teammate Tyler Hamilton spoke about you and doping on "60 Minutes." He later said you two ran into each other in a Colorado restaurant where he says you tried to intimidate him, saying, "I'm going to make your life a living hell both in the courtroom and out of the courtroom."

Yet you knew he was telling the truth, right Lance? So why threaten him?

8. Greg LeMond, a three-time Tour de France champion, once raised the following hypothetical question: "If Lance's story is true, it's the greatest comeback in the history of sport. If it's not, it's the greatest fraud."

The allegation is that you heard that and decided to use your influence with Trek bikes to drop its association with LeMond's brand. The company even went to court to end a long-term contract. "Greg's public comments hurt the LeMond brand and the Trek brand," a company official said at the time.

What comment? Wondering about something that was true?

The move cost LeMond millions. Did you try to ruin him financially simply for spite?

9. We've just scratched the surface on people you pushed around. There are more victims in your wake. Do you want me to continue with the others?

Great article! I wonder if Oprah or her staff read any comments from those in cycling before the interview.

imalive wrote:

(from dan wetzel of yahoo! sports)

So here are some of the questions we hope Oprah asked Lance:

1. Why now, Lance? Is it because in one potential perjury case the statute of limitations has passed? Is it because you've already lost almost all your sponsors, had to step back from your foundation and are no longer getting the attention you once earned?

Did you have to lose nearly everything until you sought the only possible out? And at this point, why are you worth listening to at all?

2. Why are you doing this with me, Oprah Winfrey? I'm not known for my cycling knowledge or for pointed follow-up questions or my investigative journalistic skills. In fact, it's the opposite.

Wouldn't sitting down with Scott Pelley at "60 Minutes" have been a more legitimate forum? How about the Sunday Times of London, which you sued for libel for printing the truth? Or any of the French or American media that you bashed all along when in fact they weren't wrong at all?

You always fashioned yourself as a tough guy, Lance. You beat cancer for crying out loud, why go soft now?

3. Let's talk Betsy Andreu, the wife of one your former teammates, Frankie. Both Andreus testified under oath that they were in a hospital room in 1996 when you admitted to a doctor to using EPO, HGH and steroids. You responded by calling them "vindictive, bitter, vengeful and jealous." And that's the stuff we can say on TV.

And what would you say directly to Betsy, who dealt with a voicemail from one of your henchmen that included, she's testified, this:

"I hope somebody breaks a baseball bat over your head. I also hope that one day you have adversity in your life and you have some type of tragedy that will … definitely make an impact on you."

When you heard about that voicemail, why didn't you call Betsy and apologize then?

4. By the way, did you take performance-enhancing drugs prior to your diagnosis of testicular cancer, as Betsy Andreu, who I now have every single reason to believe, says you admitted to doing? Do you think it played a role in your diagnosis?

And while the reason you contracted cancer does nothing to diminish the intensity of your battle, or the great example of strength it provided, don't you think it would've been an essential part of your public campaign against the disease to mention that you used performance-enhancing drugs?

5. Just to get it on the record, because the way things are going I'm pretty sure this will come out at a later date, did you or your minions ever pressure federal authorities to stall out investigations into your doping?

Now, you wouldn't lie to me, right, Lance?

6. What do you say to Emma O'Reilly, who was a young Dublin native when she was first hired by the U.S. Postal team to give massages to the riders after races?

In the early 2000s, she told stories of rampant doping and how she was used to transport the drugs across international borders. In the USADA report, she testified that you tried to "make my life hell."

Her story was true, Lance, wasn't it? And you knew it was true. Yet despite knowing it was true, you, a famous multimillionaire superstar, used high-priced lawyers to sue this simple woman for more money than she was worth in England, where slander laws favor the famous. She had no chance to fight it.

She testified that you tried to ruin her by spreading word that she was a prostitute with a heavy drinking problem.

"The traumatizing part," she once told the New York Times, "was dealing with telling the truth."

Do you want to apologize to her? Not in general. I mean directly and by name. I mean, Lance, of all the people to attack like that, of all the people you had power and wealth over, you had to go after her? How Lance, could you do this to someone, and why would anyone want to believe again in someone capable of doing this to someone?

7. In 2011, former teammate Tyler Hamilton spoke about you and doping on "60 Minutes." He later said you two ran into each other in a Colorado restaurant where he says you tried to intimidate him, saying, "I'm going to make your life a living hell both in the courtroom and out of the courtroom."

Yet you knew he was telling the truth, right Lance? So why threaten him?

8. Greg LeMond, a three-time Tour de France champion, once raised the following hypothetical question: "If Lance's story is true, it's the greatest comeback in the history of sport. If it's not, it's the greatest fraud."

The allegation is that you heard that and decided to use your influence with Trek bikes to drop its association with LeMond's brand. The company even went to court to end a long-term contract. "Greg's public comments hurt the LeMond brand and the Trek brand," a company official said at the time.

What comment? Wondering about something that was true?

The move cost LeMond millions. Did you try to ruin him financially simply for spite?

9. We've just scratched the surface on people you pushed around. There are more victims in your wake. Do you want me to continue with the others?

I made my post before I read this. Sheesh. Cause I couldn't hate the guy any more... that's a great piece, btw.

And maybe Oprah could milk the interview more too.