Lance Armstrong

[Luke]

I am keeping my fingers crossed that our forum members are smarter than Snooki and know who Lance Armstrong is. I am also hoping our forum members know he has been stripped of every Tour De France medal in his possession due to running and financing a mass doping ring. He has also stepped down from Livestrong, a cancer society that is a profitable marketing machine.

Around eight months ago my Father in law survived testicular cancer and was on the Livestrong bandwagon, yellow bracelet and all. He feels betrayed, as he should, but will continue to be a benefactor to the organization.

Knowing what I know now, I will continue to donate to the American Cancer Society, but not to Livestrong which leaves me a bit conflicted. Why should I stop helping others because of one single person?

I have a few reasons. The main being I don't trust an organization that helps cover up facts. Researching cancer is such a great cause, but how much money does the board of directors keep for themselves? Livestrong is more of a business than it is a charity. Even more disappointing is that scientific data shows that the doping concoction armstrong was taking can lead to cancer so it is likely armstrong caused his own cancer.

I'm also disappointed in the American media for rushing to defend lance several years ago when France said "We have obvious an conclusive evidence lance is doping". We turned a blind eye and blamed the French for being sore losers. And when asked about it lance's response was "I feel sorry for you people. You people who don't believe in miracles". So smug. He also threatened dozens of people if they spilled the beans, like "I will make sure your life amounts to nothing" threatening.

I'm a bit naive at times, but I started doubting lance when he left his longtime wife after his battle with cancer for a fling with Sheryl Crow. My thought was "great athlete, but what an awful person to leave his wife after she was so supportive during the roughest time of his life?". Little did I know how much of a crook the man was.

It's a no win situation. lance made our country look awful, made a mockery of the sport of cycling, and disappointed millions of cancer fighters and survivors. What is almost crushing to me is that thousands of people, including myself, will no longer donate to Livestrong. I'll just donate twice as much to the ACS, but I doubt others will follow suit and Livestrong will simply disappear in a decade.

I see no silver lining to this cloud. Do you? Is there any lesson to be learned from this?

[Razzmatazz]

I'm not a big cycling fan, but he is also considered a hero here in England. Not any more though. I myself give to Cancer Research UK as my mother has just recovered from cancer herself, and find what he has done disgraceful. But it is a bit of a moral dilemma as he has got rich and won titles by cheating, and then actually inspired and helped people after his fight with cancer. It's a tough one.

At least he isn't Jimmy Savile...

[Luke]

But it is a bit of a moral dilemma as he has got rich and won titles by cheating, and then actually inspired and helped people after his fight with cancer. It's a tough one.

Yup. Another case of "Never meet your hero".

[alienjesus]

I'm not a big cycling fan, but he is also considered a hero here in England. Not any more though. I myself give to Cancer Research UK as my mother has just recovered from cancer herself, and find what he has done disgraceful. But it is a bit of a moral dilemma as he has got rich and won titles by cheating, and then actually inspired and helped people after his fight with cancer. It's a tough one.

At least he isn't Jimmy Savile...

I honestly didn't know who he was until the scandal emerged (Lance Armstrong, no Jimmy Saville), but I've never been mucn into sports anyway. It is sad that the charity foundation will suffer because of his actions (similarly the charities Jim was associated with).

[J T]

It's sad that the hero has fallen from grace. His cancer story is a great one, and an inspiration to many. It's also now marred for many. It's also sad that he's not alone and many other cyclists/athletes dope, and part of what keeps them doping is the belief that everyone else does it and if you don't follow suit you'll lose your competitive edge.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Researching cancer is such a great cause, but how much money does the board of directors keep for themselves? Livestrong is more of a business than it is a charity.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and its tax return is available here:

http://www.livestrong.org/pdfs/4-0/LAF-2011-Form-990

I reviewed the form very quickly, and it does not appear that any member of the board of directors - who are mostly doctors and cancer survivors - receives compensation from the foundation. Moreover - according to the return - the executive director was paid approximately $370K in 2011 - which is not out of line for a non-profit as large as the Lance Armstrong Foundation. (By comparions, the CEO of the American Cancer Society was paid approximately $2.2 million in 2011...) Accordingly, it appears to be a well-run organization that does not unjustly reward its executives (most of whom could probably earn substantially more if they worked for a for-profit firm).

That said...Lance Armstrong has become a national disgrace, and I very much doubt that the foundation will last very long. I do, however, think it is now appropriate to order one of these:

http://store.theonion.com/p-5045-cheat- ... celet.aspx

(The Onion has been selling them for years...did it actually scoop the mainstream media on this story?)

[dsheinem]

sport of cycling

[Luke]

sport of cycling

I had a difficult time typing that without laughing, but what else do you call it?

[MrPopo]

Am I the only one who feels that we should let athletes pump whatever the hell they want into their bodies? It's not like they start off on an even playing field in the first place; some have better genetics for their sport than others, there's various levels and types of training, etc.

[flex wood]

sport of cycling

At least it's not the sport of swimming right?

Those races are boring as shit though the only bikerace care about is the stupor bowl. It's a local race here every February that you have to drink at every stop. Now that's something that should be televised.