After 13 years, seven-time winner of the Tour de France Lance Armstrong decided to come clean about doping, a little too late.
Armstrong did a two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey on Jan. 16, giving his side of the story. In June, the U.S. Anti Doping Agency charged Armstrong with using illegal performance-enhancing drugs and stripped him off all seven Tour de France wins and a lifetime ban from any competition following the USADA code.
I could care less about his confession because, let’s face it, the truth had been out for months. It was just a matter of time before he finally admitted it.
Let’s get real for all the people who were surprised by the confession. The Union Cyclist International had accepted the USADA decision to strip the wins and ban him for life. They wouldn’t do that if the evidence wasn’t there to support the accusation.
What I wanted was the story, the nitty-gritty details. How did he do it? Who knew? How many people knew? But to my great disappointment, Armstrong was tight lipped about all of the above. I can respect the whole “I don’t want to name names. I just want to talk about me” attitude, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.
He was very calm and collected throughout the interview until he talked about leaving Livestrong and telling his kids the truth. That to me was when I truly did feel sorry for him. I don’t believe he should be allowed to compete again, but I think he should still be a part of Livestrong, a nonprofit organization that provides support for people affected by cancer.
He may have cheated, but he did beat cancer and go on to compete again, even if the only way he won was by using performance-enhancing drugs.
What I saw in the interview was a man who saw that everything had fallen apart. He was accepting that he made his bed, and, now, he has to lie in it.