So the United State Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) finally caught its white whale. The anti-doping agency has pursued seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong with Captain Ahab-like persistence; and last night, Armstrong cried uncle. While he still denies he cheated, he refused arbitration. Immediately the USADA stripped him of his titles. And in their glee, I’m surprised they didn’t take away his birthday, too. The agency protected the honor of a sport that’s as pristine as a sewage lagoon. It’s a dark day in Livestrongland.
Don’t get me wrong: If he truly cheated (he failed no other drug test to this point), he cheated. You do the crime, you do the time. There has to be punishment for breaking rules. And Lance Armstrong has now been punished. Severely. But part of me wonders what is next for the dethroned king of cycling. Will he wander the Earth like Pete Rose, claiming innocence but never being allowed into the promised land? Or will he attack this like he did cancer or the mountains in the Pyrenees and overcome it? Time will tell.
What the USADA and all Armstrong’s critics can’t take away, though, is his effect on the cancer community. Thousands and thousands of cancer survivors have been inspired by his fight and survival. I know: I’m one of them. He may have cheated in cycling, but he also cheated death. And in the process, he gave the ultimate prize to so many: Hope.
I’m not going to allow last night’s news to take that hope away from me. I learned a longtime ago about human frailty. I’ve seen priests, coaches, politicians and friends fall short of the esteem I held them in. But in a world that contains lots of gray between the black and white, I know that even flawed messengers can have powerful messages. I wish Armstrong well as he rebuilds his life. And I thank him for helping me rebuild mine.
Well said. This is the reason we don’t put our faith in men (or women). We are all flawed to a certain extent one way or another. And people will let you down or we ourselves let others down. Whatever he did or didn’t do we may never know. But we can still admire his courage and strength in the face of adversity.
Marshall,
You thought about Melville’s Moby Dick. My mind flew to Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. The Lance Armstrong story is an almost turn-for-turn remake of Jean Valjean versus Inspector Javert. Says something about the great writers that they get these human struggles and conditions so right, doesn’t it?
Alyce
P.S. I’m a fan (aka follower) of yours on Twitter.