JULIE’S JOCK JAMS
Julie Kendall
There are few things sports media junkies enjoy more than a juicy scandal, particularly when the athlete on trial has been long dominant in his or her sport and whose celebrity has been built upon both championship titles and inspirational stories. But not every controversy is alike; thus, we must make careful examinations of each case before we decide what the sporting world should take away from it.
This summer, cycling superstar, cancer survivor and renowned philanthropist Lance Armstrong faced allegations by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that he had used banned performance-enhancing substances during his 15-year reign as a world-class cyclist.
Rather than fighting the charges, however, the now-retired athlete accepted the sanctions, and was consequently banned from the sport and stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles.
Many people have interpreted Armstrong’s actions as an admission of guilt, most notably the heads of the agencies going to rather extreme lengths to prosecute him. But for Lance and his legions of dedicated fans, it is a bold refusal to recognize the authority of the USADA, an organization which has turned substance regulation into a witch-hunt and has frequently neglected due process of law. In a particularly defiant press statement, Armstrong pronounced, “USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours.”
I don’t know if Armstrong is guilty of doping or not, although the evidence presented against him is dubious at best. He has never failed a drug test in his career, and indeed, he has been forced to take hundreds.
Yet, even after his retirement and years after the USADA’s own statute of limitations has run out, he was prosecuted based on accounts by witnesses who claim to have seen him dope and was essentially convicted without a trial. Talk about failure of the justice system, when vague testimony outweighs the scientifically objective results of numerous drug tests.
I do not blame Armstrong for bowing out of this fight. In 15 years, all but one world cycling champion has been discredited in doping scandals, and their legal battles and subsequent punishments have been financially and emotionally taxing.
And I speculate the outcome matters little in the grand scheme of Armstrong’s legacy. He remains an inspirational figure who has beaten cancer and become one of the biggest advocates for patients and survivors.
The Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research and programs to improve the quality of life for those affected by the disease. People still wear their yellow Livestrong bracelets in commemoration of his story and in support of those like him.
Instead of placing Lance Armstrong at the center of this scandal, we should consider the source of the allegations against him, and question corruption in the sporting world just as we would our governments and corporations. Doping is a serious issue in athletics, but all cases need to handled in a just legal manner.