COLUMN: USADA is wrong on Armstrong

Very few athletes provide inspiration outside the world of sports.

When my 10-year-old self aspired to be just like Michael Jordan, I was only yearning for his athletic abilities and nothing else.

When young golfers all around the world dream of becoming the next Tiger Woods, it’s not his personal life they wish for.

But for millions of fans, Lance Armstrong is more than just a sports hero. He’s a fighter. He not only fought and defeated testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain, but he then went on to win an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles.
All the while, Armstrong has raised millions of dollars through his Lance Armstrong Foundation to find a cure and help those suffering from the dreaded
disease.

He inspires not just sports fans, but anyone who has been or who knows someone diagnosed with cancer.

I don’t understand why the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is so intent on bringing Armstrong down.

USADA and many other high-profile doping agencies have tried time and time again to bust Armstrong for performance enhancing drugs, going all the way back to 1999, his first year as Tour de France champion.

Cycling is one of the most PED-troubled sports in the world, so it makes sense why USADA would investigate a rider who dominated the sport every year.

But after 13 years of investigation, Armstrong still has never failed a drug test. Plus, he was still racing and winning most of those years, which would be the prime opportunity to catch him, if he was indeed doping.

Cyclists are busted all the time for doping. Remember Floyd Landis? He was the first winner of the Tour de France after Armstrong retired for the first time. He failed a drug test not even a week after the Tour ended and was subsequently stripped of his title.
Had Armstrong used PEDs, he would have been caught.

It is possible to somehow beat a test, but continually cheating the system for years seems highly improbable.

The tour’s administrators know their sport is infiltrated with cheaters, and they know how to catch them. You’re not going to fool them for seven straight years.

But USADA apparently believes rumors are more credible than official drug tests.
The agency has decided to ban Armstrong from cycling and recommended that the International Cycling Union strip him of his seven championships, because he no longer wants to fight the constant allegations.

I can’t say I blame him.

Why spend time, effort and money on the legal system, when these charges will likely be coming for the rest of his life?

Even if his Tour de France titles are indeed vacated, we’re not all going to forget his dominance from 1999 to 2005 or how he used his success to help so many cancer survivors and patients.

You can’t rewrite the past. We all witnessed one of the greatest athletes ever, and the stories of his supremacy will forever continue his legend, no matter what the official record book says.

So go ahead, USADA. You can take away his titles, but you can’t take away the memories or inspiration.

­— tlstutzm@indiana.edu