American cyclist Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong, the once famous figure of cycling, has taken a huge fall amidst multiple accusations of doping and has been stripped of all his Tour de France titles as well as banned from any future sporting events involving cycling.
On Wednesday Oct. 10, 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) released more than 1,000 pages of evidence on the case. According to the USADA, 11 of Armstrong’s teammates have come out and confessed to assisting him in doping and hiding the traces while the evidence against Armstrong includes “direct documentary evidence including financial payments, e-mails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong.”
Before these accusations came to play, however, Armstrong was revered as a cycling hero, having fought off cancer and won seven consecutive Tour de France titles. Having set up a foundation to help cancer patients, better known as LIVESTRONG, Armstrong is under much fire, with critics questioning the motives of actually setting up the foundation.
There are still many skeptics who believe that Armstrong never doped for his cycling tournaments, and it very well may be so as well. For instance, the only personal anecdotal evidence that has been revealed was from his teammates, who essentially rivaled Armstrong during those times and may have wanted to see him out of the competitive scene. Many controversies have arisen from this embroilment between the USADA and Armstrong. For one, Armstrong’s lawyer, Tim Herman, said that Armstrong is completely ready to take a lie detector test and prove his innocence. However, the USADA has already convicted Armstrong from “very strong evidence” of doping.
The current sports age includes a rampant use of doping throughout all sports activities. In Major League Baseball, for instance, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez and the recently convicted Melky Cabrera all have been accused and confirmed of doping during their careers.
