wow- Lance Armstrong is a sociopath

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did he out himself?

This is the part I don't get. Why not just stick with the lies?

[Anonymous]

As the wife of a cancer survivor, I really don't care that he used PEDs (although I think it was dishonest and stupid). He has done a tremendous amount for cancer survivorship, including publicizing fertility issues related to chemo and radiation and highlighting the need to monitor long-term cancer survivors for certain chemo-related problems. That is what matters to me.

He has always seemed like a ruthless jerk and a narcissist -- that comes through even in his first book. But I think people's disappointment in him says more about our tendency to put sports stars on a pedestal and then become unable to forgive their human failings. He was never "cancer Jesus," and he is not now a sociopath. He is not the first person who cheated, either out of a desire to win or a fear of failure. He is not the first person who has lied under oath. And he certainly is not the first person who has thrown his weight around and bullied other people to get ahead -- he just committed the sin of doing those things while publicly purporting to be a hero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you don't have OWN, you can watch it online:

http://ownspecial.oprah.com/lancearmstrong.html

How about when he admitted to calling the one teammate's wife a liar and a bitch, but felt compelled to say that he hasn't called her fat?

Well, the first two are criticisms of behavior. If she's a liar and a bitch, that's fair game. But fat is a physical observation, so it's not really the quite thing. Even if she is fat, you don't acknowldge that. She knows it. Being fat is worse than being a liar or a bitch.

I'd rather be fat, honest, and kind than a skinny bitch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously. Lance Armstrong. Manti T'eo...The third horseman of the sports apocalypse is approaching. Who will be America's Next Tonya Harding??? It is time for Oprah to release the Africanized Bees during the Super Bowl, according to plan.

thanks, that made me laugh (although I'm sure either the Kardashians or Taylor Swift are involved too)

[Anonymous]

I've never followed Lance and always thought he was obviously doping. I do wonder, though, if some of his being "off" is due to long-term effects of the doping. That shit couldn't just make you win.

[Anonymous]

I really don't demonize him for doping, if everyone was doing it and it was the culture, then it's really not a big deal. He did what he had to do to level the playing field. If he was the only one doping, that would have been a different story.

The part about going after his accusers is what I take offense with. Not idiots like Floyd Landers and his cohorts but innocent people like the masseuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:His take on it: win at all costs, you come after me I come after you. It's all in the game. Lance Armstrong = Stringer Bell. Plenty of folks in prison with attitudes like his.

I love anyone who makes a reference from The Wire.

[Anonymous]

I think people are quick to through terms around. Who knows what Lance is really like. He really didn't do himself any favors. But to win the sort of grueling event he did, it requires laser focus at the expense of everything else. I don't like how he came across, but I respect anyone who is disciplined enough to compete at an elite level. I don't get why athletes are held to a higher standard than even politicians or company leaders who cheat all of the time.

[Anonymous]

So all those people he sued... now that he's confessed, can they counter-sue? If his whole "case" against them was based on a bald-faced lie?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people are quick to through terms around. Who knows what Lance is really like. He really didn't do himself any favors. But to win the sort of grueling event he did, it requires laser focus at the expense of everything else. I don't like how he came across, but I respect anyone who is disciplined enough to compete at an elite level. I don't get why athletes are held to a higher standard than even politicians or company leaders who cheat all of the time.

So many problems with what you wrote. First of all, politicians and company leaders SHOULD be held to the same standard that Lance Armstrong is currently being held to. When they are punished for their cheats and lies and crimes, it's a victory that happens all too rarely. If only it happened more often.

Second, how can you respect someone who focused on a sport to the expense of everything else including honesty, other people's reputations and livelihoods... this is a man who went after people who were telling the truth and ruined their lives and reputations by calling THEM liars! Which he was able to do because he had more money and more name recognition. There is NOTHING to respect about that.

And third of all, he was competing at a false elite level, one that he and the rest of the dopers in his sport created with doping. They were all competing one against one another- why not do it clean? But you get someone who literally underwent blood transfusions in order to dope and maintain this super-human level of athleticism... that's not discipline. That's arrogance and hubris.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've disliked Lance ever since he left his first wife. No strength of character there. Do whatever is expedient to get ahead, that's his motto.

Me too. He rubbed me the wrong way back then. Frankly, I really don't give a crap about this entire scandal. It is tiresome. The guy is a horrible cheat, liar and Narcissist...and the sport has long been riddled with doping. Nothing really new here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've disliked Lance ever since he left his first wife. No strength of character there. Do whatever is expedient to get ahead, that's his motto.

THANK YOU! Me, too, and IIRC, he left Sheryl Crow when she got cancer! I don't understand anyone who hasn't thought he was an emotionless dick.

Me too. I couldn't understand the glorification of this guy who was so obviously a jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:His take on it: win at all costs, you come after me I come after you. It's all in the game. Lance Armstrong = Stringer Bell. Plenty of folks in prison with attitudes like his.

No. Stringer Bell is HOT. Lance Armstrong looks like a weasel.

Also, 4 pages and NO ONE has said, at least he had the ball to admit to doping? NO ONE?

[Anonymous]

amazing to me that so many people defended him for so long. he has a LONG history of discarding friends when they are no longer useful, and then completely ruining them if there is ever a question of disloyalty in his mind. he would sue people who had no real money, no means to hire attorneys, and just bombard them with litigation. he is a horrible, horrible person and I hope he gets hit by a truck today.

[Anonymous]

I think he knows there is some big threat looming out there, and he's trying to mitigate it now. Maybe he's looking at criminal and civil lawsuits that will take away all of his cash and perhaps throw him in jail?

I don't believe a word he says. I laugh that he hasn't doped since 2005 - why would we believe that, and why that date? So he can compete sooner (since he's been clean for 8 years)?

I think competing and winning are so deeply ingrained in him as proof that he's "okay", that he may be breaking down a bit without the opportunity to compete. But heck, I think he'd be a great investment banker, so why not go down that route? Thus, I arrive at the thought that there is some bigger threat that he's trying to mitigate now. Maybe the French are preparing a room for him in the Bastille?