If the accusations are true, it’s hard to defend Lance Armstrong. He is accused, with supporting testimony by those close to him, of engaging in a systematic campaign to cheat in order to win cycling races, including seven Tours de France. The allegations are that he used performance enhancing drugs and evaded testing by those who are supposed to keep the sport clean and fair. That behavior has ballooned his bank account, led him to bully others and prevented cyclists who trained cleanly from winning. Armstrong’s cheating, if true, would have shattered the dreams of others and ruined honest careers, some of which were established through great personal sacrifice.
In fact, it is impossible to see all the ways the ripples of his deceit affected others, regardless of whether those others cheated as well. His cheating may have set a terrible example for many who admired and emulated him. Perhaps millions of children who believed in his hard work (he inspired a lot of people), who wanted to be like him, will turn now to deceit because it, they now know, is the way to win and be like him.
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