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June 25, 2006 Say it ain’t so, Lance. Or say it is. But for God’s sake say SOMETHING, and say it so we can put this story to rest once and for all. Last week, the French newspaper Le Monde became the latest news organization to run with at least seemingly credible evidence that American cyclist Lance Armstrong cheated--that he used illegal performance-enhancing substances. Of course, Armstrong has since denied the allegations, and has produced signed affidavits from medical professionals swearing to his integrity. I’m so sick of this story. Even if Armstrong cheated, as alleged, in 1996--well before he won his first of seven Tours de France--he’s not the biggest hypocrite here. No, that distinction belongs to us, those of us who cover the games and those of us who pay to watch them. You see, in the court of public opinion, Armstrong is innocent until proven guilty. It will remain that way, as long as his accusers take their shots from distant lands, from countries with apparent axes to grind. Our rationale? To these people, Armstrong is the ugliest of Americans because he succeeded at THEIR game. They MUST be lying. Here at home, however, another alleged drug cheat, baseball star Barry Bonds, has already been charged, tried and convicted of steroid use. The most obvious difference in these cases is that two AMERICAN reporters--from the San Francisco Chronicle--have been the ones to level the most serious charges against Bonds. In fact, the case against Bonds isn’t that much stronger than the one against Armstrong. Like the cyclist, Bonds has never failed a drug test. And, like Armstrong, Bonds has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Okay, so Bonds hasn’t produced any legal documentation. Maybe he doesn’t like lawyers? And who could blame him? The biggest evidence against him comes from an admitted drug dealer now cooperating with authorities, undoubtedly at the advice of attorneys. I’m not saying Bonds is innocent. Nor am I saying Armstrong is guilty. What I am saying is that, at some point, we all have to decide whether or not we truly care. If we do care, then we all have to stop buying tickets and merchandise until the athletes and their leagues and/or governing bodies agree to come up with a legit testing system. Fans and journalists alike should go on strike until athletes are made to pee into little cups weekly--hell, daily--until we can assure our sports, and their participants, are playing clean. Until we do that, this ugly story will never go away. And all we’ll be doing is watching and helping writers sell newspapers, athletes break records and drug dealers sell drugs. ------------ About the author:Brian P. Dunleavy is a New York-based freelance sportswriter. He can be reached at: bpdunleavy@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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