The list is long, Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, Marion Jones, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods and now possibly Lance Armstrong? Why are our heros turning to zeros? If you haven’t heard yet… Floyd Landis admitted today that he was doping when he won the Tour de France. That’s nothing new, he was stripped the prize years ago. But now he’s accusing Lance Armstrong of doing it too. This bothers me because Lance has stood the test of time, he had beaten all the naysayers and come out clean.
I sure hope Lance Armstrong does not turn out to be a fraud. His lawyers are saying that Floyd Landis tried to blackmail Lance and that Floyd is the fraud. All this stuff just undermines sports, it undermines bicycling and it undermines trust. Lance Armstrong is an inspiration to many, a cancer survivor who came back from near death to be a seven-time winner of the Tour de France. It’s what children dream about… they want to be like Lance. It’s why adults think it’s still possible… If Lance can do it, maybe I still can do it too.
When our sports heros fall the repercussions are enormous. The sound is heard around the world, not just by adults but young impressionable minds. If Pete, Barry, Michael, Tiger and now Lance..?.. cheat, then surely everyone is doing it, right? If they get ahead this way then everybody must be doing it, that means I need to do it too. It is a subtle and insidious message but it is there… the way to become a champion is to cheat … Is it worth it? Think about it, you become rich and famous and if you are caught, you just deny deny deny and blame others. You might even get on late night TV or a reality TV show. The same is true for a CEO’s that cheat, fake it and you’ll make it… get fired, blame others, people have short memories. You can cruise on your yacht while people are forgetting. Maybe I am starting to sound like a critic and it is time to switch to something more positive.
When I look around, I see real hero sitting next me on airplanes, landscaping a property, checking out groceries, or serving people in a restaurant. Everyday people that are making it happen one step at time. They are moms and dads and sons and daughters, people that face challenges and do the right thing anyway. Of course, I am talking about you. I know you are working hard at “IT” (Integrity and Trust) or you would not be here. I believe in you, I believe in what we are doing here and for the sake of the generations to come I sure hope Lance Armstrong did it right.
Take the Poll:
What level of trust do you currently have for Lance Armstrong?
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