Lance Armstrong: Court of public opinion (Page 3)

There's no belief required.  He says he didn't knowingly do it.  That wordplay, plus his general attitude, plus the conviction on obstruction of justice = people disliking him.

Maybe he did, maybe he didn't...

I don't care one way or the other. Even if he did dope he is still an amazing athlete, there is no way he could have won all that he did if he did not have an amazing base even with PEDs.  There are tons of amazing bike racers who were doping and yet he has beat every one of them. Do you think he was doping when he casually set a new course record in the Leadville 100?

In a world of blind men, the one eyed man is king.

http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/nondoping-cyclists-finish-tour-de-france,2268/

What bothers me is the media's willingness to accept the accusations of people who did use drugs.  As in, "Yes, I did drugs...but so did Lance."  This sure stinks of trying to lesson your shame with the old "everybody does it" BS excuse.

We can have our own opinions but we can't have our own facts and the fact is, he never tested positive. 

A crutch?  You're comparing apples to oranges.

1) OJ got ruled against in the wrongful death civil judgement
2) He more recently was convicted on new criminal charges

Innocent until proven guilty isn't a defense - it's the default.  OJ and Bonds are past that now.

From what I read, Hamilton didn't test positive between '99 and '08...does that mean he was clean?  Of course not.  It's obvious to see all these guys had ways around the testing system.  

fwiw, Bonds was a jerk waaay before PEDs.  He was a jerk back in his stringbean 6' 2" 180 pound days at Arizona State, and then the Pittsburgh Pirates. (his actions are well-documented)  I think that's a big reason he's vilified more than McGwire, Clemens, and the whole lot of the cheaters.

Bonds never tested positive either...nor did Sammy Sosa from what I know.   

Awesome!  Thank you for posting that.  I love the Onion!  

Just because someone is "proven" guilty by the laws and procedures of an organization or state, doesn't mean the person IS guilty. People are wrongly convicted all the time because the best available evidence, and the proceedings of justice, indicated guilt.

On the same token, just because someone HASN'T been proven guilty doesn't mean that the person is innocent.

So the matter of ACTUAL guilt or innocence, in Lance's case, remains opinion.

It is my OPINION that the circumstantial evidence to date strongly indicates that Lance used illegal, and by that I do mean illegal at the time, performance enhancement.

One solution to possibly cure the "doping" is if you test positive your banned for life, period !!!, this should go for all sports, F1, NASCAR, Football, Baseball, Basketball, Swimming, etc...at the Pro level as well as the "amateur" level, high school, college.

Screw the old slap on wrist and accept the old apology crap, or the I didn't know b.s.

They have enough of a sample when they do the tests to check and recheck, even if you are allowed an appeal by the governing body.

And another big difference with Bonds is that we didn't need him saying so... Ray Charles could look at him and have all the proof needed. You can't look at a endurance athlete and know he's doping... the circus freak Bonds tuned into was proof enough of Roids.

No... actually that is historical fact. Either he did or he didn't, only he knows the true answer. What someone can prove or what someone's opinion is an entirely different thing.

Right ... I was vague with my wording ...

I'd also say it's possible for others to know the true answer to whether or not Lance performed illegal PE (if they directly observed him using a non-authorized IV, for example).

Actually Hamilton DID test positive (A sample) after his Olympic cycling win in 2004, but was not stripped of his medal because the backup (B sample) could not be tested to verify initial result.  Hamilton was banned from bike racing from 2005 to 2007 for evidence of doping at the 2004  Vuelta.  He was implicated in Operation Puerto.  He was again banned from racing for testing positive in 2009 for DHEA, which he admitted taking at the time. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Hamilton

Comparing baseball's drug testing program with cycling is a joke.  Baseball's program was only "strengthened" in 2006 (Bonds career was '86-'07).  Even now a player can only be tested for steroids once and only during the season (inc Spring Training). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_drug_policy

For years UCI has tested year-round & athletes must notify UCI of their "whereabouts" for unannounced testing.  Testing is done both In- and Out-of competition.  A "Missed Test" is a violation.  There is no defined limit to the number of tests the cyclist may be subjected to.  UCI's Anti-Doping Rules can be downloaded here (pdf link is lower middle of page):

http://www.uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI5/layout.asp?MenuId=MjI0NQ&LangId=1

To say one never tested positive for many years under UCI rules is a significant statement, although clearly not definitive proof of innocence.

IMHO- If all major sports were under UCI testing rules there would be just as many (if not more) banned athletes.  So far football, baseball, etc have taken a "see no evil" approach to testing.

I guess silence finally got too expensive to buy. I mean, those Nike endorsements probably pay pretty well, but clearly not enough.

I hate to say it because I actually believed in this Santa Claus for a while, but as I learned more about the sport and Lance's position within it, it seems quite clear that he was a hard core doper.

This answer won't be popular but I'll give it anyway.

Do I think he did?  Yes.

Do I care?  No.  I really don't think any less of him and like him anyway.  I'm more bothered than the need to use taxpayer dollars to try and bury someone who's done a lot of good just for the sake of pretending it's the right thing to do....there's bigger problems that need solving than whether or not someone who rode a bicycle in a different country 10 years ago took illegal substances along with the rest of the pro field....

George Hincapie said yesterday on Twitter, "I can confirm to you I never spoke with "60 Minutes." I have no idea where they got their information."  Also, "As for the substance of anything in the "60 Minutes" story, I cannot comment on anything relating to the ongoing investigation."

What that actually means, I have no idea.