Armstrong's interview by Oprah - what do you think will happen next after the confessions?

[voyager1994]

http://www.oprah.com/index.html

I watched the first part today at oprah.com - Oprah is a class act she asked the right questions to bring out the truth during this interview. I really felt sorry for Armstrong.

What do you think will happen next after his confessions? Will he face criminal prosecution and possibly jail time?

 

[star-warrior]

I think it's time for him to do the time. So, yes, and maybe. It is likely he'll be prosecuted and may get off with a big fine only and community work.

 

[G-Lexington]

The sides were chosen years ago. Those who don't like him will continue to deride him, those who idolize him and consider him a hero will consider him a martyr on the altar. He's presumably astute enough not to swap tactics, so he'll most likely continue on as he has. Then the sun will come up, and everything will continue on as before.

Lex

 

[vacancy3]

i could only watch like 15 minutes before i felt sick to my stomach......he is a piece of shit

 

[sixthson]

People make mistakes and bad decisions. Why he chose to do what he did is unfortunate but coming clean and trying to make things right is all he can do. Good luck to him, I hope everything works out.

He deliberately cheated other athletes out of fair competition by using drugs that gave him an advantage over them. Then when accused, he smeared the good names of others and had the greater resources to make other believe his accusers were the liars and not he. Because of his wealth, which was gained by cheating, he was able to sue numerous people who were unable of defending themselves. This went on for decades. These are not mere mistakes. This is someone who has deep seated character and moral issues.
There are numerous civil suits pending. He stands to lose a lot, including even more of his reputation, which is also based on lies.

 

[rareboy]

He will self delete on JUB?

 

[gsdx]

It's been over 25 years since the Ben Johnson doping scandal of the '88 Olympics in Seoul. Like Lance, he was all denial and shifting blame. He got caught and he was stripped of his medals. He shamed Canada back then and he still shames Canada when people talk about him.

It's not so much the doping as it was all the lies and deceits which followed. It's a matter of betrayal to all those who respected them as athletes. Like Ben, I suspect Lance will become known more for this doping scandal than for all the awards and races he won. Even his fight against cancer will take second place to the lies.

 

[EuroSoccer]

He deliberately cheated other athletes out of fair competition by using drugs that gave him an advantage over them. Then when accused, he smeared the good names of others and had the greater resources to make other believe his accusers were the liars and not he. Because of his wealth, which was gained by cheating, he was able to sue numerous people who were unable of defending themselves. This went on for decades. These are not mere mistakes. This is someone who has deep seated character and moral issues.

True words..........and to support this I have a scoop
I found an old photo of Armstrong getting ready for the Tour De France..........

 

[alphaxxx]

He deliberately cheated other athletes out of fair competition by using drugs that gave him an advantage over them. Then when accused, he smeared the good names of others and had the greater resources to make other believe his accusers were the liars and not he. Because of his wealth, which was gained by cheating, he was able to sue numerous people who were unable of defending themselves. This went on for decades. These are not mere mistakes. This is someone who has deep seated character and moral issues.
There are numerous civil suits pending. He stands to lose a lot, including even more of his reputation, which is also based on lies.

That was well said.
He has ruined the reputation of cycling even further. It was already considered a dirty sport to begin with.
I hate drugs cheats in sport, the same thing happened to Marion Jones a few years back.

There are people who look up to these athletes and then that gets turned upside down. They deserve all the court cases and criminal sentences they get.

 

[gambit22121]

Isn't he on the hook for fraud charges from his sponsor "The US Postal Service" to the tune of $100mil? I thought that's why he's trying to do this to garner public sympathy as well as trying to get an immunity deal of some sort. What he did to his former team members was disgraceful and I have no sympathy for him.

 

[pat grimshaw]

Needless to say, I don't care about this American liar. And I don't care care about the tourism-promoting Tour de France nor indeed the Olympics jamborees and practically all the spectator sports.

Some of the athletes may be pretty but they all seem like a massive use of energy which could be put to a more productive use— and especially so when most of us are sitting in our armchairs getting fat.

 

[xbuzzerx]

He will self delete on JUB?

He'll just make a new name. StrongArmlance or something.

 

[Scotty0323]

To an Athlete Dying Young
by A. E. Housman

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields were glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.



Mr. Armstrong will now add to that number who have lived to see the name die before the man.

Bravo! Great time to reflect on Housman's poem

 

[ravenstar]

Will all of those he sued for deformation and won against now have the right to recourse? I know one of the UK tabloids that paid him half a million dollars is now suing him for $1.6 million to reclaim the money and interest they lost.

Not to mention the money he was awarded by the courts alone, by admitting to Oprah that he was a drug cheat, he's also admitting that in all those court cases he lied on the stand. Won't that come back to bite him on the arse?

I used to think he was a inspiration, now I think he's just another cheating scumbag. If he hoped the Oprah interview would rewash a tarnished public image I'd think he's fairly wrong on that count. A lot of people who believed him are left thinking they've been conned.

There's nothing more spectacular than the implosion of a hero.

 

[Alistair]

Not to mention the money he was awarded by the courts alone, by admitting to Oprah that he was a drug cheat, he's also admitting that in all those court cases he lied on the stand. Won't that come back to bite him on the arse?

I believe I heard that the last time he was on the stand was over 7 years ago and the statute of limitations was up. So he couldn't be charged with perjury

 

[crimsonpaine]

I regret that I gave him the benefit of the doubt he was telling the truth all these years.

 

[JayHawk]

I agree the actions he took against others were not only repulsive and could possibly land him in further legal troubles regardless of the statute of limitations.

However I reject the idea that he was somehow the only one doping to have an advantage. Why was it that so many people around and connected with the sport were so adept at providing illicit substances? Nope he wasnt alone. It does not justify or forgive his wrong doings but that was an entire cottage industry around cycling just as the doping issue was rampant throughout baseball before it was stopped.

 

[BFizzle]

Watching as I type.

Oprah did dat.

 

[JayHawk]

Watching as I type.

Oprah did dat.

See I disagree. Armstrong went to her and said ...wanna make some money? Do you really think after decades of lying Oprah was somehow so skilled she pulled it out? They announced he would be spilling the beans before the two met to have the interview. Oprah is skilled at making folks think. However this was negotiated before they saw each other.

She simply gets the scoop if you are famous. Cuz she is Oprah.

 

[JOHN B]

He spent so much time and effort saying that he did NOT dope, that I do not think he can ever get beyond this. But...I did hear an interesting viewpoint (though I am not saying that i believe it) elsewhere on the web that said that the only way he would ever get a chance of making a comeback was "admitting" that he did dope,...even if he did not. Basically because SO many people were accusing him of doing it, that he could not possibly fight against it. Interesting theory.....