Yes, obviously the guy is a cheater, apparently like most other cyclists of his generation. He does deserve to have his prize money revoked and his reputation destroyed. I think last time the subject came up, I was one of the most negative towards the guy. But with his confession finally coming, it looks like everyone who has ever knew him is trying to get money back from him. This article [url=http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/01/15/justice-department-will-likely-join-lawsuit-against-lance-armstrong-ap-source/]even hints at jail time[/url]. Personally, I think that is a bit too far, even if he did actually commit perjury. Not because Lance is too good to be in jail, but because over-reacting to this confession is only going to teach others to never confess.
I really hate that Bonds, Sosa, and others continue to deny the extremely obvious. As long as they proclaim their innocence, there will be many people that just want to believe what they say, no matter what overwhelming evidence is presented. There were still people backing Armstrong's claims of innocence even after he tested higher than humanly possible testosterone levels. As a sports fan, I want to see fair play. I don't like cheaters, and want them drummed out of whatever sport they are in, and cast out of the record books.
Armstrong is defeated. His reputation in tatters, wins stripped, sponsors gone, and legal battles over his winnings piling up. Somehow, he is even being sued by Floyd Landis. (of all people to attack him for cheating!) I say it's time to ease up and give others some reason to think a confession will offer some suitable resolution to controversy. Otherwise we'll continue to mute every record breaking celebration with asterisks and argument over who really deserves what.
I say it's now time to go easy on Armstrong, even if the only reason to do so is so that others like him can step forward and do the same. As a fan, I'm sick of asterisks.
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Edited by Jessica: 1/16/2013 12:11:17 AM[quote] Personally, I think that is a bit too far[/quote] Would it help if I pointed out he was funded by the US taxpayer to the tune of $50m and has lied under oath about a dozen times? He deserves to go to prison. Otherwise he'll just spin this into another money making opportunity, painting himself as a fallen angel, forced into it by the circumstances. He did everything he could do to destroy the lives of anyone who got in his way, whether they be teammates (Landis, Hincapie), journalists (Walsh, Kimmage) or even his own masseuse (O'Reilly). He doesn't just deserve to go to prison, he deserves to rot. He's being sued by Landis, but that's only because the federal government refused to do so. Landis isn't suing him personally, but under a whistleblower law on behalf of the state, for the aforementioned $50m he defrauded from the taxpayer.