Rewriting History

When Lance Armstrong went for his first Tour de France title, his competition was Jan Ulrich, a former winner. Armstrong won; Ulrich finished second and a few years later was caught doping and retired. At the end of Armstrong's career, his main rival was Alberto Contador, who won the final Tour that Armstrong rode in (Armstrong finished third). Contador was later suspended for a year because he failed a drug test. So it seems that Armstrong's main competitors were cheating, and it's unlikely that he was helping them. 

Armstrong, maybe using smaller dosages and better masking drugs, never failed a drug test.

Today the bike racing establishment and the sportswriters are heaping all blame on Armstrong. Twenty or thirty professional bike riders have claimed that Armstrong forced them to cheat. It wasn't their decision or their fault--blame Armstrong, a terrifying giant of a man, menacing at nearly 165 pounds.  His long time friends have announced that they were never friends. His sponsors are getting ready to sue him to get their money back. His prize money over the years is in jeopardy. People who donated to his cancer charity--Livestrong--claim with faces screwed up in emotional agony that they have been disappointed and want their donations returned, which--I have to say as a cancer survivor--creeps me out.

Where other dopers were given suspensions of six months, Armstrong has been banned from sports for life and his seven straight wins of the Tour de France (against other cheaters) have been wiped from the records. I doubt if they will be erased from our memories, though. This twist in the Armstrong  tale will make him even more mythical. Meanwhile Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Karl Lewis, the NFL and countless other cheaters find most doors wide open and their money not under assault.