“Justice”
Dr. Aaron A. Davis
I’m very confused.
After a 2 year investigation the U.S. Attorney General- usually not considered an amateur office the last time I checked- was unable to find any misconduct on Lance Armstrong’s part and dismissed the case this February.
In FOUR MONTHS though, the crack team at the USADA was able to rapidly find significant evidence and witnesses against and place Armstrong into a position he could no longer defend himself from? A small semi-funded office designed to see if people running circles for a living are using prohibited substances.
Who are these attorneys and why are they wasting their time at USADA if they are so talented they can shame the United States Attorney General’s office? Shouldn’t they be negotiating trade deals with China, prisoner releases with the Taliban, or prosecuting major Treasury & bank fraud if they are this good?
U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks noted that the USADA’s
“conduct raises serious questions about whether its real interest in charging Armstrong is to combat doping, or if it is acting according to less noble motives.”
In other words (mine): who the hell is driving USADA in this 9 year pursuit with WADA and other agencies efforts against Armstrong?
Phillip Morris? The tobacco lobby?
Lance Armstrong is the only athlete targeted in this case despite evidence stating a "broad conspiracy”. Would a person whose name and foundation which have systematically targeted cigarette smoking and attempted to have it banned around the globe possibly be a target? You can’t stop a man, but if you can ruin his name… that is real incentive to an industry who has been faced with constant pressures against it for it’s implications to health in nations all over the Earth.
What about the costs of this investigation not associated with the sport of cycling itself- those costs tied to the very public foundation with his name that has promoted health and cure for millions of people stricken with cancer?
More importantly consider the intangible costs of erasing a point of hope this country had. A national pride in an athlete who overcame the odds of illness and a difficult childhood.
The light of hope that a child laying nauseous and scared in a bed being treated with chemotherapy held on to, or the direction provided to a young women coping with the idea of living as a breast cancer survivor. Or an obese man who was inspired by a movement and bought a bike and lost 200 pounds through an example of hard work and determination. ALL of those people who have taken up physical fitness thanks to the story of a man who didn’t settle and beat the odds.
And alll of this at a time when our country doesn’t have a lot to be hopeful for.
Was it worth it?
You should ask, because we paid for this.