Well, if it isn't the presidential race and debates that are making the news at the moment, it's the other end of the spectrum that continues to make the news: the staggering fall from preeminence represented by the Lance Armstrong affair.
No one has been holding their breath for any form of acknowledgement (never mind an actual apology) from Armstrong, even in the midst of the USADA hurricane which revealed that the situation was worse than many expected, not better, and in spite of huge corporate sponsors subsequently running a mile away from that hurricane.
I am not a believer in what has become established as the "American way" :when a big name superstar screws up, and is then forced by those media gurus and PR experts to face the cameras, try to explain, and offer profuse apologies to all concerned. One example is the Tiger Woods sexscapades fiasco which grew worse by the day, and ended up with Tiger facing the media to somehow try to make amends.
For something like that, which I think is truly personal, not only does he not owe "America" or any other nation for that matter, such an embarrassing public apology, but most of us would simply prefer not to see his face on TV at all (at least except for when on the green) playing all meek, simply because he got caught.
The person who needed to hear any explanation was his wife, and/or family, not you and me. He played brilliant golf which was sponsored by various organizations, and on his downtime, in private, he was a bad boy between the sheets with various women. I am not saying that it is totally irrelevant, but at the same time it's got nothing to do with his sporting prowess and achievements.
Armstrong is another case entirely, however. He won all those Tour races unethically and outside the rules of sport, and by his forceful denial of that he effectively entered himself into the arena of illegality, by basically sticking a middle finger up at all concerned as he repeatedly swore that he was clean, and the whole affair could be put down to the jealousy of others. This became more and more about lies, and the Justice Department claimed that such lies were in fact an act of "defrauding the American public".
So in a sense, Armstrong's hands are tied in that any big admission today could possibly open him up to criminal charges once more, and/or further demands from ex-sponsors that they want all of their fraudulently-obtained funds be returned to them. With penalties, with interest. So I doubt that we will be seeing any news conference with a tearful Armstrong anytime soon, not least because he seems way less likely than Woods (among others) to be able to sufficiently swallow his ego and his pride to do so.
But, in what might be seen as an as-close-as-possible "admission", Armstrong has just changed his Twitter bio to reflect his new-found status. Even by late Monday night, his bio read:
"Father of 5 amazing kids, 7-time Tour de France winner, full time cancer fighter, part time triathlete."
However, if you check that Twitter account today, the bio now reads quite differently indeed:
"Raising my five kids. Fighting Cancer. Swim, bike, run and golf whenever I can."
That is one hell of a difference! It sounds much more "civilian" somehow, and there might even be a nod to a reduced level of arrogance or cockiness in that the five kids are now simply five kids, and the amazing adjective has been softened out. Not that I am doubting that they remain amazing, but it is a sign of a less chest-beating self-flagellating approach, in public.
The last words on this day go to the ICU, which finally lived up to its responsibilities to publicly acknowledge that the sport remains extremely dirty, and to demonstrate that they intend to do something about it.
"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling, and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," said Pat McQuaid, the President of the ICU in a statement yesterday.
Somehow, for all the wrong reasons, I think it is going to be a long, long time before people forget Lance Armstrong. I can see the book deal coming, and that is probably the only format that he will accept to address this sorry story, simply because he gets to tell it his way, as he has always done thus far.
No doubt it will be used to raise millions more for Livestrong, which is the stuff or pure irony in that it will effectively be the story of a cheat (maybe even laced with further half-truths, witch hunt accusations, and digs at former teammates-turned-witnesses) who used lies and deception to raise them millions in the first place. The book itself will be a modern day tragedy, Shakespearean in nature. But if it can be used to do something more for cancer patients and survivors, well, that might be one good thing that Armstrong can now do. - Kevin Mc
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