Op-Ed: Lance Armstrong is Abundantly Pathetic

By: Zachary Draves

It is entirely oxymoronic for the word fairness to come out of the mouth of Lance Armstrong, let alone mentioned in the same sentence, but here we are.

During an interview with former athlete turned anti-transgender advocate Caitlyn Jenner on his new podcast The Forward on Saturday, Armstrong had the nerve to bring up the issue of fairness in sports as it pertains to the ongoing debate about participation of transgender athletes. He then followed up with a series of tweets.

Is there not a world in which one can be supportive of the transgender community and curious about the fairness of Trans athletes in sport yet not be labeled a transphobe or a bigot as we ask questions? Do we yet know the answers? And do we even want to know the answers?

— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 25, 2023

(Courtesy: Instagram @caitlynjenner)

He added a couple another gem tweeting:

Have we really come to a time and place where spirited debate is not only frowned upon, but feared? Where people’s greatest concern is being fired, shamed or cancelled? As someone all too familiar with this phenomenon, I feel I'm uniquely positioned to have these conversations. pic.twitter.com/De7xs3PUq3

— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 25, 2023

This coming from the man who is one of the ultimate disgraces in sports through his own doing. 

In 2012, Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour De France wins after The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found that he had cheated using various performance enhancing drugs including human growth hormones, EPO, cortisone, and testosterone. He then falsified documents claiming that he passed all routine drug tests, when in reality he and other cyclists would take PEDs, wait for it to be completely out of their system, and then get tested when there was ultimately nothing to detect.

(Courtesy: Tim De Waele/Corbis Via Getty Images)

It wouldn’t be until 2002 before the common drug of choice for cyclists EPO, or Erythropoietin, which helps increase red blood cells to drastically build stamina in grueling endurance sports, would be detected in testing. Prior to that, it was a free for all for cyclists to use EPO with regularity and with no consequence. 

Then Armstrong orchestrated an entire decade’s long campaign to essentially silence anyone who dared to come forward and out him. That included fellow teammates, doctors, and media whose lives he ultimately tried to ruin so that he could continue putting up the façade of being one of America’s most inspirational athletes.

Armstrong survived testicular cancer before going on to dominate one of the world’s most grueling sporting events. He was seen as America’s golden boy and America was always quick to defend him whenever other cyclists, medical professionals, and media in Europe would attempt to blow the lid on him during his supposed run of excellence. 

Talk about trying to gain an edge at the expense of others. After years of denial, Armstrong came clean in an infamous 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

(Courtesy: George Burns AFP/Getty Images)

The argument put forward constantly by opponents of transgender inclusion in sports is that there is an unfair physical advantage, particularly by transgender women competing in women’s sports, or as they put it “biological men competing in women’s sports.” Therefore it is an uneven playing field. 

Where are those same people when it comes to cis athletes like Lance Armstrong who did everything he could to gain every single advantage and did so through widespread coercion and manipulation?  

The reality is that transgender athletes don’t pose a greater advantage over their cis gender competitors. 

A 2022 study published by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports found that there was no real evidence to show that transgender women in sports have any biological advantage when it came to lung capacity, bone density, and strengths in the joints (arms, legs, hips, etc.). They did find that athletic advantages, regardless of gender identity, have more to do with access to training, equipment, and nutrition. 

The real threats towards women’s sports include unequal pay, lack of funding, physical and sexual abuse, and inadequate media coverage. 

Furthermore, the idea that Armstrong feels that he is “uniquely positioned to have these conversations” because he was “canceled” is beyond laughable. He was canceled because he cheated and didn’t care who he hurt during his pseudo rise to the top. 

Lance Armstrong is and always will be a cheat. It is only fair to call it like it is.