Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner, cancer survivor and hero to many, is now inching closer and closer to being perceived as a performance-enhancing drug user in the court of public opinion. The worst part is that this transgression did not take me by surprise.
What used to be frowned upon in sports is now the norm; it is now a legitimate argument to say, because everyone is doing it, dopers cannot be blamed. When else has this ever been a valid excuse? Since grade school it has been burned into our minds not to conform to those who cheat, yet it suddenly goes out the window for a fat paycheck and fame.
Athletes are forced into the uncomfortable situation—at least I hope that it is an uncomfortable one—of deciding what their morals are worth to them when they are presented with the opportunity to take PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs). But for those in the MLB it does not even seem like a decision to be made. Today, it seems that if you are not pumping poisons through your veins you are going to get left behind. People in all sports, including college athletes, are selling their bodies and, worse, their hearts to earn enough money to fill their castles with tainted possessions.
Lance Armstrong is not a competitor. He did not win a single Tour de France. Anything Armstrong, Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire “won” was, in fact, taken. At the end of the day, truly the most gratifying thing about success is the sense of accomplishment, the idea that you achieved what you set out to do. But for those who dope, this sense of accomplishment is fake, good for nothing but false bravado.
What bothers me most about this Lance Armstrong incident (and all PED reports for that matter) is not the fact that he cheated to get ahead, though this does not sit well either. But rather the idea that at one point, he—like each and every one of these athletes who now hang their heads in courtrooms—sat in a little league dugout or rode their bikes up neighborhood streets. They worked for years to achieve their goals until they decided hard work just was not going to cut it anymore. My childhood heroes, and heroes of the entire nation, gave up on themselves.
Even those who are trusted to represent nations—Olympic athletes—have not proven to be immune to cheating. This should not be taken lightly; the cheating epidemic is all too telling of the direction our society is going. It spills over into politics, everyday life and, ultimately, our youth. Everything politicians say carries a cautionary label; similarly, every time an athlete denies doping there is a voice in the back of my mind reminding me to take it with a grain of salt. Competitors of any kind are lucky there is no verbal manifestation of the asterisk.
The fix is simple: Stop praising them. Condoning lying and cheating only perpetuates this kind of behavior. Blowing money on jersey purchases and highlighting big plays even after the players have been found guilty lets them know that we as a community do not care or hold them accountable for their actions. If money were not a factor, as the tale goes, this would not be an issue. As the fans that put money in their paychecks, we need to recognize that doping has bigger implications than seven Tour de France victories. It sets an example for the millions of viewers who follow these sports and look up to the players, and we need to stop ignoring the impact it has on the world.
Jon is a freshman with an undeclared major. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
