Lance not allowed to swim in masters competition

Now for the ultimate thread killer. I feel like using the "yeah, but everyone else was cheating too..." argument is tantamount to "Hitler did lots of good things for Germany." Let's face facts here. Armstrong's cheating, lying and bullying was almost an art form and the man deserves nothing but derision for that. Yet I still don't see why that should disqualify him from competing in masters swimming. I guess it all depends on the perspective. From a purely Master Swimmer's perspective, it's harder to draw the line. The truth being that elite/pro like categories just don't exist in this world. Now from an overall - including but not limited to cycling - perspective, I find that the line is easier to draw. Lance Armstrong probably scores a podium for being at the base of one of the worst doping mess. Like you mentioned, that includes forcing people to dope, bullying (severe bullying that is) of a few careers, he lied in front of the court (and actually deserved to be sued for that), etc... Ever since he got caught, he's constantly tried to find other grounds to compete. Well a large portion of the athletic community would rather see Armstrong paying back for what he did. So as far as I'm concerned, blocking him systematically from all fields of competition is not only reasonable, but mandatory. I didn't even mention the potential for repeat offense. Say that he does very very well, that he starts tackling for making podiums at the worlds, even targeting records. Say that he starts dominating the Master scene. Is there anyone here on USMS that would rule out doping? This guy has proved that we can not (and probably never will) be trusted. What I find particularly troublesome in the Lance case, is that he seems to suffer from ego bigorexia. What I mean here, is that he finds himself so big that rules don't seem to exist for him. So I guess the main reason why I don't want him to compete at the Master level, is that he has to learn that rules, even imperfect (most sports bodies are non profit, inefficient power trip based committees etc), are there to be followed by everyone. Doesn't matter that you're a millionnaire, that you created a foundation etc. Learn that you violated several rules, that you disappointed several thousands persons, and so stop trying to compete if this is what the society is expecting from you. You're no longer *Big* Lance, you're just a cheater. One of the best cheaters, but a cheater still.

Now for the ultimate thread killer. I feel like using the "yeah, but everyone else was cheating too..." argument is tantamount to "Hitler did lots of good things for Germany." Let's face facts here. Armstrong's cheating, lying and bullying was almost an art form and the man deserves nothing but derision for that. Yet I still don't see why that should disqualify him from competing in masters swimming. I guess it all depends on the perspective. From a purely Master Swimmer's perspective, it's harder to draw the line. The truth being that elite/pro like categories just don't exist in this world. Now from an overall - including but not limited to cycling - perspective, I find that the line is easier to draw. Lance Armstrong probably scores a podium for being at the base of one of the worst doping mess. Like you mentioned, that includes forcing people to dope, bullying (severe bullying that is) of a few careers, he lied in front of the court (and actually deserved to be sued for that), etc... Ever since he got caught, he's constantly tried to find other grounds to compete. Well a large portion of the athletic community would rather see Armstrong paying back for what he did. So as far as I'm concerned, blocking him systematically from all fields of competition is not only reasonable, but mandatory. I didn't even mention the potential for repeat offense. Say that he does very very well, that he starts tackling for making podiums at the worlds, even targeting records. Say that he starts dominating the Master scene. Is there anyone here on USMS that would rule out doping? This guy has proved that we can not (and probably never will) be trusted. What I find particularly troublesome in the Lance case, is that he seems to suffer from ego bigorexia. What I mean here, is that he finds himself so big that rules don't seem to exist for him. So I guess the main reason why I don't want him to compete at the Master level, is that he has to learn that rules, even imperfect (most sports bodies are non profit, inefficient power trip based committees etc), are there to be followed by everyone. Doesn't matter that you're a millionnaire, that you created a foundation etc. Learn that you violated several rules, that you disappointed several thousands persons, and so stop trying to compete if this is what the society is expecting from you. You're no longer *Big* Lance, you're just a cheater. One of the best cheaters, but a cheater still.