Lake Travis Relay Top Five - 10/12/12

Now, be honest. Would YOU think about, consider doing a meet here if you knew Lance was coming!!!! Lance must first come forward tell the truth, apologize to the people he vilified in public, apologize to the people he intimidated through threats and lawsuits, apologize to the people whose lives he ruined, return the money he stole by filing baseless and fraudulent lawsuits. He also must make amends by taking all the money he took from sponsors through fraud, and all of the money he received as a result of his scheme to become wealthy by merging the Lance Armstrong brand with the Livestrong brand and donate it all to Livestrong. A scheme that netted him over $150,000,000.00. And no I'm not a Lance hater. In fact I freely admit that I have always been a fan of the Myth of Lance. But I have read the USADA Reasoned Decision and about 30% of the supporting documents, including all of the affidavits. I've watched his video deposition and watched him lie so he could receive $7.5 million. I involuntarily replay over and over in my head the TV adds that netted him millions where he looks directly into the camera and tells all of us as his adoring fans that he is clean and his detractors are liars. I watched him responded to questions about his use of drugs by attacking the person who made the statement. Heck he attacked the French people as a whole saying they were just jealous because they have't won the Tour in years. What would I do if I saw Lance in person and he continues to deny the facts? I'd call him a lier, a cheat and a fraud. Not only would I not go to see him, I would cancel any plans I had to enter the race. I'm not worried about USMS meets. I suspect that his lifetime ban is on it's way. The measure of a man is not how he acts when he knows everyone is looking, it is how he acts when he thinks no one can see him. It's not whether he get's caught so much as how he acts when he does. It's not how he treats people when they believe everything he wants them to believe, it's how he treats them when they confront him with the truth that he's not. It's not by the things he has done right and the people he helped, but how he takes responsibility for the things he has done wrong and the people he's hurt. Lance has a long way to go in making things right. If he doesn't get started quickly he could be facing the possibility of a complete forfeiture of everything he owns, and a bit of jail time. This is not just the story about some athlete who took performance enhancing drugs to win a few dumb bike races in Europe. It is about his character, it's about an illegal criminal conspiracy, it's about witness intimidation, it's about a financial fraud that earned him well over $150 million dollars. Let me ask you something: how would you feel if you told the appropriate authorities that you saw a person using performance enhancing drugs and then that person comes after you? What if it turns out that the person has unlimited resources to attack you including a net worth of $125 million and as much publicity that he wants. In fact he uses both his money and his position in the community to defile you, file a lawsuit against you and publicly humiliate and defame you and your spouse? Would you go to watch him swim in a race? Lance still has time to choose the path of redemption, but the time to make that choice is running out. If he doesn't others will choose the path to ruination for him. I hope for the sake of his family, his kids and Livestrong that he chooses that path quickly.

Now, be honest. Would YOU think about, consider doing a meet here if you knew Lance was coming!!!! Lance must first come forward tell the truth, apologize to the people he vilified in public, apologize to the people he intimidated through threats and lawsuits, apologize to the people whose lives he ruined, return the money he stole by filing baseless and fraudulent lawsuits. He also must make amends by taking all the money he took from sponsors through fraud, and all of the money he received as a result of his scheme to become wealthy by merging the Lance Armstrong brand with the Livestrong brand and donate it all to Livestrong. A scheme that netted him over $150,000,000.00. And no I'm not a Lance hater. In fact I freely admit that I have always been a fan of the Myth of Lance. But I have read the USADA Reasoned Decision and about 30% of the supporting documents, including all of the affidavits. I've watched his video deposition and watched him lie so he could receive $7.5 million. I involuntarily replay over and over in my head the TV adds that netted him millions where he looks directly into the camera and tells all of us as his adoring fans that he is clean and his detractors are liars. I watched him responded to questions about his use of drugs by attacking the person who made the statement. Heck he attacked the French people as a whole saying they were just jealous because they have't won the Tour in years. What would I do if I saw Lance in person and he continues to deny the facts? I'd call him a lier, a cheat and a fraud. Not only would I not go to see him, I would cancel any plans I had to enter the race. I'm not worried about USMS meets. I suspect that his lifetime ban is on it's way. The measure of a man is not how he acts when he knows everyone is looking, it is how he acts when he thinks no one can see him. It's not whether he get's caught so much as how he acts when he does. It's not how he treats people when they believe everything he wants them to believe, it's how he treats them when they confront him with the truth that he's not. It's not by the things he has done right and the people he helped, but how he takes responsibility for the things he has done wrong and the people he's hurt. Lance has a long way to go in making things right. If he doesn't get started quickly he could be facing the possibility of a complete forfeiture of everything he owns, and a bit of jail time. This is not just the story about some athlete who took performance enhancing drugs to win a few dumb bike races in Europe. It is about his character, it's about an illegal criminal conspiracy, it's about witness intimidation, it's about a financial fraud that earned him well over $150 million dollars. Let me ask you something: how would you feel if you told the appropriate authorities that you saw a person using performance enhancing drugs and then that person comes after you? What if it turns out that the person has unlimited resources to attack you including a net worth of $125 million and as much publicity that he wants. In fact he uses both his money and his position in the community to defile you, file a lawsuit against you and publicly humiliate and defame you and your spouse? Would you go to watch him swim in a race? Lance still has time to choose the path of redemption, but the time to make that choice is running out. If he doesn't others will choose the path to ruination for him. I hope for the sake of his family, his kids and Livestrong that he chooses that path quickly.