For many years Lance Armstrong was the face of cycling. In recent years, and thanks to some advances in technology, he has become the disgrace of cycling to many people. The article below outlines why this shift has occurred. Share your thoughts on the topic. Discuss how technology advances triggered this fall. What are some of the social implications of this discovery? What is another instance in sports where events such as this have changed someone's legacy? Post a link to an article about that event as well.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/22/sport/lance-armstrong-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
I think that regardless of doping or not, Lance Armstong should still be a hero to many people. The guy overcame cancer and went on to see his dreams succeed. The article in the link will not load for me and I have tried going to CNN's website and looking in the archives and googling it, but it will not show up. I would imagine that after that one guy snitched on Armstrong, new technology was able to give some evidence against Armstrong. Social implications of this could be that a large amount of people feel wrong for wearing all the "LIVESTRONG" appearal and that they might be sending out false hope. Also, homeless people will look stunning in yellow and black this year. *rimshot* Another instance in sports where some's legacy has changed is A-Rod. At one point in time he was a beloved baseball player. Now he is A-Roid, the man you love to hate and a tattletail.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/08/01/us/alex-rodriguez-profile/index.html
The advances of technology in Lance Armstrong's case is that they were able to find traces of performance enhancing drugs in his body and detect that he had been cheating for most of his cycling career. Some of the social implications in this discovery is that Lance let down all of the sponsors who generously sponsored him, his cancer foundation that provides research for those who unfortunately have cancer, and all of his fans.
ReplyDeleteAnother instance in sports where such events have changed someone's legacy is professional baseball player Barry Bonds, who was found guilty for using performance enhancing drugs during his baseball career.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/sports/baseball/14bonds.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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ReplyDeleteAs technology increases it becomes harder and harder to cover up a dirty drug test. The tests become more accurate and much more efficient. Armstrong was not only fooling the tests, but he was also avoiding them. It makes a person wonder, how many other professional athletes are out there getting away with "cheating."
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7338271/ryan-braun-milwaukee-brewers-tests-positive-performance-enhancing-drug
Ryan Braun was linked to PED's two times before finally getting caught. The first time he was accused of using performance enhancing drugs he got away with it on a technicality because the person that had Braun's urine sample kept it at his house for a day before shipping it. When it was finally analyzed, they discovered that Braun's testosterone levels were twenty to one, when they should have been around four to one. Then, two years later, Braun was caught, and no way of getting out of it. His reputation will be hurting for the next few years, but after that it will probably be forgotten. He was known as such a clean, and hard working player before being caught. And now he's known as a cheater.
First off, I need to say that no matter what Lance Armstrong did as far as HGH goes, the guy is an absolute beast. He had cancer and survived it so that already qualifies him as a strong human being. Then, he goes and blows out the competition 7 years in a row. Even with drugs you have to be an incredible athlete to accomplish that feat. For me, his goods outweigh his bads especially with all of the money that he has put into cancer research. The technology acquired by the anti-doping agencies has allowed them to confirm that there is pure evidence of Armstrong's doping. This is a huge hit for cycling and there is going to be a few years where the sport is going to be dead because Lance was the face of the sport. When you talk about Armstrong's doping, it's considered to be one of the biggest scandals of all time. In my opinion, the biggest is Barry Bonds. He is the all time leader in home runs in the MLB. So many people, young and old, looked up to him. Had he not taken 'roids, he may have been regarded as the greatest player of all time. However, little did we know that he was taking nearly 20 pills at a time as well as injecting steroids into his buttocks. He will never make it to the Hall of Fame, but 756 homeruns is quite a feat.
ReplyDeletehttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/baseball/mlb/03/06/news.excerpt/
I believe that while it’s unfortunate that this has occurred, I can hardly say it’s a surprise when an athlete of any sport tests positive for a substance. It’s a big part of the game and while there are many that play clean there are many that do not. Lance Armstrong of course being no exception. Advances in technology lead to everyone having the ability to be stronger with shortcuts, in this case drugs, and I’m sure the option is tempting. Advances in technology have also lead to being able to test for these drugs and persecute athletes who do try and cut corners.
ReplyDeleteAnother famous instance is Alex Rodriguez who was suspended for 211 games by the MLB, though he is attempting to appeal the sentence near the end of this month.
To be honest, this is all a game. If everyone wants to take a break in the middle of a race or inning and have a ten minute tea party, I couldn’t really care less. Athletes have a shelf life and if they want to use harmful drugs on their bodies then go for it. It’s the same way with models not eating - it’s a form of self-harm. And perhaps they should schedule counseling when an athlete is found doping.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57598805/alex-rodriguez-implicated-fellow-players-in-doping-investigation/
I think it is pretty sad that someone who has been inspirational to others had to cheat his way through. Besides the fact that he cheated his way through cycling, he did accomplish other things in the sporting world that were good.
ReplyDeleteTechnological advances aren't really noted as being responsible as the cause for Armstrong downfall. However, just like any technology, it advances as time goes on. As it may not be noted in this case, I believe better technology is responsible for helping reduce the amount of athletes that are attempting to cheat their way through.
As Armstrong's reputation has been pretty much destroyed, I find it interesting that his sponsors and prize winnings are being asked back.
Another "Great Sporting Downfall" that I was able to find was Kobe Bryant. In 1996 Kobe decided to skip college for the pros, then to his three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers by age 23. He was living the good life then all the sudden he was accused of rape. Kobe's A-name sponsors dropped him, his jersey was a joke, and his name a punchline.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/lists/Top-10-sports-falls-from-grace#photo-title=Kobe+Bryant+&photo=21350195
The athletes of this decade and stretching into the previous decade have all been under pressure to start doping. With the human technology our athletes have available, Lance Armstrong was one of many "under the gun" athletes who fell to the pressure of being able to inject performance enhancing drugs into his body and allow him to gain muscle faster than lets say whoever didn't use these "P.E.D.'s". Some examples of these social implications that came a long with these athletes are; all of the previous record holders and famous athletes of past times are all being crushed by the present athletes. There are plenty of instances where events have took place but the big one that will always stand out to me is Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds was the heart and soul of the San Francisco Giants a baseball team in the MLB. The year they won the world series, Barry Bonds broke the all-time home run record that was previously set by on of the most famous baseball players of all time Babe Ruth. The same year that all of this took place, Barry Bonds was accused of using P.E.D.'s and changed his legacy forever.
ReplyDeletehttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/03/06/growth0313/
In my opinion, Lance Armstrong is getting what he deserves. If he truly loved the sport he was participating in, he wouldn't have used performance enhancing drugs for most of his career to be at the top of his game. He really is a let down to all of his fans and his sponsers. I even find him to be hypocritical because he donated money to further technology in testing athletes. A man who was once looked up to and a role model to so many people is now a cheater to so many people. This definitely isn't the first case of an athlete using performance enhancing drugs, and it probably won't be the last. Another instance in sports where an athlete has changed his legacy is Alex Rodriguez. When I first heard about this on the news it surprised me because he was someon that I myself, and many others looked up to in baseball.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.toptenz.net/top-10-sports-figures-steroids.php
I like how you made your full opinion known by saying he got what he deserves, you make a good point! If he loved the sport he would've never used enhancing drugs to begin with.
DeleteAs I read this article, it made me sad to read that an iconic figure that had achieved so much in a matter of years was just wiped clean and left in the dirt. However, reading more into you realize that we was accused and actually found guilty of drug use or in other terms doping. My personal thoughts on this? I am really not suprised...for years there has always been a way around to come up on top. Using some sort of drug or anything has always been an issue when it comes to participating in high ranked sports. I do not think that Lance Armstrong is the only guilty athlete to have been caught cheating, I just think that he was just one of the unlucky ones that just happened to get caught.
ReplyDeleteI think that with the advancement of technology, were finally able to catch Lance Armstrong's doping scandal. Technology also made it so the world knew of this in a matter of seconds and his reputation dropped instantly. Lance Armstrong sort of gave a bad name not only to himself but the cycling program and all those that participate in it.
Another instance that I think major events changed someone's legacy was the cheating scandal of Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods was the face of golf. Everyone wanted to watch him and see him win the World Cup like many years before. In just one instant, his life flipped dramatically. He was accused and found guilty of cheating on his wife multiple times with multiple different women. Again this really does not suprise me...especially when it comes to men athletes that have a lot of power. Soon Wood's career took a large plummet and everyone was not happy with the whole story. He is slowly building his way up again, but I still think that his cheating scandal will always still be in the back of our minds.
http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ball_golf/post/The-complete-Tiger-Woods-timeline-from-Escalade?urn=golf-264574
Even though Lance Armstrong was doped out throughout his cycling career I feel he is still a good person and has his own cancer organization which is a lot to look proudly upon. As for technology, I would say some advanced technology went both ways. Lance arm strong had to have some sort of technology to clear his system in time and eject the dope on the first place. He countlessly passed multiple drug test and still no trace was to be found. Unlucky for him their technology got more advanced, and looked deeper into his test and eventually exposed him of using steroids for most of his cycling career. Then the question accrues how did they find out he was using dope? My theory is breaking down his DNA until it can’t be hidden anymore and find chemical traces in the blood that signify dope use. As for Lance another theory of theological use is that he always knew when his random drug test were. Maybe he could hack into their computers and find the schedule of his drug tests. Just a theory.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/barry-bonds-fingered-steroid-probe
As you can see through the years many athletes have been using steroids. Why? Well they make them better athletes of course. Seeing all these athletes taking steroids make some wonder who is the real thing or not. All this steroid use make me wonder if any athletes in the past have been honest.
I agree, i also wonder how many athletes were true. I bet there are numerous ones that slipped under the radar and got away with it.
DeleteIt’s unfortunate that this has occurred, I can't say I'm not surprised. It is becoming more and more popular when an athlete of any sport tests positive for a substance. It’s a big part of the game and while many play by the rules there are so many that are cutting corners as well. Lance Armstrong was just another that didn't follow the rules and also put his health at risk. Advances in technology lead to everyone having more ways to cut corners in certain things. In this case drugs, and more and more people are being tempted to use. The making, selling, and purchasing of drugs is becoming much more easier and even efficient. Advances in technology have also lead to being able to test for these drugs as well and catch the athletes who do try and cut corners. And when certain athletes were caught, technology allowed the media to make it known within minutes!
ReplyDeleteIn the recent article i read, i found that for some athletes they are genetically born to dope, meaning they can take drugs but never fail a test. This was very interesting when seeing all the athletes that get caught now a days, but really aren't even aware of all of the rest that do and simply get away with it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2401478/How-world-class-athletes-drugs--away-it.html
It is crazy to see how drugs affect so many people and their lives. It makes me wonder which athletes are truly athletes and do not cheat their way through the system.