Same old Lance

Lance Armstrong pretended to tell the truth for the past 15 years about his cycling accomplishments, the doping he didn't practice, the things that other people said that he did, about who he was as a person.  And then he went on Oprah last night to tell the truth, the real truth.  And he continued to pretend.

But don't get caught in the "level playing field argument."  

Don't for a minute think that Lance himself is anything but a cheater, a liar, a bully, and isn't repentant about a single one of those things.

It is telling that those who know him, those who were his friends are the most vocal about how little his interview on Oprah has changed things or perhaps made it worse.  

Read Rick Reilly's column and be aware that he played people who then went to bat for him over and over and over again.  Everything he did, the number of tests he claimed to have passed, everything was a lie and he was incredibly adept at making people believe them. 

Read Betsy Andreu's interview with Austin Murphy prior to the Oprah show and after Lance called her to begin apologizing.  Then watch her interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN last night post Oprah.  She is furious, and rightly so about the lack of contrition, the unwillingness to answer arguably the most important question for her about whether he told doctors that he doped prior to his cancer diagnosis.  She is hurt by his boorish comment about not calling her fat and points out that he gives little reason to trust him now.  Perhaps even more importantly, she points out in her interview this morning on ABC that he can't admit that the hospital room conversation happened because it would open up more legal issues.

Read Greg Lemond's comments on cyclingnews.com and elsewhere.  He argues that it is possible to win the Tour without doping.  He points out that Lance never apologized to the people he destroyed, the people like Lemond.  He also points out that Lance's story included the whole idea of his incredible talent, all the myths about his body not producing lactic acid, etc.  Lemond suggests that “If Armstrong had given Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton the same stuff he was taking, he would never have won – they would have beaten him.”  

Remember that he made it very clear that all doping ceased after 2005.  He had to make this point to keep him safe using the statute of limitations.  If he admits doping in 2009 and 2010 he is wide open for perjury charges and likely jail time.  If he admits that, and his blood values from those tours suggest very strongly that he did, he stands to lose even more money.  The prospect of him being bled dry has become very real with the Landis whistleblower suit along with SCA trying to get their money back, the Sunday Times going after theirs and the possibility of other civil suits that could be filed depending on what he admits to.

Lance said last night that he "wanted to control the narrative," that he always wanted to be sure that the story fit with his version.  And nothing, absolutely nothing has changed.  He is attempting to use Oprah and this two-part "confession" to clear the way for him returning to competition earlier than he hoped while still keeping him free of the legal troubles that a real admission would bring.  He is still covering for his friends McQuaid, Verbruggen, Ferrari and Bruyneel.  He is trying to make it clear that he never was the ringleader of doping at US Postal because that might protect him in Landis' lawsuit.

The bottom line? Lance hasn't changed at all.  He isn't contrite any more than he thinks he needs to be.  He isn't admitting any more than he thinks he can get away with.  He isn't answering the toughest questions thoroughly and none of it is under oath.  He is protecting the figures that sullied the sport for years.  He admits that he was treated differently because he won so many races and had so much money but then continuously makes the "level playing field" argument, one that is disproved by his own admission as well as the different physiological reactions to doping and different systems and levels of doping.

Lance is still a bully and a jerk and a liar.  The only difference is that perhaps now without all the glitz and the money and the foundation and everything else, more people will see through his charade.  And there's still a possibility that someday he will drop it and come clean.  But I doubt it.