Wheels of Weirdness

I watched the documentary film “Lance” on BBC iPlayer this morning. Its not about medieval weaponry, its about the cyclist Lance Armstrong.  Well worth a watch it is, too. I knew most of the story, and I have watched the rather excellent motion picture version “The Program” but it was good to see interviews with the people involved, and to hear the man himself reflecting on his past and his behaviour and his legacy. He didn’t come across well, in my opinion. He was saying some apologetic and remorseful things, but they seemed to be coming from a place of necessity rather than from a place of honesty. His mouth was producing the appropriate words, but his eyes betrayed a sense of arrogant defiance. It seems to me that he still doesn’t think he did anything wrong, at any point. He cheated, he lied, he ruined people’s careers, he took money that he hadn’t earned and he still seems shocked that people didn’t like him.

It’s a tough one, because as a friend of mine has pointed out (and as was indeed covered in the documentary) the amount of good he did through his Foundation and the positive impact he has had on cancer sufferers and how they view themselves is astonishing and must be acknowledged. But it’s very hard to separate the Good Man who improved tens of thousands of lives through his efforts and inspiration, from the Bad Man who was at the centre of possibly the biggest, worst self-serving deception ever perpetrated in sport. Can we admire someone for their achievements while admonishing them for their crimes? Can we love someone who does hateful things?

God knows, so I shall leave it up to him and go and put the kettle on.

RC 4-2-21