During the much anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired on January 18th, Lance Armstrong admitted it all.
The former Tour de France winner, who had all seven of his titles stripped when allegations of drug use were brought up against him, finally confessed that he did in fact use illegal substances to enhance his performances.
“I don’t know that I have a great answer. I will start now by saying this is too late … I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times … I am a flawed character,” Lance told Oprah when asked why he’s finally admitting the truth now. “I didn’t invent the [doping] culture, but I did nothing to stop the culture … and I am sorry for that.” Lance told Oprah that he didn’t come clean earlier because he got caught up in the “momentum” of his fame, and how fans perceived him as this superhero, who could do no wrong.
Lance confessed that he began using EPO, a hormone which enhances red blood cell production, all the way back in the mid nineties. The disgraced cyclist said he would use a cocktail of EPO, blood transfusions and testosterone. He also previously used cortisone.
When questioned if he ever believed he’d get caught, or whether he thought he was doing wrong at the time, Lance was blunt in his replies; ”No,” he answered for both questions. Lance says he believed he was simply “leveling the playing field,” by doping.
To his credit, Lance, who referred to his former wanna-be Superman self as an “arrogant prick,” isn’t shocked at all by the reaction to his lies; “I deserve it,” he said.
TELL US- DO YOU RESPECT LANCE FOR FINALLY CONFESSING OR DID HE WAIT TOO LONG?
