Don't Hate Lance

Cheaters are nothing new to the world of sports. People use anything they can to get a leg up on the competition, especially athletes. However, most of the cheaters are fairly easy to hate or at the very least dislike. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and lots more who have been caught cheating. But what about a cheater who raised millions of dollars to fight a deadly disease, beat the disease himself, and used his fame to help millions of people and try to stop their suffering. Cheaters aren't new, but a likable cheater? A respectable cheater? That's a new one. That's Lance Armstrong.


I hate cheaters in sports. They are selfish, lying athletes who only look after themselves and don care about hurting the sport of teammates. But what happens when a cheater seems so unselfish, so bent on helping others? Lance Armstrong raised millions on millions for his cancer foundation Livestrong. Now I know he made plenty of money for himself as well, but the good far outweighs the bad here. He is an inspiration to so many not because he won a bunch of bike races somewhere in France, he is a hero because he beat a disease that kills an affects so many people. He overcame that disease and used his fame gained by his Tour de France wins to help others fight the same battle. If Lance had to use PEDs in a corrupt sport to gain the fame necessary o help so many people battle cancer, how can I crucify him? How can we hate him for that?

I for one cant hate the guy. Like I said the good outweighs the bad and if duping the public and taking performance enhancing drugs if what it took to provide cancer research with 500 million dollars, then I hope more athletes use them. Yes he cheated but he used this fame from cycling to do something for the good of humanity and inspired millions. I simply can't demonize a person who has done so many things for people other than himself, even if the act of cheating is selfish. To compare Lance to someone like Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire would be silly. Bonds and Sosa wanted money in their pockets, and were by all accounts pretty awful people. That isn't Lance. Don't lump him in, not all cheating in sports is the same. Sometimes cheating turns into hope, and inspiration, and tons of money to fight a debilitating disease.

Yes he lied. Yes he cheated. And yes he has helped millions of people.

Don't hate Lance.