Lance Armstrong Investigation: Can A Tiger Change Its Stripes?

It has been about a year and a half since Lance Armstrong publicly admitted to doping.  In this article, Armstrong tells his side of the story and in the second installment, victims of Armstrong's lies tell their stories.

In the article, Armstrong tells about the slippery slope that he found himself on.  All of the fraud and issues that have come to light were spawned from one lie: the refusal to tell the truth about doping.  Regarding his adamant denials of ever doping, Armstrong reportedly said:

"I was good at playing the part," he admits now. "After the 850th time, it's not like I'm going to say, 'Matt, you seem like a nice guy, I'm going to be honest with you.' Once you say 'no' you have to keep saying 'no.'

"If this stuff hadn't taken place with the federal investigation, I'd probably still be saying 'no' with the same conviction and tone as before. But that gig is up."


It seems that too often, the heart of a huge scandal such as this one is a small lie.  There is a lesson to be learned there.  We must live and act with integrity at all times, otherwise we might find ourselves on the same slippery slope that Armstrong and so many others have found themselves on.

Armstrong has promised to be completely transparent as he continues to reveal more about his doping scandal.  He even suggests that he will write another book detailing his demise.

Former teammate, Scott Mercier commented on the different reactions that Armstrong has received from fans, friends and onlookers:

"I think there are three camps in the U.S.: those that absolutely hate him and will never forgive him, those that overlook everything that he did and those that are a bit indifferent.

"I think he'll be forgiven but he needs to keep doing what he's doing. He's showing some humility, he needs to stop being [a jerk] and be nice. He has regrets. He's spoken about the bullying and I know he regrets that."

Although Armstrong has apologized, many of those who had been closest to him find those apologies hollow. (See image/quote below.)

Betsy Andreu, wife of former teammate-Frankie Andreu, has also found those apologies to be hollow.  She says:

"Everything that he's done, it's just the same Lance. He's talking about people and he's trying to deceive the public, and thinks that if he says sorry it's enough.

"But sorry is just a word. After everything he did to me, I extended an olive branch and he snapped it. That was a hard thing to do after all the lying and smearing of me."

So is he just the same Lance of always?

"I think he always will be," Betsy Andreu says. "He will fight and draw out the court cases as long as he possibly can.

"A tiger doesn't change its stripes. I really think he needs help and I hope he gets it. Maybe then he would stop the lying and could be on his way to healing. An authentic sorry means making amends, not just saying the words."


So the question remains, can a tiger change its stripes?  Can Armstrong really change and begin healing?