Livestrong

Today Lance Armstrong stepped down and Chairman of the Livestrong brand. He also cut ties with Nike because of the doping situation he is in. This has brought a lot of negative publicity his way, but what it also has done which it shouldn't is belittle what Lance has done for cancer research in North America.

First things first whether he cheated or not is irrelevant in what i am writing on today. I believe that if he did cheat then he should be stripped of his Tour de France wins. You can't comprise the integrity of a sport because of who someone is.

Now to the point of what I'm writing on. This is a man who took what he had done in cycling, and what he has overcome in his life and raised more than 470 million dollars. 81 cents of every dollar sold of Livestrong products go towards funds raised for research and empowerment. In my mind this is more than enough to forgive a man for mistakes made. He didn't physically hurt anyone, he cheated yes and that's been dealt with. Why do we feel the need to criminalize a man who did something no other athlete has done.

Cancer kills, everyone knows someone or has been related to someone who has been hit with this terrible disease. And the man who is continuously raising money to help people suffering from it and try and find a cure is not being made out to be public criminal. In the end, it's a bike race that he no longer has credit for winning. I think we should all be able to live with the fact that he may have cheated, but he did so much good with the name he got through his bike racing that it has to balance out at least.

Now i know a lot of people think or feel I'm condoning cheating as long as you do something good with what you gain. I am not doing this. Cheating is cheating and you should be punished by your sport for doing this. But if were going to shit on Lance Armstrong for doing this when he has almost raised half a billion dollars for cancer. What about Melky Cabrera. He used steroids, but he took his name out of a batting race and was suspended so it's ok, we forgive you. What about every other professional athlete who cheated or used steroids and did nothing with all the money they got. Why don't we make a concentrated effort to shit on them daily.

Again i emphasize on the sporting side of this what he did was absolutely wrong and he has been punished for it. But i really feel that we are missing the point of who Lance Armstrong is. Lets go past the athlete, the cancer survivor, and all we need to focus on is that he is the founder of the Livestrong foundation. 470 MILLION DOLLARS FOR CANCER RESEARCH. If that isn't enough for someone to be forgiven not to sure what is. Is it because he didn't sign a big cheque himself and donate it. It's because he used his name to raise money. I personally don't care how he did because he put plenty of his own money into developing this foundation to make it what it is today. So whether he cheated or not the guy is doing more than his part to try and save the lives of people with a disease he beat. He wants people to have the resources to be able to beat cancer just like he did. What a terrible guy.

How dare he try and fund life saving cancer research. How dare he try and improve the lives of people with this disease with money raised through Livestrong. How dare he put a face and a brand on a disease that everyone knows and fears. But he cheated in some bike races so he is a criminal. You will notice that i am basically belittling the Tour de France. I realize it's a huge event, and a lot of people take pride in i. But in the end its a bunch of guys riding bikes through France. And we are bashing a guy who cheated, was punished for cheating, but did nothing but good with the name he earned from the bike race.

I want to end again by emphasizing that I don't condone steroid use. But i do condone supporting the Livestrong foundation and what Lance Armstrong did with his name to make that brand. I don't care if he is an ass hole in person, if he sleeps with a different girl every night. Or even if he has a house so big you get lost just looking in it. All i care is the good he has done with his name. Because I don't care how he is in his personal life. He was punished or cheating in his sport, rightfully so. I just don't want people to forget what he has done for cancer research in North America. Livestrong is a global brand that i encourage everyone to support, and if your above that, or don't support it you need to question your morals, because your not supporting Lance Armstrong by supporting Livestrong your supporting cancer research and empowerment and if you don't support that well you need to look in the mirror and serious question your morals.

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