Help me understand this fellow Austinites—the Mayor of
Austin, Lee Leffingwell told KXAN reporter Angie Beavin, “As for the Lance
Armstrong Bikeway, we have not heard any outcry from the cycling community or
the public at large in Austin to change the name, and I know of no plans to do
so.”
The report by Beavin also offers Leffingwell supports the disgraced
athlete: “Armstrong is a personal friend, a friend to Austin and a hero to
millions of cancer survivors and their families.” Really people—the last one I
can see, but as far as the first two go, dude what are you thinking?
Every fellow Austinite I know is embarrassed of Armstrong
and wishes he would go quietly away.
A Rose By Any Other
Name…
Unfortunately, the saying a rose by any other name would
smell as sweet is not true for those naughty boys in sports like Lance
Armstrong.
To me, the choice of Austin’s Mayor to not rename the Lance
Armstrong Bikeway is like:
The Mayor of San Francisco at the grand opening of OJ Simpson’s Gun and Knife Shop—there’s stink in them there words!
Or, the Mayor of Newport News Virginia encouraging pit bull
owners to choose Michael Vick’s Boarding and Training Center—really?
Or, the Cypress California Mayor stepping into the Tiger Woods Couples Counseling Center with his spouse—yikes I say!
There will always be bad people in sports, male and female,
young and old who because of the errors, crimes, lies and faults will forever
remain the naughty, the wicked and the unwanted.
Change the Name!
I’m not a member of the Austin Cycling Association but I do
see many cyclists on the streets of Austin. I’m also proud of just how many
streets are marked with clear bike paths and share the road signs. This is a
true attempt by the City to encourage the sport of cycling whether it’s
professional or a hobby.
Am I cranky about the bikeway not being renamed? You bet! I
would much rather if this option were happening in another city other than
Austin. But alas, it’s here where I reside!
So, I ask my fellow Austinites to weigh in here and offer an
opinion. I don’t care if Lance Armstrong is a personal friend of Mayor
Leffingwell.
Finally to you Mayor Leffingwell, I say rename the Lance
Armstrong Bikeway—he’s a disgraced athlete who admits he’s got a lot of apologizing
to do and perhaps that will take the rest of his life to accomplish. Don’t keep
the name so the young just beginning their careers think of him as the best in
the sport.
Think smart here Mayor Leffingwell; after all, it’s the
voters of Austin that voted for you to run our city, not disgrace it!
Posts
OJ Simpson murdered two people.
ReplyDeleteMichae Vick tortured dogs.
That said, Vick has done a lot of great things since his hideous mistakes. A Vick named dog shelter for abused dogs would actually be appropriate.
Tiger Woods, it is reported, is getting back with his wife. That couple clearly knows a lot more about forgiveness and redemption than the rest of us.
Lance Armstrong cheated at cycling, but did so in a way that literally the whole sport was doing.
This was like offensive linemen getting away with holding or DBs getting away with extra pushing and shoving. Sure, it breaks the rules, but its a huge part of the game and people praise players who are good at it. Every sport has its own ethos of rules violations that the participants are actively or tacitly fine with.
Sure, the way he abused and bullied people are pretty brutal. But these were people coming after his livelihood. Many of them were doing so for personal gain. Most of them were people who cheated in the exact same way. It is hard to feel sympathy for them.
If you look at the totality of his life, it is a huge net gain. And for that reason, while I am disappointed, I can't be disgusted by him and still feel like he is a great man who has done great things.
I also still consider him a 7 time Tour de France champion. When the sport was such that they literally couldn't find a single competitor from those 7 races who hasn't been caught doping, I think its tough to say he wasn't the true champion.
-Michael Hartman
http://www.frogdice.com
Noted Micheal! However, I guess my "values" if that's the right word made it hard for me when Armstrong said in the interview he looked up the word "cheat" in the dictionary and it's anything that gives you an advantage over an opponent they don't have. There were many cyclists who couldn't "afford" the sophisticated doping Lance and his team were involved in so there wasn't really a fair and even doping platform.
DeleteIf a developer cheated to gain an edge over Frog Dice would you feel the same or is it all healthy competition?
I guess I'm just tired of athletes that do the wrong thing and then expect to live their lives free of dissension from their fans and the public at large.
And, money doesn't hurt, OJ wasn't found guilty and Armstrong was more than likely able to pull off all he did with money or influence--influence may be the better word here.
As far as Vick goes, he did do his time but when you live a life such as I where I would change my entire day to save any animal, I also find it hard to forgive him--and how easy the NFL welcomed him back. I know he has done good things but I don't have to like him!
Tiger is a breed of his own, that breed of I'm so rich and so good I can do what I want and can't get caught.
These are our role models for kids and to me, their behavior is unacceptable and as a favorite comedian of mine often says (Dennis Miller), that's just my opinion, but I could be wrong!
And, I do like to rant on jeanlovesyoulongtime!
Jean