Armstrong Becomes ‘Madoff on a Bike’ as Cheating Shatters Lives

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) The fall of Lance Armstrong was as steep as the mountains he climbed en route to the Champs-Elysees and life as a global icon. He left a trail of destruction on the way up and on the way down.

The damage included the careers of teammates and support staff whom he verbally attacked or sued. Millions of dollars invested in cycling’s biggest star by corporate sponsors large and small are now gone. Armstrong’s Livestrong anti-cancer charity, whose yellow plastic donation bracelets were once ubiquitous, faces questions about whether it can retain support. Some former backers may have millions of dollars in legal bills as litigation over the sports fraud plays out.

“He’s Bernie Madoff on a bike,” said John Llewellyn, an associate professor of communication at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “The level of self-absorption and mean-spiritedness with which he has defended himself and castigated others over a decade makes an impression that’s pretty bleak for the human spirit.”

His career as a dominant bicycle racer was “one big lie” built on doping, the 41-year-old Armstrong said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey aired over two nights last week. He was a “bully” to anyone who threatened his secret of cheating with performance-enhancing drugs and banned transfusions, he said. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-21/armstrong-becomes-madoff-on-a-bike-as-cheating-shatters-lives.html

[jerseyjack]

1. There is no valid comparison of the damage.

Who cared if Armstrong doped? A few people were hurt.

Madoff was responsible for hurting multitudes.

[duffyduff]

2. It was a lot more than a "few people"

You are forgetting his cancer charity and how he abused their trust.