COMMENTARY: If Lance is guilty, something is terribly wrong
9:55 PM 6/16/04
Andy Baggot Wisconsin State Journal

If, in the end, the truth implicates the likes of Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Marion Jones for using performance-enhancing drugs, it wouldn't bother me very much. <

Oh, there would be a surge of anger from which I would demand Bonds have his many milestones deleted from the Major League Baseball record book and Jones hand back the five Olympic medals she won in track and field in 2000. <

I would also call for Bonds and Giambi to be fined and suspended by baseball commissioner Bud Selig for at least a year. I would want all those found guilty in the BALCO drug case to pay for their sins of deception. <

But the whole episode would be a blip on my emotional radar screen. <

Not so with Lance Armstrong. <

If, in the end, the truth rises up and knocks the most remarkable athlete of our time off his pedestal, a part of me would be furious forever. <

Why? Because Armstrong is different. He is not just a performer whose star dims when he walks off the stage or out of the arena. He is an all-illuminating presence who has inspired people like no athlete before him. <

In a matter of weeks, Armstrong will get on his Wisconsin-made Trek bike and attempt to become the first to win the Tour de France six consecutive times. He will do this eight years after cancer nearly took his life. <

Armstrong will ride against a backdrop of controversy. A French-language book released this week includes allegations from a former Armstrong assistant, Emma O'Reilly, who claims Armstrong once asked her to dispose of a black bag containing used syringes, apply makeup to conceal needle marks on his arms and retrieve drugs for him. <

O'Reilly, who worked as Armstrong's masseur, physical therapist and personal assistant for 3 years, said in the book she didn't know what was in the syringes. However, she accused Armstrong of using the banned substance EPO, which helps endurance athletes by boosting concentrations of red blood cells. <

"L.A. Confidential, the Secrets of Lance Armstrong" was written by David Walsh and Pierre Ballester. Walsh, a sports reporter with the London Sunday Times, wrote a story critical of Armstrong in 2001. In it Walsh linked Armstrong to Dr. Michele Ferrari, who was forced to leave a European riding team after comments encouraging the use of EPO. <

Armstrong has been accused and investigated before by those who can't fathom a former cancer patient - a guy once given less than 40 percent chance of survival - dominating the most difficult endurance race in the world. He has never tested positive for banned substances, never been disciplined and vehemently denies all charges. He has instructed his lawyers to begin libel proceedings against those involved in pointing the latest finger. <

"We're sick and tired of these allegations and we're going to do everything we can to fight them," Armstrong said. <

I believe Armstrong because I have read his books and been moved to tears by their wisdom and lessons. <

I believe Armstrong because people with that much character and courage don't compromise their ethics. <

I believe Armstrong because someone with the will to overcome testicular cancer, then endure the tortures associated with elite cycling, does not embrace shortcuts of any kind. <

Armstrong is more than a celebrity. More than a world-class athlete. More than a multi-millionaire endorser of athletic apparel and cars. More than a divorced father who is dating a rock star. <

He is a symbol of hope and diligence to the sick. He is a metaphor for motivation to the healthy. <

Those who wrote this new book admit their evidence against Armstrong is entirely circumstantial. Until something harder is brought to light, I will continue to believe Armstrong and root for him to make history in France next month. <

The thought of Armstrong being anything less than forthright is almost excruciating. <

I can't imagine being that mad.