Yes,
he told Oprah, he used performing enhancing steroids, other drugs and
blood transfusions to help him race better than if he hadn't been a dope on
dope.
No,
he would not have been the champion that he was, without the drugs.
Yes,
he was a bully and not very nice.
When
asked by Oprah if he cheated, Armstrong waffled. He said he has looked up the
definition of cheating in a dictionary and suggested he didn't really fit that
particular definition--so he doesn't think he cheated in his dope-filled racing
years.
Purging for Profit?
When
I first learned Armstrong was supposedly going to ‘tell all’ and bare his soul
on national television, I wondered if this would all seem somehow anticlimactic
since there already seems to be a mountain of evidence against him from his
cheating cycling days; evidence that has already led to him losing all of his
cycling awards.
What
was there was going to be in all of this for him? Surely, I thought, he won’t
publicly admit to the drugging allegations just out of the goodness of his
heart; just to be a good guy. After all, he’s had a long time to do the ‘right
thing’ and tell the truth if that, in fact, was his priority in talking with
Oprah. So, why now?
Possibilities
Considering
the confessional mode Armstrong seems in now, it helps to keep in mind that
most celebrities—singers, actors, athletes, and other notables in the public
eye—usually don’t ‘come clean’ about anything personal unless they have an
agenda, hidden or otherwise.
They
usually have something to gain, such as trying to enhance their reputation for
some intangible reason, or to enhance their image because they have something
tangible to sell—a book, movie, record, concert tour, or the like. Normally,
the release of those kinds of products is typically timed to coincide with the
person’s public confession, or at least sometime soon afterwards.
Penance or Propaganda?
With
these things in mind, we can wonder about Armstrong’s recent cozy chat with
Oprah. I imagined there surely would be something self-serving about whatever
he said during the ‘O’ sessions. Then, shortly before the first segment of the
interview aired, more than one online news site reported he wants to compete
again, and apparently was hoping his public self-flogging would open the door
for that to happen.
Ah
ha, I thought, there it is: Armstrong might be hoping the authorities and
public will sympathize with him for being so brave and honest about his
cheating while cycling; which most other people suspected anyway. If so, he
could be banking on the public and the authorities thinking he just made a few
innocent mistakes and deserves another chance, so everyone will be on his side
again, not against him anymore.
And
all Armstrong had to do with Oprah was swallow his ego and pride a little and
‘open up,’ to use the current nauseating media lexicon for celebrity
interviews-confessionals. I say ‘nauseating’ because when these folks ‘open up’
it’s almost always contrived when they have something to gain; like they’re
pimping themselves out for profit.
Paying the Price
Shortly
after reading about Armstrong’s apparent goal of competing professionally
again, I also learned that a biographical movie about him is in the works. If
so, will he benefit financially from the alleged proposed film?
In
confessing to Oprah was he laying the groundwork for upcoming publicity for the
alleged film, to soften his image? If such a film is pending, Armstrong’s mea
culpa via Oprah could be considered self-serving.
Is
the supposed film being produced by independent filmmakers who have no other
connection to Armstrong? Is he involved in the production—and therefore
potentially well-served by his act of contrition with Oprah?
Helping Hands
We
also might wonder if Oprah actually sympathizes with Armstrong and was purposely
trying to help him restore his tattered reputation—while knowing his appearance
would also boost the supposed sagging image of her own OWN network—tit for
tat?
Oprah
is known as a great sympathizer and recognizes a good T.V. moment when she
smells one. She’s also an entertainer, not a hard-nosed journalist. So, her
approach in speaking ‘candidly’ with Armstrong on national television might be
different from that of an experienced journalist trying to get to the bottom of
a story.
More or Less
Regardless
of the eventual merits or disadvantages of the recent Lance-a-Lot-Oprah
session, we can wonder if Armstrong will or can stop there. Will he button his
lip except perhaps to speak with authorities about his now-admitted drug use
while cycling—to demonstrate he really wants to do the right thing by openly
discussing that ugly part of his professional past during those years?
Or
will he continue demonstrating that his actions seem designed to portray him as
the victim—as when he previously sued and verbally attacked those who, we now
know, correctly claimed he took performance enhancing drugs while cycling?
Turning a Page
Ultimately,
will Lance Armstrong be so enthralled by the attention and publicity from his
recent verbal dance with Oprah that he’ll want or need more of the same?
Can
we expect to see his ‘candid’ memoir—which might already be printed, under a
blanket of secrecy--in bookstores soon, essentially timed in tandem with the
‘Oprah effect’?
In
this sense the last chapter of Armstrong’s time in the limelight likely hasn't
been written yet.
