Landis ABC Nightline interview

[irritated_cycling_fan]

No need to get your feathers all ruffled

What annoys me is someone who didn't actually read what Floyd said about 2006. He said he doped, he said he was not knowingly using Testosterone at that point. He said he should have been busted for other things, just not test.

Which leads me to this, ever ask yourself why it was always them getting busted AFTER leaving Armstrong's team by an organization who took "donations" from him?

Calm yourself child. No need to work yourself into a frenzy - I'm not defending Armstrong. lol I have read what Floyd said, multiple times. In his original ESPN interview Landis admits doping but still claims 'that instance' was wrong. That's my point, his 'yes I doped but I didn't use Testosterone during that season' and his comment, "There must be some other explanation, whether it was done wrong or I don't know what,", says to me that he's still being self serving. In essence, that comment is saying that all those who supported his fight to keep his win were right to do so. He may have done wrong on many other occasions but he didn't do wrong that time. Whatever becomes of Landis' accusations I'm just not willing to put him on a pedestal as the savior of cycling. He's a slime ball and imho one possibly good thing doesn't change that.

As for the donations to the UCI, in hindsight they may look questionable but I remember it being lauded when the UCI first announced it. Call me naive but I think there are too many other groups that have access to the UCI records for them to have been 'bribed' to look the other way. The UCI isn't the first to see the positive tests results, especially the results from the French lab. : - ) There was no love lost between the French and the UCI back then (or now) and there is nothing that would make the French let Armstrong get away with doping. Certainly not money, the ASO doesn't need it. I also don't subscribe to your implication that the UCI was paid to find others guilty. The UCI may be in charge of overseeing the doping procedures but they're not standing there in the lab comparing the phial numbers to the associated list of the riders names and telling the lab techs, 'number xxx is Heras, make sure that registers as guilty'. There is no logic behind that. Ticking off your previous teammates is going to come back to bite you in the b**t. As LA is now discovering.

I'm not saying LA didn't dope; I'm just not into conspiracy theories.

 

[ricara]

Has Trek sold more bikes because of LA?

Has Nike sold cycling clothing that they would not have sold otherwise?

It is hard to say that only LA has derived any benefit from his lie!

and that is why LA has people standing behind him and FLandis is showing up to race in a plain gray T-shirt.

Exactly!

Both Nike and Trek have made millions of dollars from Lance's endorsements. And both companies are the same kinds of frauds that Lance is.

Nike and Trek make substandard garbage in China and sell it for premium prices. The only way they can get away with it is to have endorsements from "heroes" like Lance and Tiger, et cetera.

 

[Cobber]

Calm yourself child. No need to work yourself into a frenzy - I'm not defending Armstrong. lol I have read what Floyd said, multiple times. In his original ESPN interview Landis admits doping but still claims 'that instance' was wrong. That's my point, his 'yes I doped but I didn't use Testosterone during that season' and his comment, "There must be some other explanation, whether it was done wrong or I don't know what,", says to me that he's still being self serving. In essence, that comment is saying that all those who supported his fight to keep his win were right to do so. He may have done wrong on many other occasions but he didn't do wrong that time. Whatever becomes of Landis' accusations I'm just not willing to put him on a pedestal as the savior of cycling. He's a slime ball and imho one possibly good thing doesn't change that.

As for the donations to the UCI, in hindsight they may look questionable but I remember it being lauded when the UCI first announced it. Call me naive but I think there are too many other groups that have access to the UCI records for them to have been 'bribed' to look the other way. The UCI isn't the first to see the positive tests results, especially the results from the French lab. : - ) There was no love lost between the French and the UCI back then (or now) and there is nothing that would make the French let Armstrong get away with doping. Certainly not money, the ASO doesn't need it. I also don't subscribe to your implication that the UCI was paid to find others guilty. The UCI may be in charge of overseeing the doping procedures but they're not standing there in the lab comparing the phial numbers to the associated list of the riders names and telling the lab techs, 'number xxx is Heras, make sure that registers as guilty'. There is no logic behind that. Ticking off your previous teammates is going to come back to bite you in the b**t. As LA is now discovering.

I'm not saying LA didn't dope; I'm just not into conspiracy theories.

... but the testing labs don't know who the samples belong to. The UCI would be the first organisation to see doping results matched to riders names...

 

[velosopher54]

I'm wondering why he simply didn't confess and leave it at that. Does he really want cycling to be clean or is he after some payback?

I don't see how FL taking down other riders improves the sport going forward.
We all know how rampant doping was. Where does FL stop?

I think the only way to clean up cycling is to have as many people as possible come out and name names. I'm hoping Landis' coming out will embolden others to do likewise. Turning a blind eye has only perpetuated the doping and omerta.

 

[avanti]

It would be interesting to know what the grand jury prosecutor thinks of Landis blabbing all over the media.

Should an indictment be issued I'm sure defense attorneys will review every quote from Landis looking for conflicts.

Does Landis even have an attorney?

 

[Squares]

Exactly!

Both Nike and Trek have made millions of dollars from Lance's endorsements. And both companies are the same kinds of frauds that Lance is.

My point is mostly, fraud is defined as: deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.

So, for LA to have committed fraud against USPS, Discovery, Nike, Trek, they would have to have not received the service they expected. They got what they wanted so I fail to see where this is fraud.

Contractual issues are another matter...

 

[bobs nob]

Finished up around midnight on the East coast. Don't think it is real high in the ratings. First time I have seen it...

I think it frequently beats the David Letterman show (same time slot)

 

[velosopher54]

Americans already know the story. No nuclear bomb. Everyone I know thinks he probably doped. We also know everyone else was probably doping and that was the culture - dope, lie, etc. If not Lance, to whom should go the spoils? All have sinned. We admire the man, know he is far from perfect, but love what we can - his determination, fight, and care for others who struggle. As for the bad stuff, it wasn't Landis's place to talk about it. That's up to Lance.

Sorry to burst your bubble but, most Americans are clueless about cycling and its doping culture. As for Lance, most people know him only from a short news clip showing he won a tour, mentions about his comeback from cancer, and his fight against cancers.

Everyone you know thinks he doped-you have some special friends who keep themselves informed, or you inform them. People I know not involved in cycling think of Lance as 'the' greatest cyclist, cancer survivor and cancer fighter. Most non-cyclists don't watch cycling, and we are a very small minority. Maybe cancer patients watch...

 

[bobs nob]

The episode can be seen here.

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/vid...tab=9482930&section=1206872&playlist=11242417

Clicked on it and what plays before the clip but a Transitions eyeglass ad! Hilarious.

BTW, this appears to be the same as the youtube link.

 

[bobs nob]

Floyd maybe telling the truth... but here it is, If you wanna do "the right thing" and have me care, work hard to raise money and payback all the people who gave you money for your defense - that you now say was fraud- then, maybe then, I'll care to listen to anything else you might have to say about life or racing...

Yes, AND Lance needs to do likewise. And when it's all done, Floyd will feel better and Lance will feel worse, because the fame and money meant something to Lance.

 

[David Suro]

I watched the Nightline episode. There were no revelations that have not already been thoroughly discussed on this forum.

It was, however, interesting to see the look in Landis' eyes and evaluate his body language as he told the stories of doping.

Mrs. Andreau was also interesting to watch for the same reasons.

The episode of Nightline was kind of a re-cap of most of what has been said to date.

Lance will be back in the USA pretty soon. Then, let the fireworks begin.

 

[santacruz]

The interviewer and the interview style is kind of *** imo... I guess it's really dumbed down.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Yes, AND Lance needs to do likewise. And when it's all done, Floyd will feel better and Lance will feel worse, because the fame and money meant something to Lance.

Have to correct you a little. I think Comeback 2.0 has shown that the fame and money mean everything to Lance.

 

[bobs nob]

Have to correct you a little. I think Comeback 2.0 has shown that the fame and money mean everything to Lance.

Pick pick pick that's all you ever do! (Your wife told me to say that.)

 

[Hugh Januss]

Exactly!

Both Nike and Trek have made millions of dollars from Lance's endorsements. And both companies are the same kinds of frauds that Lance is.

Nike and Trek make substandard garbage in China and sell it for premium prices. The only way they can get away with it is to have endorsements from "heroes" like Lance and Tiger, et cetera.

Trek is actually one of the last premium bike brands to make any of their product in the US. So lumping them in with Nike in this particular instance is a little unfair.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I merged all three threads on this topic, and slightly changed the title. Let's discuss Landis interview on ABC on this thread only please.

 

[Animal]

The interviewer and the interview style is kind of *** imo... I guess it's really dumbed down.

Target audience.

 

[TopCarbon]

I am surprised mainstream media has gone this far without Lance behind bars.

Bold.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

It's not just ABC though. When the WSJ wrote that long, well-researched article Blood Brothers it helped dislodge the dam, so to speak.

 

[shawnrohrbach]

Sorry to burst your bubble but, most Americans are clueless about cycling and its doping culture. As for Lance, most people know him only from a short news clip showing he won a tour, mentions about his comeback from cancer, and his fight against cancers.

Everyone you know thinks he doped-you have some special friends who keep themselves informed, or you inform them. People I know not involved in cycling think of Lance as 'the' greatest cyclist, cancer survivor and cancer fighter. Most non-cyclists don't watch cycling, and we are a very small minority. Maybe cancer patients watch...

You are dead on. I have several siblings who rid and faithfully watch the tour even and I had to drag them to the WSJ, NYT, ABC and all of the other reportage on this. "Doping ? Really? I thought it was just rigorous training"

 

[Big GMaC]

Herman seems like such a toad.

Well done Betsy and Floyd

 

[oldschoolnik]

Some observations:

Herman:
As others have said, Herman's statements are not meant to build any type of legal defense they are 100% directed at "court" of public opinion. Mentioning the "tested over 300 times" is convincing evidence for 99% of non-racers, non-fans who know that everybody beats the tests. "witch hunt" etc.. etc..

US Press: Green light
Agree that this piece and WSJ articles have no made it safe for mainstream media to get on this story.

Betsy:
I like the way they let Betsy point out that she was forced to testify not because she had a beef to settle with LA or anyone.

Overall, for a mainstream news piece I give it a solid B+

 

[shawnrohrbach]

Americans already know the story. No nuclear bomb. Everyone I know thinks he probably doped. We also know everyone else was probably doping and that was the culture - dope, lie, etc. If not Lance, to whom should go the spoils? All have sinned. We admire the man, know he is far from perfect, but love what we can - his determination, fight, and care for others who struggle. As for the bad stuff, it wasn't Landis's place to talk about it. That's up to Lance.

I was thinking the very same thing on three different occasions. The first was when I caught a real estate developer lying about some contaminated soil under an apartment complex he built, He chuckled something about "Everyone does it, it's the culture" Then an elderly friend of mine had me look into his investment portfolio because he had lost over 60% (even before the most recent crash) and sure enough the broker was flipping the account to generate fees, and he too chuckled something about this being the culture. The best one, though, was my Dad when I was thirteen and I was caught changing out of my slacks and into my torn jeans on the way to school, Of course I defended this by claiming everyone at school was wearing torn jeans. And of course my Dad, after hitting me upside the back of my head, asked if everyone at school was jumping off a cliff, would I do it too? This argument of "everyone does it, therefore no need to be upset" is really stupid. Stop already.

 

[avanti]

I................It was, however, interesting to see the look in Landis' eyes and evaluate his body language as he told the stories of doping.
....................

So what you conclude from this?

 

[Comeback 2011]

Landis looked uncomfortable when asked if Armstrong was a fraud and defended him by stating that all the guys he beat were doped. He denied that this was all about Armstrong since he named lots of other people,

But he must have known this was how the media would treat this. So why do it?

Did he think it through properly? Was this a rash decision?

For all the talk of having the freedom to tell the truth, I suspect he is now carrying more guilt around with him than before.