Lance Armstrong had been William Swords’ hero for as long as he could remember. So when the legendary biker pedaled into Paris for a seventh consecutive Tour de France victory, the Atlanta man was there, cheering.
Thursday, though, will be different.
If Swords tunes into Oprah Winfrey’s tell-all interview with the champ, he said he’ll be praying.
“I would like to see Lance work his way back to hero status,” he said.
While public apologies are as old as civilization and extend from commoners to Hollywood, the U.S. Congress and even the Vatican, whether they succeed or fail depends on the individual involved, ethicists say.
For Swords, it will depend on whether Armstrong is “a little less smart” and “a little more honest.”
Armstrong, stripped of all seven Tour titles last year, is expected to tell Winfrey Thursday that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France. The interview will air at 9 p.m. ET in two 90-minute spots Thursday and Friday on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network.
After a federal investigation ended without charges last year, a U.S. anti-doping agency conducted an investigation which portrayed Armstrong as a ruthless competitor, willing to go to any lengths to win.
Eleven former teammates accused Armstrong in the investigation of masterminding a complex program that included taking steroids, blood boosters and other performance-enhancers.
After years of denying such allegations, Armstrong will offer some kind of public apology, leaked reports from Oprah say.
He reportedly already apologized to staffers at the Livestrong Foundation, a cancer nonprofit he helped found. Even though Livestrong has cut its ties with Armstrong, it’s important for the nonprofit’s integrity that the dethroned champion come clean, said the Rev. Bruce Cook, an Atlanta resident and author of Redeeming the Wounded.
“Our society can forgive a repentant sinner but is hard on a deceiving liar who holds on to the lie at all costs,” Cook said.
John Llewellyn, an Associate Professor of Communication who teaches organizational communications and rhetoric at Wake Forest University, said a proper apology has three parts: it expresses regret, offers reparations and promises it won’t happen again.
While Armstrong may express regret, Llewellyn said that will be hard to believe since he spent decades denying he was doping.
Reparations?
“He and his attorneys seem to have carefully calculated the statute of limitations, so what reparations is he making?,” he said. “And thirdly, how can he promise it won’t happen again when he spent years cheating?”
Llewellyn likened the cyclist to Bernie Madoff on a bike.
“He harmed his teammates for years,” he said. “There’s no way to get back what has been taken from them.”
“The thing he’s apologizing for is that every word has been a lie for two decades,” he said. “Now we’re supposed to believe he’s telling the truth?”
Is Armstrong using Oprah? Or are they using each other?
Edward Queen, Director of Leadership Education Emory University Center for Ethics, said the media are prone to manipulation by those who want to make a declaration of the error of their ways and try to start fresh.
“Why would she allow herself to be used in this way, other than for good ratings?” he asked.
So, what should we make of Armstrong’s interview?
“Most people will be cynical,” said Evan Selinger, associate professor of philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a regular ethics contributor to the Huffington Post, Slate and The Atlantic. “They’ll see it as self-serving, either as an effort to do damage control or create inroads to compete again, perhaps this time around as a triathlete.”
Armstrong had unique status and influence, and so was obliged to try to live up to his image, Selinger said.
“Now, unfortunately, it is too late,” Selinger said. “The dark cloud of suspicion will lead too many to view anything he has as merely self-serving and steeped in rationalization.”
Swords said he’ll watch for his hero’s actions post-apology.
“I believe confessions start between you and God. If you have harmed someone, some effort should be made to set things right,” he said.
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