The other night, I was in bed, looking for something to watch on television. I know, I know, experts say you shouldn’t have a television in your bedroom, but I find it comforting to watch a little before I go to bed.
I was channel surfing when I came across the Lance Armstrong interview on OWN. I didn’t realize this was the first airing and I am not a huge cycling fan, but something compelled me to watch.
It has already been leaked to the media that Armstrong would confess to using performance-enhancing drugs to Oprah, but I wanted to see it for myself.
This image is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made during the course of the person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.
The interview was good. Armstrong admitted to doping, to threatening former friends who revealed his doping, and acted like a control freak that believed he could do anything he wanted. Okay, that last part he sort of implied rather than admitted. He did admit to bullying people to try to keep them silent or discredit them. Armstrong said he was “deeply flawed” and “arrogant” while speaking about the scandal, which he admitted was his “fault.”
Armstrong said that at the time he was competitive, doping was considered a “part of the job” and that by using banned drugs, he was leveling the playing field.
After a cancer diagnosis in 1996, Armstrong said he became “ruthless and relentless” in his quest to beat cancer and that transferred over into his attitude with cycling. He told Oprah that he felt disgraced and ashamed as well as humbled and should be punished. But, he also said he wanted a chance to compete again.
Armstrong didn’t show much emotion, and I only saw the first part of the interview, but I read that the only time he showed real emotion was when he talked about confessing to his children. He said his 13-year-old son had defended him to others and that wasn’t right.
If you haven’t seen the interview and it’s still rerunning (and having garnered the second highest ratings ever on OWN, it probably is), I’d suggest giving it a look. Armstrong didn’t really come off as humbled to me, but one can only hope he is sincere in his efforts to come clean and repair the damage that has been done.