Lance Armstrong Comes “Clean”
Abigail Gupton, staff writer
Lance Armstrong, one of the most
iconic cyclists of this generation, for
mally admitted to using performance
enhancing drugs in an interview with
Oprah Winfrey on January 17, 2013.
With seven Tour de France wins to his
name, Armstrong became one of the
most celebrated and respected ath
letes in the United States. In 1996 he
was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Through his eventual victory in the
battle with cancer he became more
than a renowned athlete; he became
an inspiration. His legacy was cement
ed with the creation of his foundation
“Livestrong.”
In 1997
Livestrong
was created
as a foun
dation to
support those
with cancer
and cancer
research.
Even now,
fifteen years
later, people
still wear
Livestrong
wristbands as
a reminder of
the struggle
that they or
a loved one
may face or
may have
faced and in
support of the
fight in general.
On January 17 Armstrong admitted
to Winfrey that he was using perfor
mance enhancing drugs until 2005.
This confession shocked the world.
When previously accused of “doping,”
Armstrong avidly denied the claims
and went as far as to sue multiple
corporations for making such accusa
tions. In the interview with Winfrey,
Armstrong claimed “the ultimate
crime is the betrayal of these people
who support me and believed in me
and they got lied to.” The interview,
while a step in the right direction, was
not enough to get Armstrong back into
the good graces of those who had once
supported him.
The Livestrong foundation, which
Armstrong separated himself from in
wake of the scandal,
released a state
ment on January
interview saying “we
expect Lance to be
completely truth
ful and forthcom
ing in his interview
and with all of us in
the cancer com
munity. We expect
we will have more
to say at that time.
Regardless, we are
charting a strong,
independent course forward that is
focused on helping people overcome
financial, emotional and physical chal
lenges related to cancer. Inspired by
the people with cancer whom we serve,
we feel confident and optimistic about
the Foundation’s future and welcome
an end to speculation.” According to a
January 17 article in Sports Illustrated,
John Fahey, the President of the World
Anti-Doping Agency, also had little
sympathy for Armstrong telling the
Associated Press “he was wrong, he
cheated and there was no excuse for
what he did. If he was looking for re
demption, he didn’t succeed in getting
that.”
Fortunately, manypeople feel that
the Livestrong foundation will con-
The interview, while
a step in the right
direction, was not
enough to get
Armstrong back into
the good graces of
his previous
supporters.
tinue to thrive because of what the
organization stands for. The editor of
the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Stacy
Palmer, has faith in the organization
and says “The organization has done a
lot to separate itself
from Lance’s im
age over the years.
As a result, many
people identify it as a
cancer organization,
which is why it’s not
already crumbling.”
Armstrong him
self knows that his
personal reputation
has taken a serious
hit commenting to
Winfrey “I’m deeply
sorry for what I did. I
can say that thousands of times. It may
never be enough to come back.”
Violence Against Women Act Goes to House
The Violence Against Women Act
of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States
federal law. VAWA provides help
and protection for women who are
victims of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault and stalking
and the professionals who serve these
women. VAWA also helps immigrant
and refugee women who face cultural,
economic, practical and legal barriers
to seek and receiving assistance and
get justice. VAWA helps immigrant
and refugee women about their rights
and helps
We know our economy is
stronger when our wives,
mothers, and daughters can
live their lives free from
discrimination in the work
place, and free from the fear
of domestic violence.
victims
of traffick
ing, rape,
sexual
assault in
the work
place and
nannies
who are
held hos
tage.” to
get Crime
Victim
Visas.
According to MSNBC,
“VAWA was first passed in 1994 but
expired at the beginning of this year
.Vice President Joe Biden, then the
chair of the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee, helped author the original
legislation. The bill provides funding
to aid and counsel victims of domestic
violence while implementing stronger
penalties for their abusers. Some of
its components included maintain
ing that a woman’s past sexual
history cannot be used against
her in a trial of her abuser and
that women shouldn’t be forced
to pay for their own protection or
rape exam.”
Last week all Democratic
and Republican women in the
Senate voted in favor of VAWA
and it passed to the House. Since
the bill passed from senates to
house, there have been some
protests and pressures for the
House
from the
support
ers of
VAWA.
Presi
dent
Obama
recently
pleaded
with Con
gress to
pass the
Violence
Against Women Act in his State
of the Union address, say
ing, “We know our economy is
stronger when our wives, moth
ers, and daughters can live their
lives free from discrimination in
the workplace, and free from the
fear of domestic violence. Today,
the Senate passed the Violence
Against Women Act that Joe
Biden originally wrote almost 20
years ago. I urge the House to do
the same.”
The Senate version includes $659
million in assistance over five years, a
number actually down 17% from the
last time the bill was reauthorized in
2005.
According to SCTIMES, this ver
sion of the law also would give more
Help the
Herald.
Email ideas to
herald@email.
meredith.edu
Marzi Nawrozi, staff writer
attention to sexual assault prevention,
help reduce a backlog in processing
rape kits, includes provisions on tar
geting human trafficking, and ensures
child victims of sex trafficking are
eligible for grant assistance.
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