here's what Lance's PR machine is saying:
Quote:
{Wasted Taxpayer $$$}
WASTE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS
After all, they spent roughly ten years and more than $55 million trying to convict Barry Bonds and other professional athletes in the BALCO case. They largely failed in their highest profile efforts. Atlantic, April 19, 2011
The time and taxpayer dollars spent pursuing Bonds could have been spent more wisely given that Bonds is unlikely to spend more than a few months in prison, if any at all. (No sentencing date was announced; the defense is likely to appeal the verdict.) Sure, the publicity from his case might serve as a warning to others who consider lying before a grand jury, but a public-service announcement during, say, a Super Bowl broadcast, would have cost less and been far more effective.” SI.com, April 13, 2011
Novitzky and his crew can now claim their biggest conviction with Bonds, but it’s a hollow win. While it’s admirable that they went after Bonds when baseball refused to, it’s hard to justify the years of work and the money spent for the relatively insignificant conviction they finally won. Associated Press, April 14, 2011
It was the Bush Justice Department that has spent more than $50 million on this investigation, and million more giving government a permanent role in policing drugs in sports. ABC News, March 1, 2009
The only way to see the indictment of Bonds is as a gross, terrible injustice, a startling abuse of power and a waste of taxpayer money. ESPN.com, November 19, 2007
Why did whatever Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Marion Jones said (or didn’t say) become worthy of a $55 million federal investigation? Playboy, 2009
After a six-year, $50 million exploration of performance enhancement in sports, it’s worth considering what we’ve gained. The $600 is still missing. A Treasure report found, after a year investigating Novitzky and other IRS agents, that “Solvability factors are not present and do not justify any continued investigation.” Playboy, 2009
This past year Judge Illston, who presided over the steroid cases, indicated she thought the federal government’s resources were being wasted. She sentenced the two latest individuals convicted in BALCO, the cyclist Tammy Thomas and track coach Trevor Graham, to home detention over the desperate objections of prosecutors. At Graham’s sentencing, she said pointedly, “I don’t view sending Mr. Graham to prison as a useful exercise for this government at this time.” Playboy, 2009
The BALCO investigation, whose primary target has been MLB home run king Barry Bonds, has cost taxpayers in the United States over $55 million and counting. Steroids Rx, February 10, 2009
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So there you go. Lance asks us to care tremendously about him when he is an athlete. He asks to lend our time and eyeballs to watch him ride a bike. He asks us to buy Treks and Subarus and Nike and his books. He DIDN'T ask us to do other things instead, because they were more worthy pursuits than just following a lousy sport. But suddenly, when his career is over and there is the possibility that he committed fraud, he says NO ONE should care. WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY! He says.
Sorry Lance, you can't have it both ways. You can't ask people to care about your cycling, and not care whether you cheated your way to the top.
You are probably right, Lance, that your entire career has been a waste of time and money of everyone that ever layed eyes on you. But the world is what it is. And it just so happened that a lot of people did care. And you have to deal with the fallout now.
It seems to me that if Lance is so concerned about taxpayers' dollars, he could confess to everything he knows. And he could TRULY work towards cleaning up this sorry sport of cycling. Instead of just pretending to clean it up.
I have my sports heroes. Lance is not numbered among them.