Snitch or Whistleblower?

[IrishCanadian25]

Oh, yes. Thank you Floyd Landis for breathing new life into a steroids and PED discussion that had started to ellicit a somewhat "ho-hum" reaction. Well, along came Floyd, taking the sport of cycling - a niche sport in the best of times - to a new low. Doping in cycling is nothing new - it may in fact be the sport world-wide with the least shock when it comes to doping.

Landis lashed out like a wounded tiger, defending his word and his "integrity" like it was a baby cub. He called the governing bodies "cheaters" and "liars," claiming they fixed the test results to deprive America a title. He cloaked himself in the red, white, and blue.

Until this week, almost to the day the statute of limitations ran out on several governing bodies being able to go after him, when Landis came out with the truth.

He used HGH. He used several banned substances.

And he was taking the rest of the sport with him, dammit. Lance Armstrong too.

Jose Canseco pulled a similar mea culpa years back when on the Dan Patrick show on ESPN radio, he broke open the powder keg of the rampant use of steroids. Fans originally called Jose a joke, claiming he was trying to get revenge for his own failed career and life. He was auctioning off "spend a day with Jose Canseco" for $3,000 on his website because he was broke. Then the book "Juiced" came out, and as facts surfaced, it turned out that Canseco was the #1 witness in a massive scandal.

Jose started off as a rat, and ended up a sort of hero for breaking this whole thing wide open in baseball.

Landis's situation is different. He had been caught and waiting until he could be held harmless to come clean. Then he tried taking down anyone he possibly could. He says he did it to "clear his conscience." Does anyone doubt that his book deal is less than a year away? Nothing like six-figures and a tour to clear a conscience, eh?

So here's my question:

Do you consider Floyd Landis a rat? A pathetic snitch who is trying to get back at the sport he feels "wronged" him? Or is he a whistleblower? A man who may be remembered fondly years from now as the guy who helped clean up cycling and put it back into a very obscure place in the US Sporting world?

Maybe in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4, Raphael can whimsically comment "a Floyd Landis bike? Tell me...you didn't pay money for this!"

 

[gd]

I'm not too inclined to believe Floyd here. There's probably more than a lot of doping in cycling, it's the way the sport has been for years. But why should I believe everything Landis says? He waited almost 4 years to admint he cheated after vehemently denying allegations for years, even writing a book about how he was innocent. The guy may even have less credibility than Canceso did.

Lance has been accused about a million times and there hasn't been any evidence against him yet. Maybe some of this is just me and others not wanting to believe that Lance is guilty, but I just don't have any reason to believe Landis over Armstrong. Until any actual evidence comes out, I have not reason to think otherwise.

 

[jmt225]

No credit to Mike and Mike in the Morning, IC? I know that is where you got this thread idea from.

Anyways, the dude is a total snitch. A complete, BITTER snitch. He got caught, denied it, denied it, and then denied it some more, and now he wants to "come clean" by not only admitting he juiced, but also throwing other guys under the bus at the same time. That's the definition of a fucking snitch. He's not doing it to better his sport; he's doing it only because he's mad he was dumb enough to get caught, while others have been able to get away with it. That's all there is to it.

 

[Thriller Ant]

No credit to Mike and Mike in the Morning, IC? I know that is where you got this thread idea from.

Anyways, the dude is a total snitch. A complete, BITTER snitch. He got caught, denied it, denied it, and then denied it some more, and now he wants to "come clean" by not only admitting he juiced, but also throwing other guys under the bus at the same time. That's the definition of a fucking snitch. He's not doing it to better his sport; he's doing it only because he's mad he was dumb enough to get caught, while others have been able to get away with it. That's all there is to it.

This.

Rather than just coming clean when he was caught, he denied it as much as possible, even going as far as to take public donations from fans to help support him. That part makes me really sick now. But even beyond that, he tries to deflect the fact that it's finally out that he's guilty by accusing Lance Armstrong, the only cyclist that 95% of Americans give a shit about, of doing what Landis is guilty of. Dude's a total scumbag.

 

[Slyfox696]

Let's put it this way...Floyd Landis is only a "snitch" because Americans like Lance Armstrong. Be real...if Americans cared the same way for Lance Armstrong as they did Barry Bonds, people would be praising Landis right now, for being the one to come out and actually be a witness to it.

Is it sour grapes on Landis part, or even a way to stir up interest to make money? Probably...but it doesn't change the fact the only reason people are showing disdain for Landis saying what he has is because Americans love to cling to the idea of Lance Armstrong and his return from cancer to win 7 (I think??) Tour de France races. That's it. If we hated Armstrong, we'd be praising Landis for coming out.

Be honest.

 

[jmt225]

Let's put it this way...Floyd Landis is only a "snitch" because Americans like Lance Armstrong. Be real...if Americans cared the same way for Lance Armstrong as they did Barry Bonds, people would be praising Landis right now, for being the one to come out and actually be a witness to it.

Is it sour grapes on Landis part, or even a way to stir up interest to make money? Probably...but it doesn't change the fact the only reason people are showing disdain for Landis saying what he has is because Americans love to cling to the idea of Lance Armstrong and his return from cancer to win 7 (I think??) Tour de France races. That's it. If we hated Armstrong, we'd be praising Landis for coming out.

Be honest.

I actually don't care for Lance Armstrong at all. The guy rides a fucking bike for a living... I don't give a shit about that "sport" or anybody in it. I've also believed that it's been unfair the treatment Bonds has received (Mark McGwire, too), yet Armstrong is beloved. So, we're in agreement there.

However, Landis still just comes off looking like a bitter coward in this situation; ratting people out only because he got caught. Why should Landis be looked at as a hero, when everybody knows that had he never tested positive back in 2006, then he wouldn't be coming forward today with his "confession"? I can't respect someone like that, even if a small part of me wants to see Lance Armstrong fall down from glory.

 

[People's Champ]

4 years of denial then decides to confess? And then start coming out and saying others, including Armstrong, used as well? This dude is a snitch straight up. If it was so important to him to clean up the sport, then this would have come out a long time ago. The fact that now he was caught he wants to start opening up like a book. This really feels like a guy who was bitter he was caught and everyone got away with it, so now he wants rat on everyone. If he goes down, he's bringing whoever else he can with him.