Ethical Implications of Lance Armstrong's Performance-Enhancing Drug Case
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ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF LANCE ARMSTRONG'S
PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUG CASE
Enyonam M. Osei-Hwere, West Texas A&M University
Greg G. Armfield, New Mexico State University
Emily S. Kinsky, West Texas A&M University
R. Nicholas Gerlich, West Texas A&M University
Kristina Drumheller, West Texas A&M University
ABSTRACT
Lance Armstrong was ranked as the top cyclist in the world prior to his 1996 Tour de
France win. After his battle with testicular cancer, Armstrong made an extraordinarily
successful return to cycling, a stunning return that undoubtedly came with consistent accusations
of unethical behavior on Armstrong's part. Armstrong went on to break records after his battle
with cancer, an accomplishment which also drew unwanted attention and accusations of
performance-enhancing drug usage. This study addresses the ethical implications of Lance
Armstrong's confession of performance- enhancing drug use during his TdF wins and examines
the views of respondents concerning PED use, respondents' views regarding appropriate
consequences for athletes accused of PED usage as well as respondents attitudes towards the
Lance Armstrong foundation LIVESTRONG.
INTRODUCTION
From his first big race win in 1993 to his seventh Tour de France (TdF) win in 2005,
Lance Armstrong was a champion. In 1996, prior to winning the TdF, Armstrong was ranked as
the top cyclist in the world (Martin & Rowen, 2013). Amazingly he battled testicular cancer later
that year, which had spread through multiple sites in his body, yet he recovered and went on to
break records. But according to Goff (2013), extraordinary success invites extraordinary
scrutiny. Over the years, beginning with his return from cancer, Armstrong was accused of
using performance-enhancing drugs - from cortisone cream to Actovegin (Weislo, 2013). An
expose was written by Walsh and Ballester in 2004 alleging the use of performance-enhancing
drugs (PEDs) by Armstrong, but the evidence was circumstantial (Martin & Rowen, 2013).
Floyd Landis, a former teammate, won the TdF in 2006, but was disqualified for the use of
synthetic testosterone found in a drug test. Landis then targeted Armstrong and filed a
whistleblower lawsuit (Sinnott & McGowan, 2013). From 1999 to 2012, Armstrong denied any
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, Volume 17, Number 1, 2014](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jnlolletl17&div=6&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Ethical Implications of Lance Armstrong's Performance-Enhancing Drug Case
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