Star cyclist Lance Armstrong famously lied about doping for decades, threatening harsh legal action against anyone bringing accusations against him, only to have his seven consecutive Tour de France titles stripped from him when he finally confessed to cheating for at least a decade. Now, the prolific cheater is pretending to be concerned about “fairness” in women’s sports.
On Saturday night, Lance Armstrong posted a thread of tweets on Twitter calling for a “spirited debate” about the fairness of transgender women in women’s sports.
“Have we really come to a time and place where spirited debate is not only frowned upon, but feared? Where people’s greatest concern is being fired, shamed or cancelled? As someone all too familiar with this phenomenon, I feel I’m uniquely positioned to have these conversations,” Armstrong said in a tweet on Saturday night.
“Of all the controversial and polarizing subjects out there today, I’m not sure there are any as heated as the topic of Trans athletes in sport.”
Of all the controversial and polarizing subjects out there today, I'm not sure there are any as heated as the topic of Trans athletes in sport.
— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 25, 2023
Armstrong went on to reveal that he will be rolling out a new show called “The Forward” on Monday where he promises to “dive into this issue with an open mind.”
I do. Hence these conversations… a special series of The Forward, beginning Monday, where I dive into this issue with an open mind in an attempt learn as much as possible from all sides of the debate.
— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 25, 2023
“Is there not a world in which one can be supportive of the transgender community and curious about the fairness of Trans athletes in sport yet not be labeled a transphobe or a bigot as we ask questions? Do we yet know the answers? And do we even want to know the answers?” Armstrong said in a tweet.
“I do. Hence these conversations… a special series of The Forward, beginning Monday, where I dive into this issue with an open mind in an attempt learn as much as possible from all sides of the debate.”
These words came from one of the most notorious cheaters in the history of sports, so naturally, people weren’t exactly happy about it on Twitter.
Lance Armstrong pulling the “it’s about fairness in sports” move is craaaaaazy lol https://t.co/LLqN8k6ag6
— Brandy Jensen (@BrandyLJensen) June 25, 2023
spirited debate? this you? https://t.co/9vaxfBKJhi pic.twitter.com/uqZ3tqh7Ee
— Joshua Erlich (@JoshuaErlich) June 25, 2023
Yes lance please teach us about fairness in sports https://t.co/rec5GW5YLf
— Ken Bensinger (@kenbensinger) June 25, 2023
At his height, Lance Armstrong was so powerful that he could destroy the careers of journalists who were questioning whether he was cheating. He had them cancelled. And it didn’t matter that he WAS cheating and they were right. They didn’t retroactively get their careers back. https://t.co/7bsPkGleAy
— Neil Shyminsky (@neilshyminsky) June 25, 2023
Lance is familiar with the phenomenon of people being fired, shamed, and cancelled because he’s the bully who ruthlessly had people fired, shamed, and cancelled for years when they wanted to (checks notes) tell the truth about him. https://t.co/0WdkbxAnnu
— Stephen L. Young (@SLYProfessor) June 25, 2023
The man with one ball who seemed to revigorate the old man sport of cycling…but doped, lied, cheated and threatened wants us to fight cancel culture. Sure go ahead Lance…. give it your best shot. https://t.co/eqUrrdSzBY
— Robert Young Pelton (@RYP__) June 25, 2023
Man who was stripped of all his competitive awards for years of cheating in his sport thinks he's uniquely qualified to claim the tiny number of trans women athletes (fewer than 100 in the US) has unfair advantage and claims it–not doping–is THE issue in sport today. Sit down. https://t.co/XgYqWMRNfm
— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) June 25, 2023
It’s safe to say the announcement didn’t go over well for him.
