Ashley Lewis
Instructor Thomas
English 102
25
February 2013
Should
He Be Forgiven?
In the article, “Riding High,” written by Brian Palmer,
he states, “In 2010, cyclists failed 1.19 percent of the doping tests
administered by the World Anti-Doping Agency.” In recent news, Lance Armstrong
was found guilty of doping and has been stripped of every title he unfairly
earned. Jonathan Biles, writer of the article, “OP-ED: Lance Armstrong’s true accomplishments
are off the bicycle,” makes the argument that even though Armstrong doped to
win, we should forgive him because of all his contributions to cancer research.
On the other hand, Rick Reilly, a columnist for ESPN, argues that Armstrong was
in the wrong and that Reilly is not ready to forgive him and no one else should
either. Both men make great points about Armstrong, but they disagree on
whether or not we should forgive him. I believe Reilly has the stronger
argument because he knew Armstrong on a personal level, unlike Biles, who is
writing from the outside looking in.
Jonathan Biles, author of the article, “Lance Armstrong’s
true accomplishments are off the bicycle,” believes that we should forgive
Armstrong because of everything he has accomplished with his charity,
Livestrong, which is for cancer research. Biles even goes on to state, “Armstrong
has been heavily scrutinized and vilified for his drug use and elaborate
cover-up, but his charitable contributions should outweigh these negatives.” He
lists percentages and money that was raised through Livestrong, which do in
fact match up, according to Charity Navigator. He gives links to the different
websites that he used to get his information, so what he has stated is
definitely believable and provable. But, the entire article is just an excuse to
get us to look away from the fact that Lance Armstrong lied about doping to
win. Biles is using the fallacy called red herring, since he is focusing on
Armstrong’s charitable contributions to draw our attention away from the bigger
issue. By focusing on Armstrong’s contributions to cancer research, Biles
overlooks the deeper problem of the fact that Armstrong lied to countless
people for many years. No person should be able to get away with such a heinous
thing, no matter what good he has done for cancer research.
Rick Reilly, author of the article, “It's all about the
lies,” reminds us that Lance Armstrong lied about doping to win for fourteen
years. Reilly is outraged that he was made to look like an idiot after all of
the times he defended Armstrong. Reilly even explains about all of the times
that he questioned Armstrong about the allegations and he would furiously
defend himself. He knew Armstrong on a personal level and stuck by his side for
fourteen years. When it came to defending him, Reilly himself writes, “Wrote
it, tweeted it: "He's clean." Put it in columns, said it on radio,
said it on TV. Staked my reputation on it.” His point is that he did everything
he could to convince anyone who had doubts that Armstrong was innocent. But, it
came back and slapped him in the face. In an interview with ESPN, Reilly
repeats a lot of what he said in his article, which makes him very believable. I
agree that Reilly is right because what Armstrong did was wrong and he has
every right to be angry. Reilly put everything on the line, so Armstrong could
look like the good guy.
In sum, then, both men make very excellent points in
their articles. But Reilly’s argument was more moving to me. No matter what
amazing things Lance Armstrong has contributed to cancer, as Biles pointed out,
it does not change the fact that Armstrong lied for many years to countless
people. He embarrassed our country and has shown little remorse for it.
Armstrong should not be forgiven so easily. As Reilly said perfectly, “Give me
14 years, maybe.”
Works
Cited
Biles, Jonathan.
“OP-ED: Lance Armstrong’s true accomplishments are off the bicycle.” Pasadena
City College Courier. 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
ESPN. “Rick Reilly
Reacts to Lance Armstrong’s Interview.” Online video clip. YouTube, 17 Jan. 2013.
Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
Palmer, Brian. “Riding
High: Why is there so much more doping in professional cycling than in any other sports?” Slate. 15 Jun. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
Reilly, Rick. “It’s all
about the lies.” ESPN. 17 Jan. 2013.
Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
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