A ‘witch hunt’

I’m very angry at the ongoing “witch hunt” that the French government and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have pursued against Lance Armstrong for the last decade or so [“Armstrong banned, stripped of titles,” Sports, Aug. 24].

With the “French push,” they have continued to force the USADA to drive Armstrong into the ground for the rest of his life. The personal goal of Travis Tygart and the USADA are to continue to badger Armstrong — who, by the way, has been tested over a thousand times by the International Cycling Union at all of the major cycling events held around the world.

If this indeed had been going on for over a decade, wouldn’t even a common criminal be entitled to a “timely trial” by a jury and a day in court? Not just the ongoing rumors and hearsay?

I do believe that Tygart’s mission in life is to destroy Armstrong so he can save face. Yes, the USADA is branch of the U.S. government that has nothing better to do with taxpayer money and department time, especially after a just completed two-year federal investigation into the same accusations that proved nothing and was dismissed.

Having battled cancer in my life, I have a high degree of respect for Armstrong and what he has done in his life. For those of us who have gone down this road and survived, it speaks not only of Armstrong’s courage, wisdom and willpower, but also of his ability to raise awareness of cancer and cancer research.

To do this to a man who has accomplished so much in the first 40 years of his life would be one of the biggest mistakes that the U.S. government and the sport of cycling could do.

To quote The Seattle Times article, “The USADA reacted quickly and treated Armstrong’s decision as an admission of guilt,” — what a bunch of self-serving idiots. Armstrong will always hold a spot in my heart for all the great things that he has done, and he’s one of us, a cancer survivor.

— Tom Guffey, Marysville