Lance Armstrong: A disgraced cyclist, noted doper, (allegedly) stingy strip club tipper, and the new voice of transphobic sports debates?
On Saturday, June 24, Armstrong took to Twitter to share his take on whether transgender athletes should be allowed to participate in sports, revealing that despite his highly-publicized cheating scandal, admitting to taking several substances like Human growth hormone, EPO, and testosterone during his cycling career, he still has questions when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues in 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. pic.twitter.com/De7xs3PUq3
— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 25, 2023
“With sensitive conversations and topics like this, people tend to either, it really comes down to, they’re really afraid to be fired, shamed or canceled,” Armstrong said in a clip depicting him driving over to former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner’s home.
“It turns out I’m not that afraid of that. I think it’s an important conversation,” he continued, describing himself as “sort of fearless” in his views.
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?
— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 25, 2023
Despite attempting to reiterate his support for transgender athletes – “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?” he mused in a subsequent post – fans were less-than-convinced by the athlete’s sudden passion for perceived fairness in sports.
Fixed it for Lance https://t.co/I7NDDyj58W pic.twitter.com/BpXZnsz0CM
— Trap Queen Enthusiast (@marionumber4) June 25, 2023
“Lance Armstrong is so banned from sports that the IOC can legally call in an airstrike on his location if he joins a game of pickleball, but he's here to let you know that me playing ladies' beer league hockey is a grotesque mockery of fairness in competition,” mused Twitter user @mikurubaeahina.
“Thank you Lance Armstrong it would be terrible if anyone used hormones to give themselves an unfair advantage in sports,” joked @badinfinity2.
“This you?” quipped @Kaylan_TX alongside a Bleacher Report screengrab dubbing Armstrong the “dirtiest cheater in sports history.”
Meanwhile, others broached Armstrong’s beef with everyone’s favorite cartoon Aardvark, Arthur.
“Man you cheated so badly at cycling that they remade the Arthur cancer episode and replaced you with a fictional pro wrestler,” wrote @TheGemAgenda alongside a screengrab from the Arthur Wiki fan page explaining the show’s decision to rewrite parts of a 2009 episode entitled “The Great McGrady” to remove Armstrong.
man you cheated so badly at cycling that they remade the Arthur cancer episode and replaced you with a fictional pro wrestler https://t.co/Yfmfm6Vq6y pic.twitter.com/XT5tJ7XoCW
— oh no, it's gem! (@TheGemAgenda) June 25, 2023
“When you embarrass Arthur by abusing PEDs,” joked @Hooraydiation.
When you embarrass Arthur by abusing PEDs. https://t.co/jMyTueDqp2 pic.twitter.com/LcyuiA5rtN
— Robin Hood: Ben in Tights (@Hooraydiation) June 25, 2023
You know it’s bad when you’ve pissed off Arthur.
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