Novak Djokovic on Lance Armstrong: “It’s a disgrace for the sport to have an athlete like this”
Lance Armstrong admitted some of the performance enhancing drug allegations that have already been proven to Oprah. Novak Djokovic had a rather strong reaction when asked about it at the Australian Open. He called him “a disgrace for the sport” and believes “he should suffer for his lies.”
I mean, you know, I think everybody was expecting him to do that. I mean, it would be ridiculous for him to decline and refuse all the charges because it has been proven. They have like a thousand proofs that he’s positive. I think it’s a disgrace for the sport to have an athlete like this.
He cheated the sport. He cheated many people around the world with his career, with his life story. I think they should take all his titles away because it’s not fair towards any sportsman, any athlete. It’s just not the way to be successful. So I think he should suffer for his lies all these years.
Cheating people around the world? Sure. Cheating the sport? A bit harsh. There has never been a time when drugs weren’t a fixture at the Tour De France. Given the large number of riders caught, linked or rumored it was a more or less level playing field. Suggesting that “clean” in almost any sport the last 30 years has meant something more than tailoring your engineering to slip in under drug testing would be more than a bit naive.

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104 Responses to “Novak Djokovic on Lance Armstrong: “It’s a disgrace for the sport to have an athlete like this””
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January 18th, 2013 at 11:54 AM
So, no BCS. No heroes. No clean bike riders. Wait, no clean athletes in almost any sport. Got it.
January 18th, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Thought that’s what the sex with the Olsen Twin was meant for
January 18th, 2013 at 11:55 AM
Lance Armstrong admitted some of the performance enhancing drug allegations that have already been proven to Oprah.
How is it that they were proven to Oprah and no one else?
January 18th, 2013 at 11:58 AM
Thought that’s what the sex with the Olsen Twin was meant for
I bet her breath smelled of scrambled eggs and stale cigarettes.
January 18th, 2013 at 11:58 AM
Nobody told me there’d be disgraces like these.
January 18th, 2013 at 11:58 AM
wow, a quick wiki search shows this to be true, I had no idea. pretty crazy.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:00 PM
it’s just worded funny. he admitted it to Oprah, is what the sentence is saying.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:00 PM
I would have guessed vomit.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:02 PM
I would have guessed vomit.
That was meant to be implied.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:02 PM
Lance continues to impress. Hadn’t heard about Olsen. Being able to consume the requisite coke as a 40 year old, wow. What a pulmonary system.
Djokovic is full of shit. Will never be half the athlete Lance was.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:02 PM
That’s a good paragraph.
Except for Pedro. Pedro was clean.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:02 PM
Even when Indurain was dominating, and he was clean. What was great is his natural blood and lung numbers crushed Armstrong’s when Lance was cheating. He was basically like Secretariat.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:03 PM
Djokovic is full of shit. Will never be half the athlete Lance was.
Perhaps he should start taking PEDs.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:03 PM
Whatever, the wee man was his supplier
/RIP
January 18th, 2013 at 12:05 PM
Jesus, I’m glad I looked up Ark’s comment before suggesting Duffy was being melodramatic. My only comment is that this:
should be referring to the sport, not the people. Plenty of MLB players are actually ‘clean’. The sport hasn’t been. And that applies to most sports.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Oh…well then….I’ll have a coke.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:06 PM
it’s just worded funny. he admitted it to Oprah, is what the sentence is saying.
I know. Duffy is too good not to point out the one mistake he makes during a given week.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Was he clean, though? For real?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:08 PM
If every world class player was taking them, then yes, absolutely.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:09 PM
“Clean” in sports is a relative term too, if you’re talking zero chemical help then it’s likely true that nearly no one is…if they ever banned Toradol in football I’m not sure there’d be enough warm bodies left to field teams able to play in a Super Bowl
January 18th, 2013 at 12:09 PM
There’s a few grammar things that pop up here and there. But misplaced/dangling modifiers are a really easy mistake to make. It’s the difference between a blog, where I’m learning the editorial process is “spell check, legal check, publish ASAP” and a print medium where you have more of an editorial process that will look at style and flow of an article.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Not NYMets Pedro, and definitely not Phillies Pedro.
1999 AS game Pedro, though. That man was touched by God.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Indurain was not clean.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Even when Indurain was dominating, and he was clean.
Was he clean, though? For real?
I swore I thought something came out about him testing positive once. Or there at least being evidence that he may have used something.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:11 PM
I don’t believe I’m aware of the existence of those Pedros, nor do I wish to be made so.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:11 PM
1999 AS game Pedro, though. That man was touched by God.
I still remember the curveball he threw to Sosa. It was one of the most disgusting pitches I’ve ever seen.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:12 PM
My understanding is most people believe he was.
He’s six inches taller than Armstrong, guy was a physical monster.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:12 PM
Throwing aside the PED thing, how many grand slam titles would a tennis player have to win to be “half the athlete” a seven time Tour winner was?
I doubt you watch much tennis. Djokovic is a fantastic athlete, and I’m guessing that the number of competitive tennis players in the world absolutely dwarfs the number of competitive cyclists.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:13 PM
Pedro has come out complaining a few times about what his stats would be like without guys doing steroids, etc. His ERA+ numbers are insane over 1999-2001
January 18th, 2013 at 12:13 PM
Cheating international cycling falls somewhere between stealing your neighbors cable and fixing olympic badminton games.
don’t get me wrong, Armstrong is an asshole, but i just can’t get angry about athletes using performance enhancing drugs anymore. it doesn’t hurt me or anyone else, they are the ones who die early and are publicly scorned when their lies come out, ruining all the accomplishments they used steroids to attain.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:14 PM
He tested positive for an albuterol inhaler, which he was permitted to use because he had asthma. They didn’t punish him for it.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Pedro has come out complaining a few times about what his stats would be like without guys doing steroids, etc. His ERA+ numbers are insane over 1999-2001
WHIP of .737 in 2000. Mindblowing.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:15 PM
I watch the majors. He’d have to be more than the third best player of the millennium.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:15 PM
Over/under on how long until Novak gets exposed as a user?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:16 PM
Well he chalked up his career upswing to his diet, and considering how bullshit the gluten thing is, wouldn’t shock me in the least.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:16 PM
/finds montage of Pedro’s career
//takes off pants
January 18th, 2013 at 12:17 PM
From international cycling’s perspetive, their issues with Armstrong:
After his last Tour, he was all over the place in the media, doing ESPN commercials, Livestrong, etc. He was capitalizing big time on his success and the cycling federation was gaining nothing from it – not even viewers or fans to their sport.
And… Lance is an american that dominated a european sport.
Guys like Indurain won and then just kind of went away quietly maintaining loose ties with international cycling. So they weren’t targets.
Take all of that, and the fact that the US is a terribly litigious society (ref: US Postal Service and Lance) and Armstrong had no shot to keep it under the rug.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:18 PM
Disgrace for the ‘sport’? Funny, no one knew cycling was a sport before Lance…
January 18th, 2013 at 12:18 PM
I’m still curious if he gave himself ball cancer through PEDs or if it’s just old-timey steroids that did that
January 18th, 2013 at 12:18 PM
You’ve just nailed the reason he’s so hated abroad
January 18th, 2013 at 12:19 PM
stealing your neighbors cable and fixing
I actually know a dickbag that has done this.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:19 PM
I’m a huge Nadal fan, but I’d have to say the odds of him passing Rafa in GS titles are growing. I’d still put it at 30%-ish myself, but who knows?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:20 PM
I’m still curious if he gave himself ball cancer through PEDs or if it’s just old-timey steroids that did that
There’s been a lot of speculation on that … for a long time.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:22 PM
I could see it with the knee problems. Half was obviously in exaggeration. But Lance is considered the best cyclist ever, PEDs aside, right?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:23 PM
By anyone who went to medical school, or is this a Dwayne Wade sort of thing?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Indurain was a huge target when he was racing. The French absolutely hated how he approached the sport and the fact that he was a Spaniard dominating. They changed the course specifically to try and keep him from winning (and failed miserably).
January 18th, 2013 at 12:26 PM
I saw something once on Indurain’s base heart rate and when at peak performance. There may be 1 human alive that could do what he did. The Secrateriat comparison example is perfect. Secretariat’s heart was I thin kthe largest heart taken from a thoroughbred in the autopsy. Could pump way more blood than any other horse.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:26 PM
How did he approach it?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:27 PM
His resting heart rate was 28bpm.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:27 PM
Yeah, but I would counter with my contention that tennis is a lot more “athletic” sport, in addition to having way more people participating (making it harder to be the best, obviously). Tennis requires speed, stamina, and hand-eye coordination. Not many sports (basketball, obviously) require that same combination.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Indurain was a huge target when he was racing.
Absolutely. They flattened out the course.
But he went away quietly, supporting international cycling and cycling gods appreciated it and backed off.
And, he dominated but not on the scale of Armstrong.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:28 PM
I am extemely skeptical about a ton of these guys, but I would say Indurain was clean. Based on some of the studies done, I think drug use would have killed him given his odd physiological subset.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Cycling is NOT a sport. It has no ball and no defense. A sport must have both, otherwise, it’s just an activity or athletic competition.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:29 PM
The Grinch. His heart grew three sizes in a day.
Wow. I get funny looks from nurses when mine measures in the low 40′s.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:29 PM
Didn’t know that. I remember they used to say Bjorn Borg’s was like 35bpm.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:29 PM
Lance has a ball.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Secretariat’s heart was I thin kthe largest heart taken from a thoroughbred in the autopsy. Could pump way more blood than any other horse.
I believe it was the size of a volleyball.
This in turn reminds me of this:
Trapper John: Well, you know, Man o’ War, after they retired him from racing, they put him out to stud. And he had an average of about a hundred and twenty, a hundred and thirty foals a year, and he lived to be thirty-six. And then when he died, they did an autopsy, and they found out that he was a raving queen.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:30 PM
did said dickbag steal your cable or someone elses?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:30 PM
And, he dominated but not on the scale of Armstrong.
WHOA. Armstrong won the Tour de France. There are plenty of other major Tours outside of that event that he did not win. That is a huge mark against Lance, all the other greats won some of the other elite Tours.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:31 PM
I agree. I should’ve said Novak will never be to his sport what Lance was to his. I’d have been equally indignant if he called Tiger a disgrace.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:31 PM
Mine’s at 44 bpm right now, though that is sitting up and doing stuff, and after I just drank some caffeine.
/humblebrag
January 18th, 2013 at 12:32 PM
They hated that it didn’t look like he was trying because of how freakish he was, that he didn’t win many stages and would just dominate when he needed to and wouldn’t try any daring shit.
Basically he was Tim Duncan.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:32 PM
His resting heart rate was 28bpm.
Thanks mole. I knew it was outrageous. There is a lengthy SI piece pre-Lance about him, somewhere in the vault. Tremendous read.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:32 PM
And avoided perjury, so obviously a defense
January 18th, 2013 at 12:32 PM
Cycling is NOT a sport. It has no ball and no defense. A sport must have both, otherwise, it’s just an activity or athletic competition.
The dictionary disagrees with you.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:33 PM
The Grinch.
Awesome.
How did he approach it?
He was excellent in the mountains, while being skilled in all aspects of cycling. The French seldom win the mountain climbing points.
Eddy Merckx (sp?) was the best tour rider ever.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:33 PM
Does intimidation of your opponent through elaborate displays count as defense because if so Pro Bowling qualifies
January 18th, 2013 at 12:34 PM
This explains the idiocy of van de Velde as uniquely French
January 18th, 2013 at 12:34 PM
But Lance is considered the best cyclist ever, PEDs aside, right?
Highly doubtful.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:34 PM
Hey ms621… Lowrie signed a one-year deal worth $2.4M. Astros are throwing the cash around though, since it could go up in value $200K if he wins MVP and LCS MVP.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:34 PM
Yeah those back to back tour-giros in the middle of the five tour win stretch is just as if not more impressive than Armstrong’s seven.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:36 PM
I love how nobody knows what humble means anymore
January 18th, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Also one of the biggest dopers ever.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:36 PM
who are you, skip bayless?
guess we can count nearly everything in the olympics as an activity.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Hey ms621… Lowrie signed a one-year deal worth $2.4M. Astros are throwing the cash around though, since it could go up in value $200K if he wins MVP and LCS MVP.
Even if he doesn’t play 120 games he’s still worth it.
Frankly though, Lowrie will be trade bait all year if we are below .500 by June (which I expect us to be).
January 18th, 2013 at 12:37 PM
did said dickbag steal your cable or someone elses?
Someone elses.
My friend, call him Carl, goes away at Thanksgiving. Arrives home Sunday afternoon after a long drive. Settles in for some NFL. Snow on the screen. He asks neighbors … “is your cable out?” … No. No.
Said dickbag hears this and says “Oh. Since you were gone, I connected my wire to your source. I’ll go swap it back.”
Said dickbag is the guy that shows up with all six of his kids at events where there’s free food. Everyone groans when the see the Kiernans coming.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:38 PM
I love you nobody knows what love means anymore.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:38 PM
Speaking of cycling, a professor of mine had this over his desk in his office when I was freshman.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:39 PM
How many losses for the Astros this year?
Also, when was the last time a team had a payroll that low?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:39 PM
At least have the decency to split the signal. Not just take the whole fucking thing.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:40 PM
Pedro has come out complaining a few times about what his stats would be like without guys doing steroids, etc. His ERA+ numbers are insane over 1999-2001
I always thought this was kind of a silly thing. He played at a time when nobody else hit the inside of the strike zone the same way he did so he was a novelty and with every shitty middle infielder and catcher in the sport swinging for the fences every at bat, he might have really been helped by his era.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:40 PM
How many losses for the Astros this year?
Also, when was the last time a team had a payroll that low?
I’ll say at least 94 losses. I have no idea when a team has had a payroll this low. It’s probably been at least 5-7 years.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:41 PM
I’ll just chalk this up to you still carrying the Pedro boner
January 18th, 2013 at 12:42 PM
I suggest people read the Rosenberg essay on Lance at CNNSI.
Without drugs, he’s a nobody. Fringe athlete like a million others you wouldn’t give a shit about. Everything about him is bogus.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:42 PM
Fixed
January 18th, 2013 at 12:42 PM
Also one of the biggest dopers ever.
Yep – mostly caffeine like stimulants and precursors to adderal. But no one dominated like him – doping or no doping.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:45 PM
smart pitcher
Fixed
That’s a given, I just meant that it was novel for that whole generation of hitters to face somebody playing the chin music on basically every at bat.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:46 PM
Speaking of cycling, a professor of mine had this over his desk in his office when I was freshman.
I want that hanging over my desk.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:49 PM
I want that hanging over my desk.
You can make it happen if you want: http://bicycle-gifts.com/poster.htm
January 18th, 2013 at 12:50 PM
Best part is the guy in the middle a few rows back photo-bombing with the black power fist.
January 18th, 2013 at 12:53 PM
Best part is the guy in the middle a few rows back photo-bombing with the black power fist.
I think he’s holding a martini shaker
January 18th, 2013 at 12:54 PM
those dudes who climb everest-type peaks without oxygen have badass lung capacity/heart rates
/sort of on topic
January 18th, 2013 at 12:56 PM
Is that even possible?
January 18th, 2013 at 12:57 PM
dudes who climb everest-type peaks without oxygen
Is that even possible?
Yes it is.
January 18th, 2013 at 1:02 PM
He was Maddux’d.
What, Reba’s too good for you?
January 18th, 2013 at 1:02 PM
pretty sure there are more recent examples than messner too. mountaineering and rock climbing are freaky
January 18th, 2013 at 1:02 PM
he was a smart pitcher
He was Maddux’d.
So you’re saying that while umpires gave Maddux the outside corner they gave the inside corner call to Pedro?
January 18th, 2013 at 1:03 PM
pretty sure there are more recent examples than messner too. mountaineering and rock climbing are freaky
There are. He was just the first to do it solo and without oxygen.
January 18th, 2013 at 1:06 PM
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is my favorite Ben Folds album.
January 18th, 2013 at 1:07 PM
I think they both knew how to pitch to an area where they were gonna the calls they wanted.
January 18th, 2013 at 1:07 PM
He was just the first to do it solo and without oxygen.
known as Carradining
January 18th, 2013 at 1:09 PM
I think they both knew how to pitch to an area where they were gonna the calls they wanted.
Yep. And they both had ridiculously great peak years
January 18th, 2013 at 1:09 PM
Then there was Tom Glavine, who pitched with an outside corner that extended into the batter’s box. Messner, the southern German, er northern Italian
January 18th, 2013 at 1:16 PM
Then there was Tom Glavine, who pitched with an outside corner that extended into the batter’s box
RIP Eric Gregg.