Tyler was a great athelete and still is a great man. He was stuck in a very hard place during his career and I personally think he had no choice but to dope. If he didn't he would have been just another cyclist on the european scene. He will always be a star in my eye's and one of the greatest cyclist of all time.
I was at Tyler's 21st birthday here in Boulder all those years ago I've been out with Tyler drinking beer and eat hamburgers and swam at my grandparents lake one time again many many years ago always seemed like a pretty good guy.
Steven Lechner I think you need to read around this issue a little more, before sitting in judgement. Tyler Hamilton got to be at the top table by leaving it all out there, balls on the line, grit and determination that would have left greek heroes' eyes watering. Lance is even more ruthless and wants to win more, but the whole world should pause for a minute to reflect on the superhuman effort that takes one to the top of possibly the most brutal sport in the world. Only then can we truly reflect on the pressure to go that extra step, and once behind the wall and code of silence the tremendous pressure not to speak out. Hamilton and others have shown great courage, and their true reward is in how they have set themselves free. Let the rest of us sit in the silence of our own hypocrisy
Spare the world this "positive light" you're shedding on these frauds. While it's a positive thing that the frauds have now come out and confessed, these frauds shouldn't be heralded in any other way. Certainly, yes, Lance Armstrong is the worst of the worst. He didn't just cheat: he destroyed your career if you didn't cheat with him, or destroyed your life if you spoke out against him. He won millions upon millions upon millions in fraudulent lawsuits, bankrupting innocent people for merely telling the truth, and he left a wake of destroyed careers behind him. Well, people like Tyler Hamilton knowingly helped Armstrong do all of that. All of these nice self-serving interviews and confessions Hamilton makes him look almost like an innocent victim. Well, he's not. He knew what was going on, and he spent YEARS upon YEARS participating. Now he complains that he was living a miserable life, just minutes after he talks about his flights on private luxury jets, and the millions he made. Well, boo hoo hoo for poor Tyler, who just found himself in this poor situation. Spare me. If Tyler gives up his millions and donates all of his proceeds and book money to the lives he helped Armstrong destroy, ok, I'll sing a different tune. But, with Tyler being on the winning end of millions upon millions of dollars gained via fraud and ruining the lives of others, sorry, but I have a hard time stomaching these heavily scripted half-hearted confessions (which he is also paid to make... the guy made millions cheating, and now makes millions telling people about it). He had a decade to practice this "humble victim" act of his, while his fans gloss right over the fact that he had to be DRAGGED into telling the truth. NONE of the cheaters deserve the post-cheating praise from people like you. You say their hard work matters, and should be recognized and praised? So, if a thief or mafia hit-man puts in a ton of hard work and self-sacrifice at their criminal craft, do you praise their hard work too? It's an extreme analogy, fine. But, at least in Armstrong's case, it's not too long of a leap to make such a comparison, looking at the number of people's lives he destroyed. Now, a decade later, these frauds come out with their $50,000 1-hour speaking engagements, their multimillion dollar book deals, singing scripted and rehearsed "woah is me" stories about how they were "trapped" by the culture (that they helped create and perpetuate), and people like you sing their praises for the "hard work" that they put in (while they flew from race to race on their private luxury jets). These people are disgusting frauds who have been given a podium to make millions more for confessing their crimes. Again, if/when Tyler gives all of his money away, and donates it to the people's lives he helped to crush, fine, I'll sing his praises right there with you. But, for now, all I see is a scripted and rehearsed speech from a cycling fraud.
rockethead7 I know you won't like this but you should try reading his book the secret race. It's quite interesting to see it from his point of view, and to see how it was seen by the riders within the race and within the doping scene.
21lozzer21 YOU SAID: "I know you won't like this" -- Don't sell me short. YOU SAID: "but you should try reading his book the secret race." -- Yeah, I hear you. It's a bit of a catch-22, though. I really can't see myself giving this prick a single dime of my money. But, yes, it's bad to 100% condemn someone without knowing everything they have to say about it. YOU SAID: "t's quite interesting to see it from his point of view, and to see how it was seen by the riders within the race and within the doping scene." -- I've watched a lot of interviews done by a lot of riders. I have a pretty good idea about it. Of course, I am not going to lie to you and say that I've read this particular book. But, let me put it this way: these people were professional liars for years and years. I don't trust ANY of the people on Armstrong's teams. 10-20 years later, they come out and write books, but that means they have 10-20 years to come up with stories that sound plausible. There have been countless books written by countless criminals throughout history, and each of them (that I know about) always try to paint a picture of sympathy and understanding. - Oh, it was the culture at the time. - Oh, I'm a good guy, who fell down that slippery slope. - Oh, what was I supposed to do? It was either commit crimes, or lose my job. Spare me. These people made millions, flying around the world in private jets, lying to everyone, rigging races, trafficking drugs, committing perjury, obstructing justice, and knowingly participated in lawsuits against innocent people (or, minimally, did not say anything). If you worked for someone (Armstrong) who made money via blackmail, launching fraudulent lawsuits to shut people up (draining innocent people of their life's savings in the process), bribing the controlling body, fixing races, blackmailing riders, etc., would YOU try to sugar coat it like this pig Tyler Hamilton does? Again, I didn't read his book. But, I look at the cold hard facts. He knew what he was doing, he participated for years under Armstrong, and then years more after he left Armstrong's team. He lived the high life, and did NOTHING to stop it. I realize I haven't read his book. But, I gotta tell ya, there's probably nothing he even COULD say in the book that would allow me to have sympathy or change my mind. I mean, have you seen some of the interviews with death row murderers (some of them)? These guys have a decade to perfect their sob stories. Then, they do an interview, and it makes it seem like these murderers are the victims too. Well, Hamilton had a decade to write a book. That's plenty of time to put a lot of spin on his story to gain sympathy/empathy. Well, sorry, but again, I look at the facts. Actions speak louder than words. His actions show him to be a pig, regardless of the words written in his book.
***** "fame and fortune is what makes people weak" - Yeah, but for me, it's beyond just that. I mean, sure, at the time, it's easy enough to attribute their misbehaviors to weakening in the light of fame and fortune. But, in reality, it goes well beyond that. I mean, these guys on Armstrong's team didn't "merely" cheat to win some races (which is already pretty unforgivable, but we'll cut a little slack for the sake of discussion). These guys knowingly participated in Armstrong's decades of lies and lawsuits, ruining people's lives in order to keep perpetuating their cheating. We'll never know how many lives were ruined from these fraudulent lawsuits, because most lawsuits end with gag orders. But, Armstrong himself admitted that there were more of them than he could even remember, and couldn't even remember which people he sued, and which people he didn't sue. People like Tyler Hamilton went along with all of that, supporting Armstrong, and making millions in the process. It's a little too late to consider them "good people merely sucked into crime due to fame and fortune" when they left a wake of devastated innocent people behind them. - And, now, with Tyler sounding all boo hoo sorry for his part in ruining other people's lives so he could earn millions, now he's got a book to sell, which seems to be glorifying him even more than he already was. Well, sorry, I'm not buying it. When he gives all proceeds from his book to the people whose lives he helped ruin, then maybe I'll believe he's sorry for his actions. - But, he doesn't do that. Nope. He made millions by cheating. Now he makes millions by pretending to be sorry for cheating, getting paid $50,000 per hour for speaking engagements, and selling books. Spare me any notion of "remorse" that he's pretending to have. I'll believe he's remorseful when he gives up his ill-gotten millions and pays the people he wronged.
***** YOU SAID: "Yes, but i did not put it in that context." -- Yeah, I almost went back and edited my reply to you. I know you weren't putting it in that context. My original reply was answering "the masses" - but I wasn't very clear... I knew what you meant. YOU SAID: "$50.000 / hour? how did you get that figure?" -- I estimated. I am not an "insider" to Hamilton's speaking engagements, so I can't tell you the exact dollar amounts he gets paid for his 1-hour talks. But, other athletes and famous speakers charge about that much from the engagements when I've actually known the numbers first-hand. Of course, if you want Michael Jordan or some other massive superstar, you're talking about 10x that amount. Lesser stars will get around $10K. Of course, sometimes, especially when selling a book, people like Hamilton will make TV appearances for free (as long as the TV show promises to promote the book). But, for a large 1-hour auditorium style engagement, a non-famous professional speaker will usually get around $10K-$20K, a semi-famous athlete will get around $40K-$60K, and superstars - well, who knows, the sky is the limit.
The mark of a hero athlete is to come forward with evidence that others were cheating, rather than simply following other cheaters and trying to beat them at their own game, like Lance Armstrong did. Armstrong's always spewing that he is still the Tour winner and not to blame for cheating, "because everyone was doing it". If everyone was doing it--and he wanted to win--he SHOULD have outed the cheaters and then beat them fair and square.
søren sko You're the one that probably didn't think it through. Lance did plenty of investigation into how to beat the other cheaters. That's how he knew who to hire (Dr. Ferrari, and others) and what other cheats were taking. He learned that he needed to up his game. Since there was the 'omerta' in place, he was in a position to 'out' the cheaters when he first figured it out--not wait 10 years!! He had enough credibility at the time to go to the authorities and they would have believed him. And naturally, rather than just run his mouth with nothing to back it up, it would have been wise to secure some evidence along the way, like recording Dr Ferrari (his illegal drug doctor) or agreeing to wear a wire. It's done all the time, as a method to catch cheats, so why not in cycling? Lance would have become a hero for his efforts and been able to continue on and win 7 tours without cheating, if he could.
1stPlaceDirector Wise to secure "some" evidence? First of all, how? Second of all, he would have to be sure to out all the cheaters that were able to beat him before trying to win it clean. Otherwise he might lose to one of the guys he couldn't expose or didn't know was cheating. It is quite a bit of investigation u r suggesting there. + it is one thing to investigate how others cheat. It is another thing be able to prove it and possibly go through a trial because of it + breaking the rule of silence in the sport which would make his working possibilities pretty slim since nobody except US postal wanted him after his cancer - a team lead by doper, Johan Bruyneel.
søren sko Ok, regarding "how" to investigate.. If you know about how the cycling scene was, during the 'Lance on top' era (1999-2005), then you would know that there was an 'omerta' in place amongst the top racers.According to many written accounts (many books by those involved) of what it was like in the peloton at the time, many of them knew the others were doping and their 'code of silence' was all that prevented the world discovering it. Remember when Lance 'zipped his lip' on worldwide TV, when he pulled back that cyclist that testified against Dr Ferrari? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that someone could have made clandestine recordings during that period to expose or have evidence against other cheaters. The recording technology was cheap and readily available, and they were involved in a dangerous game, that could come crashing down. Speaking of Lance turning in his top rivals, it was rumored that he did exactly that with Floyd Landis and Pantani, and possibly others that wouldn't play his game his way.
No, man. If he wasn't caught he would live the lie for the rest of his life, like Lance would have done. He was affraid of jailtime, that's why he suddenly got honest and told everything. In my book he will always be a cheater. What bothers me is that he gets to much attention and probably earns a lot of cash by writing a book and travelling the world telling his story to everyone. That tells future cheaters that you can do pretty well even if you get caught doping. They don't deserve attention when they should hide in shame.
steve jones but we never saw a doping scandal in "mainstream" sports, like socer in Europe, because there is too much money and sponsorship involved in, so they hush it down, tennis the same thing
It's not only the athlete that is guilty it's the coaches, Doctors, etc. Do people really think the athlete just decides to start using on their own? It's suggested by the coaches, just watch the story of Ben Johnson and others, it's always a group thing
It’s only after he left US postal did he actually realise how great of a rider Armstrong really was. It’s only then did he truly appreciate what it took to win the tdf as prior to leaving he felt he was being held back.
@@daviddorman5619 You could say that about literally every winner from that era. Considering most of the top riders were on something then, it’s hard not to say it wasnt a level playing field and thus, I still think he was the best, even at doping.
@@1972dsrai difference is lance got caught twice and he had the UCI in his pocket so nothing was done about it. Not only that, lance would rat out other doppers to make the playing field easier for him
@@daviddorman5619 He did whatever it took to win, and he only ever went after those who'd crossed him, never just a competitor. Look at Ullrich for example, they enjoyed a great relationship throughout and even after their careers ended and are still very close. I'm sure both knew exactly what the other was doing during their peak in terms of preparation.
@@1972dsrai im not doubting that Armstrong wouldn't win a tour, i think he would and possibly quite a few in fact. I just think the attitude that armstrong had and his willingness to destroy the careers of others around him doing the same stuff is reprehensible.
No one can win a race like the tour de france without some type of performance enhancer. The human body can't to what tour champions do. Its assisted. But its a pro sport so why not. Lets see the best with whatever advantage they can muster. They know the dangers. Its the same in the NBA, NHL, NFL and Baseball. Don't be fooled.
Doug Millar such a terrible defeatist attitude. It is this such attitude that leads people to cheat. As to your last statement no one is fooled. Just some people like yourself are foolish.
Corbae L The touring entourages in Tour de France are often described as 'mobile hospitals' by people in the know. After every race all racers lie in beds hooked up to IV's, just like your regular hospital. And that's just for starters. Cycling still uses lots of performance enhancement. Drugs or not.
malmstring I was never saying it doesnt happen anymore what I am saying and if you had any clue you would know too, the "people in the know" as you say have said many many times in the last bunch of years that cycling is much cleaner then it was. Even the most outspoken vocal critics during the Armstrong years say that. Though obviously there is more work to be done but work has been done. Just fyi when you talk down to someone you should have a clue wtf you are talking about.
Corbae L Where did I talk down to anyone? My whole comment was just a description of what is common knowledge for service people on the tour. No one have an idea about the origins of any comment in the comment section so it's no point judging either way.
malmstring My point is that was a decade ago and it wasn't all the teams you should read a little before you repeat things that just are not factual at all.
Are we to believe he moved to a new team without discussing doping until after he signed for them? He was hoping for less emphasis on doping when he moved, but didn’t exactly resist when it was brought up. Totally trying to underplay his own doping by throwing others under the bus for his “decisions” ultimately to dope. Armstrong never forced any rider to do it, and those who claim he did could have walked away if they were so against it, but later talk as if he bullied them into it as if they were kids unable to think for themselves.
Lasna34 Why are you sure of that? Most of the people most vocal about anti-doping agree that they have moved the sport out of those times. Certainly it still goes on, as we still see people being caught, but it is not as you say, "business as usual". Just armchair idiots like yourself spouting nonsense that you know nothing about.
I agree with this, and not that I think Tyler Hamilton is a bad guy, but we sure have an odd society when a guy cheats, and is getting paid left and right to do speeches. I suppose theres a lesson to learn from his stories and choices, but ehhh.....
Good on him. At least he is completely honest about it. You can't judge. Lance Armstrong while I still respect him as an athlete, he was given chance after chance to come clean and lied again and again until completely backed into a corner. If it was you or I we would of been thrown in jail. But again can judge. I would like to see more punishment on the teams and directors of the sport
He was DRAGGED in much the same way as Lance was. Plus he got busted out buy the tests. Now he ( Tyler Hamilton ) is getting paid to talk about coming clean. He could have walked away in the beginning or called it out from the get go. Don't try to put Tyler any higher than Lance.
Lance was a snitch as well he reported Tyler to the uci and they tested him with the results coming back as slightly suspicious, and that was lance after telling that Italian guy to zip it, live on TV as well he caught up with the guy and didn't even need to risk doing that because he was first by a country mile he did just to make a point, the Italian guy broke the omertà rule accusing Dr Ferrari of foul play and doping etc etc! Lance looked into the camera and did that zip it sign as in shut up about doping! So lance is a snitch a lier a complete psychopath who destroyed lives like I take a piss in the morning! He's a disgrace
why come out and explain, it does not make a sense "YOU ARE A SNITCH" if you got caught and you come and ask for help and if lance did not help you Lance was right, now you get mad and come out. SNITCH SNITCH SNITCH"
I WILL NEVER READ YOUR BOOK, YOU WILL HAVE YOUR GARAGE FULL OF BOOKS, NOBOBDY WILL BUY THEM. LANCE STILL MY HERO NO MATTER WHAT! AND YOU WILL NEVER GET THE RESPECT BACK, AND YOU WILL NEVER BE WELCOME.. KEEP DEALING WITH YOUR DEPRESSION
comments like this bhanda12 dick are everything that is wrong with America...only thing I am grateful for in this whole embarrassment to the USA on the world stage is that Armstrong did not embarrass Christians by claiming he was one.
1212sweetgirl Excellent reply. bhandal2 is a dolt and broadcasts his ignorance to the world, not to mention his obnoxious caps issue. Yes athletes may dope, that's wrong. BUT Lance was criminal in his years of deception, bullying, and slander. Idolizing someone like that speaks volumes about this idiot bhandal2 .
Jason Roggasch i understand all of that, but if you do the crime be ready to do the time "without bringing anybody down" and don't forget that tyler was doing drugs way before he got into the team. he was not force to do anything and if he felt like that then he should off move to another team
bhandal2 Agreed. I think when they were offered PEDs they should of gone to the press and the Governing bodies and ratted all those cheaters out. Its a weird world cycling is. I did like his honesty NOW. LOL
Great speech, Tyler! You're still held high in my book.
Tyler was a great athelete and still is a great man. He was stuck in a very hard place during his career and I personally think he had no choice but to dope. If he didn't he would have been just another cyclist on the european scene. He will always be a star in my eye's and one of the greatest cyclist of all time.
I believe Tyler is a good guy, and I think that talk was very genuine x
I was at Tyler's 21st birthday here in Boulder all those years ago I've been out with Tyler drinking beer and eat hamburgers and swam at my grandparents lake one time again many many years ago always seemed like a pretty good guy.
Great rider, great talk and a good guy. Good luck in your future life Tyler!
Steven Lechner I think you need to read around this issue a little more, before sitting in judgement. Tyler Hamilton got to be at the top table by leaving it all out there, balls on the line, grit and determination that would have left greek heroes' eyes watering. Lance is even more ruthless and wants to win more, but the whole world should pause for a minute to reflect on the superhuman effort that takes one to the top of possibly the most brutal sport in the world. Only then can we truly reflect on the pressure to go that extra step, and once behind the wall and code of silence the tremendous pressure not to speak out. Hamilton and others have shown great courage, and their true reward is in how they have set themselves free. Let the rest of us sit in the silence of our own hypocrisy
Spare the world this "positive light" you're shedding on these frauds. While it's a positive thing that the frauds have now come out and confessed, these frauds shouldn't be heralded in any other way. Certainly, yes, Lance Armstrong is the worst of the worst. He didn't just cheat: he destroyed your career if you didn't cheat with him, or destroyed your life if you spoke out against him. He won millions upon millions upon millions in fraudulent lawsuits, bankrupting innocent people for merely telling the truth, and he left a wake of destroyed careers behind him. Well, people like Tyler Hamilton knowingly helped Armstrong do all of that. All of these nice self-serving interviews and confessions Hamilton makes him look almost like an innocent victim. Well, he's not. He knew what was going on, and he spent YEARS upon YEARS participating. Now he complains that he was living a miserable life, just minutes after he talks about his flights on private luxury jets, and the millions he made. Well, boo hoo hoo for poor Tyler, who just found himself in this poor situation. Spare me. If Tyler gives up his millions and donates all of his proceeds and book money to the lives he helped Armstrong destroy, ok, I'll sing a different tune. But, with Tyler being on the winning end of millions upon millions of dollars gained via fraud and ruining the lives of others, sorry, but I have a hard time stomaching these heavily scripted half-hearted confessions (which he is also paid to make... the guy made millions cheating, and now makes millions telling people about it). He had a decade to practice this "humble victim" act of his, while his fans gloss right over the fact that he had to be DRAGGED into telling the truth. NONE of the cheaters deserve the post-cheating praise from people like you. You say their hard work matters, and should be recognized and praised? So, if a thief or mafia hit-man puts in a ton of hard work and self-sacrifice at their criminal craft, do you praise their hard work too? It's an extreme analogy, fine. But, at least in Armstrong's case, it's not too long of a leap to make such a comparison, looking at the number of people's lives he destroyed. Now, a decade later, these frauds come out with their $50,000 1-hour speaking engagements, their multimillion dollar book deals, singing scripted and rehearsed "woah is me" stories about how they were "trapped" by the culture (that they helped create and perpetuate), and people like you sing their praises for the "hard work" that they put in (while they flew from race to race on their private luxury jets). These people are disgusting frauds who have been given a podium to make millions more for confessing their crimes. Again, if/when Tyler gives all of his money away, and donates it to the people's lives he helped to crush, fine, I'll sing his praises right there with you. But, for now, all I see is a scripted and rehearsed speech from a cycling fraud.
rockethead7 I know you won't like this but you should try reading his book the secret race. It's quite interesting to see it from his point of view, and to see how it was seen by the riders within the race and within the doping scene.
21lozzer21
YOU SAID: "I know you won't like this"
-- Don't sell me short.
YOU SAID: "but you should try reading his book the secret race."
-- Yeah, I hear you. It's a bit of a catch-22, though. I really can't see myself giving this prick a single dime of my money. But, yes, it's bad to 100% condemn someone without knowing everything they have to say about it.
YOU SAID: "t's quite interesting to see it from his point of view, and to see how it was seen by the riders within the race and within the doping scene."
-- I've watched a lot of interviews done by a lot of riders. I have a pretty good idea about it. Of course, I am not going to lie to you and say that I've read this particular book. But, let me put it this way: these people were professional liars for years and years. I don't trust ANY of the people on Armstrong's teams. 10-20 years later, they come out and write books, but that means they have 10-20 years to come up with stories that sound plausible. There have been countless books written by countless criminals throughout history, and each of them (that I know about) always try to paint a picture of sympathy and understanding.
- Oh, it was the culture at the time.
- Oh, I'm a good guy, who fell down that slippery slope.
- Oh, what was I supposed to do? It was either commit crimes, or lose my job.
Spare me.
These people made millions, flying around the world in private jets, lying to everyone, rigging races, trafficking drugs, committing perjury, obstructing justice, and knowingly participated in lawsuits against innocent people (or, minimally, did not say anything).
If you worked for someone (Armstrong) who made money via blackmail, launching fraudulent lawsuits to shut people up (draining innocent people of their life's savings in the process), bribing the controlling body, fixing races, blackmailing riders, etc., would YOU try to sugar coat it like this pig Tyler Hamilton does? Again, I didn't read his book. But, I look at the cold hard facts. He knew what he was doing, he participated for years under Armstrong, and then years more after he left Armstrong's team. He lived the high life, and did NOTHING to stop it. I realize I haven't read his book. But, I gotta tell ya, there's probably nothing he even COULD say in the book that would allow me to have sympathy or change my mind.
I mean, have you seen some of the interviews with death row murderers (some of them)? These guys have a decade to perfect their sob stories. Then, they do an interview, and it makes it seem like these murderers are the victims too. Well, Hamilton had a decade to write a book. That's plenty of time to put a lot of spin on his story to gain sympathy/empathy. Well, sorry, but again, I look at the facts. Actions speak louder than words. His actions show him to be a pig, regardless of the words written in his book.
*****
"fame and fortune is what makes people weak"
- Yeah, but for me, it's beyond just that. I mean, sure, at the time, it's easy enough to attribute their misbehaviors to weakening in the light of fame and fortune. But, in reality, it goes well beyond that. I mean, these guys on Armstrong's team didn't "merely" cheat to win some races (which is already pretty unforgivable, but we'll cut a little slack for the sake of discussion). These guys knowingly participated in Armstrong's decades of lies and lawsuits, ruining people's lives in order to keep perpetuating their cheating. We'll never know how many lives were ruined from these fraudulent lawsuits, because most lawsuits end with gag orders. But, Armstrong himself admitted that there were more of them than he could even remember, and couldn't even remember which people he sued, and which people he didn't sue. People like Tyler Hamilton went along with all of that, supporting Armstrong, and making millions in the process. It's a little too late to consider them "good people merely sucked into crime due to fame and fortune" when they left a wake of devastated innocent people behind them.
- And, now, with Tyler sounding all boo hoo sorry for his part in ruining other people's lives so he could earn millions, now he's got a book to sell, which seems to be glorifying him even more than he already was. Well, sorry, I'm not buying it. When he gives all proceeds from his book to the people whose lives he helped ruin, then maybe I'll believe he's sorry for his actions.
- But, he doesn't do that. Nope. He made millions by cheating. Now he makes millions by pretending to be sorry for cheating, getting paid $50,000 per hour for speaking engagements, and selling books. Spare me any notion of "remorse" that he's pretending to have. I'll believe he's remorseful when he gives up his ill-gotten millions and pays the people he wronged.
*****
YOU SAID: "Yes, but i did not put it in that context."
-- Yeah, I almost went back and edited my reply to you. I know you weren't putting it in that context. My original reply was answering "the masses" - but I wasn't very clear... I knew what you meant.
YOU SAID: "$50.000 / hour? how did you get that figure?"
-- I estimated. I am not an "insider" to Hamilton's speaking engagements, so I can't tell you the exact dollar amounts he gets paid for his 1-hour talks. But, other athletes and famous speakers charge about that much from the engagements when I've actually known the numbers first-hand. Of course, if you want Michael Jordan or some other massive superstar, you're talking about 10x that amount. Lesser stars will get around $10K. Of course, sometimes, especially when selling a book, people like Hamilton will make TV appearances for free (as long as the TV show promises to promote the book). But, for a large 1-hour auditorium style engagement, a non-famous professional speaker will usually get around $10K-$20K, a semi-famous athlete will get around $40K-$60K, and superstars - well, who knows, the sky is the limit.
The truth changed his life… Great Takeaway.
The mark of a hero athlete is to come forward with evidence that others were cheating, rather than simply following other cheaters and trying to beat them at their own game, like Lance Armstrong did. Armstrong's always spewing that he is still the Tour winner and not to blame for cheating, "because everyone was doing it". If everyone was doing it--and he wanted to win--he SHOULD have outed the cheaters and then beat them fair and square.
Outed? How? By playing detective? Or by just claiming it and getting sued? Did u even think this through?
søren sko You're the one that probably didn't think it through. Lance did plenty of investigation into how to beat the other cheaters. That's how he knew who to hire (Dr. Ferrari, and others) and what other cheats were taking. He learned that he needed to up his game. Since there was the 'omerta' in place, he was in a position to 'out' the cheaters when he first figured it out--not wait 10 years!! He had enough credibility at the time to go to the authorities and they would have believed him. And naturally, rather than just run his mouth with nothing to back it up, it would have been wise to secure some evidence along the way, like recording Dr Ferrari (his illegal drug doctor) or agreeing to wear a wire. It's done all the time, as a method to catch cheats, so why not in cycling? Lance would have become a hero for his efforts and been able to continue on and win 7 tours without cheating, if he could.
1stPlaceDirector Wise to secure "some" evidence? First of all, how? Second of all, he would have to be sure to out all the cheaters that were able to beat him before trying to win it clean. Otherwise he might lose to one of the guys he couldn't expose or didn't know was cheating. It is quite a bit of investigation u r suggesting there. + it is one thing to investigate how others cheat. It is another thing be able to prove it and possibly go through a trial because of it + breaking the rule of silence in the sport which would make his working possibilities pretty slim since nobody except US postal wanted him after his cancer - a team lead by doper, Johan Bruyneel.
søren sko Ok, regarding "how" to investigate.. If you know about how the cycling scene was, during the 'Lance on top' era (1999-2005), then you would know that there was an 'omerta' in place amongst the top racers.According to many written accounts (many books by those involved) of what it was like in the peloton at the time, many of them knew the others were doping and their 'code of silence' was all that prevented the world discovering it. Remember when Lance 'zipped his lip' on worldwide TV, when he pulled back that cyclist that testified against Dr Ferrari? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that someone could have made clandestine recordings during that period to expose or have evidence against other cheaters. The recording technology was cheap and readily available, and they were involved in a dangerous game, that could come crashing down. Speaking of Lance turning in his top rivals, it was rumored that he did exactly that with Floyd Landis and Pantani, and possibly others that wouldn't play his game his way.
Floyd and Lance were never rivals during their careers
Are there any negative side effects to your heath from doping?
I wonder when someone will come forth in track and field to admit PED's and blood doping are rampant in that sport too.
+davidoffon Yea, they use it as motivation. When racing they pretend they're being chased by dope testers who aren't corrupt...
+davidoffon lmaoo I see what you did there "running away from the problem"
wonder if he had never got caught, won a Tour De France, few other big races if he would still look back at this period as something he is ashamed of?
No, man. If he wasn't caught he would live the lie for the rest of his life, like Lance would have done. He was affraid of jailtime, that's why he suddenly got honest and told everything. In my book he will always be a cheater. What bothers me is that he gets to much attention and probably earns a lot of cash by writing a book and travelling the world telling his story to everyone. That tells future cheaters that you can do pretty well even if you get caught doping. They don't deserve attention when they should hide in shame.
Most elite sportsmen dope. People are dumb to think otherwise.
steve jones but we never saw a doping scandal in "mainstream" sports, like socer in Europe, because there is too much money and sponsorship involved in, so they hush it down, tennis the same thing
Exactly, the same NHL, NFL, NBA and so on... They dont care, money first...
I would love to see the Q&A.
It's not only the athlete that is guilty it's the coaches, Doctors, etc. Do people really think the athlete just decides to start using on their own? It's suggested by the coaches, just watch the story of Ben Johnson and others, it's always a group thing
It’s only after he left US postal did he actually realise how great of a rider Armstrong really was. It’s only then did he truly appreciate what it took to win the tdf as prior to leaving he felt he was being held back.
He has literally said himself that Lance should and would never have won 7 tour de frances witjout steroids
@@daviddorman5619 You could say that about literally every winner from that era. Considering most of the top riders were on something then, it’s hard not to say it wasnt a level playing field and thus, I still think he was the best, even at doping.
@@1972dsrai difference is lance got caught twice and he had the UCI in his pocket so nothing was done about it. Not only that, lance would rat out other doppers to make the playing field easier for him
@@daviddorman5619
He did whatever it took to win, and he only ever went after those who'd crossed him, never just a competitor. Look at Ullrich for example, they enjoyed a great relationship throughout and even after their careers ended and are still very close. I'm sure both knew exactly what the other was doing during their peak in terms of preparation.
@@1972dsrai im not doubting that Armstrong wouldn't win a tour, i think he would and possibly quite a few in fact.
I just think the attitude that armstrong had and his willingness to destroy the careers of others around him doing the same stuff is reprehensible.
Yes, of course.
can't hear the guy
No one can win a race like the tour de france without some type of performance enhancer. The human body can't to what tour champions do. Its assisted. But its a pro sport so why not. Lets see the best with whatever advantage they can muster. They know the dangers. Its the same in the NBA, NHL, NFL and Baseball. Don't be fooled.
Doug Millar such a terrible defeatist attitude. It is this such attitude that leads people to cheat. As to your last statement no one is fooled. Just some people like yourself are foolish.
Corbae L The touring entourages in Tour de France are often described as 'mobile hospitals' by people in the know. After every race all racers lie in beds hooked up to IV's, just like your regular hospital. And that's just for starters. Cycling still uses lots of performance enhancement. Drugs or not.
malmstring I was never saying it doesnt happen anymore what I am saying and if you had any clue you would know too, the "people in the know" as you say have said many many times in the last bunch of years that cycling is much cleaner then it was. Even the most outspoken vocal critics during the Armstrong years say that. Though obviously there is more work to be done but work has been done.
Just fyi when you talk down to someone you should have a clue wtf you are talking about.
Corbae L
Where did I talk down to anyone? My whole comment was just a description of what is common knowledge for service people on the tour. No one have an idea about the origins of any comment in the comment section so it's no point judging either way.
malmstring My point is that was a decade ago and it wasn't all the teams you should read a little before you repeat things that just are not factual at all.
Ok Tyler you've done your part. Forget the friendship and the Tour de France.
Are we to believe he moved to a new team without discussing doping until after he signed for them? He was hoping for less emphasis on doping when he moved, but didn’t exactly resist when it was brought up. Totally trying to underplay his own doping by throwing others under the bus for his “decisions” ultimately to dope. Armstrong never forced any rider to do it, and those who claim he did could have walked away if they were so against it, but later talk as if he bullied them into it as if they were kids unable to think for themselves.
Will the sport ever be the same?
Lasna34 Why are you sure of that? Most of the people most vocal about anti-doping agree that they have moved the sport out of those times. Certainly it still goes on, as we still see people being caught, but it is not as you say, "business as usual". Just armchair idiots like yourself spouting nonsense that you know nothing about.
No
The true price of winning at all costs: You get paid to give speeches in Johannesburg.
I agree with this, and not that I think Tyler Hamilton is a bad guy, but we sure have an odd society when a guy cheats, and is getting paid left and right to do speeches.
I suppose theres a lesson to learn from his stories and choices, but ehhh.....
Good on him. At least he is completely honest about it. You can't judge. Lance Armstrong while I still respect him as an athlete, he was given chance after chance to come clean and lied again and again until completely backed into a corner. If it was you or I we would of been thrown in jail. But again can judge. I would like to see more punishment on the teams and directors of the sport
He was DRAGGED in much the same way as Lance was. Plus he got busted out buy the tests. Now he ( Tyler Hamilton ) is getting paid to talk about coming clean. He could have walked away in the beginning or called it out from the get go. Don't try to put Tyler any higher than Lance.
He is not a good speaker. (I know because I'm not one either.)
Great
Lance was a snitch as well he reported Tyler to the uci and they tested him with the results coming back as slightly suspicious, and that was lance after telling that Italian guy to zip it, live on TV as well he caught up with the guy and didn't even need to risk doing that because he was first by a country mile he did just to make a point, the Italian guy broke the omertà rule accusing Dr Ferrari of foul play and doping etc etc! Lance looked into the camera and did that zip it sign as in shut up about doping! So lance is a snitch a lier a complete psychopath who destroyed lives like I take a piss in the morning! He's a disgrace
epic hair!
why come out and explain, it does not make a sense "YOU ARE A SNITCH" if you got caught and you come and ask for help and if lance did not help you Lance was right, now you get mad and come out. SNITCH SNITCH SNITCH"
Fact: You cannot win top level sports without doping.
scots
I WILL NEVER READ YOUR BOOK, YOU WILL HAVE YOUR GARAGE FULL OF BOOKS, NOBOBDY WILL BUY THEM.
LANCE STILL MY HERO NO MATTER WHAT! AND YOU WILL NEVER GET THE RESPECT BACK, AND YOU WILL NEVER BE WELCOME..
KEEP DEALING WITH YOUR DEPRESSION
comments like this bhanda12 dick are everything that is wrong with America...only thing I am grateful for in this whole embarrassment to the USA on the world stage is that Armstrong did not embarrass Christians by claiming he was one.
1212sweetgirl Excellent reply. bhandal2 is a dolt and broadcasts his ignorance to the world, not to mention his obnoxious caps issue. Yes athletes may dope, that's wrong. BUT Lance was criminal in his years of deception, bullying, and slander. Idolizing someone like that speaks volumes about this idiot bhandal2 .
HerdingDogRescuer ok. WHY YOU ARE SO UPSET, THEY ARE JUST COMMENTS, AND THANKS FOR THE SPELLING B TEACHING
bhandal2 Who says I am upset. I'm not the one writing obnoxiously with caps.
Plant Based Analyst WOW THEY ARE PAYING THAT MUCH?? BECAUSE IT COST THE GOVERNMENT MORE MONEY TO MAKE THAT PENNY...
HOW MUCH DID YOU GOT PAID TO BECOME A SNITCH" CODE OF SILENCE? YOU KNEW THE RISK TAKE THE BLAME
He would of gone to prison if he didnt talk. And Lance still would of been busted.
Jason Roggasch i understand all of that, but if you do the crime be ready to do the time "without bringing anybody down" and don't forget that tyler was doing drugs way before he got into the team. he was not force to do anything and if he felt like that then he should off move to another team
bhandal2 Agreed. I think when they were offered PEDs they should of gone to the press and the Governing bodies and ratted all those cheaters out. Its a weird world cycling is. I did like his honesty NOW. LOL
bhandal2 Are you so upset because you just found out that you're a loser?
111highgh YES, IF YOU SAY SO
Get a hair cut...
scots