Lance Armstrong, a man whose life has been defined by persevering against impossible odds, did something very un-Armstrong-esque – he surrendered a battle. Facing a lifetime ban from the sport of which he was the poster child a decade ago, Armstrong waved the white flag to the doping allegations brought forth by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Armstrong didn’t feel like it was a fair fight. “If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance,” Armstrong said in a statement Thursday. One of the most decorated athletes of the 21st century will likely be kicked out of cycling with the door slammed violently behind him. The seven straight Tour de France titles won by Armstrong from 1999 to 2005 will be wiped from the record books. Much like the pointless debate on whether the 2012 Team USA basketball team could oust the 1992 “Dream Team,” we’ll probably never know how much, if at all, Armstrong’s cycling legacy was influenced by performance-enhancing drugs. His refusal to fight the allegations makes Lance Armstrong the cyclist no longer relevant. Big deal. The image of Armstrong passing under the Arc de Triomphe with an insurmountable lead in those seven Tour de France victories is a memory I will never forget. More importantly, neither will the millions of cancer survivors Armstrong inspired with his improbable comeback from testicular cancer. The lasting legacy of Lance Armstrong will be one of a person who spread a message of hope to the cancer community. Losing his glory and spot in sports lore doesn’t seem to matter to Armstrong. Why should it? Raising cancer awareness 24/7 made much more of an impact on people’s lives than winning championships ever could. Regardless of if he doped, Armstrong’s impact on the cancer community can never be taken for granted. Armstrong parlayed his success in the cycling world to the real world with the Lance Armstrong Foundation. It may have started as a small company in 1997, but it has ballooned into one of the world’s largest organizations and will continue to aid the fight against cancer despite Armstrong’s loss of seven Tour de France titles. You would think with the recent doping controversy, the LAF would see a decline in support.  Think again. Since the news of Armstrong’s surrender to the USADA, unsolicited donations to the foundation have increased by nearly 25 times according to Livestrong Foundation CEO Doug Ulman. People who have had cancer or have seen a family member or friend deal with the disease could care less whether Armstrong gets to keep his championships. Regardless of if he did it clean, Armstrong used cycling to raise awareness for a battle that had just begun. The man who refuses to give up the fight against cancer – that’s the Lance we need to remember.
Micah Bedard is a 22-year-old history senior from Houma.
 
—- Conctact Micah Bedard at [email protected]; Twitter: @DardDog