The Issue: The US Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.
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Lance Armstrong passed all the tests — nearly 500 of them in his career, many of which were conducted at random (“Dope Lance To Lose His 7 Tour Titles,” Aug. 24).
The US Anti-Doping Agency persisted because it could not stand the fact that Armstrong was just a better athlete than all the rest.
I expect that it will soon be going after Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.
There is not a wrath or punishment severe enough to impose on the USADA for what it has done to Armstrong, his family and the millions of people around the world whom his story and achievements have inspired and to whom they’ve given strength to overcome against all odds.Blake Norris
Las Vegas, NV
After all the chemotherapy that Armstrong went through to treat his cancer, his liver functions simply don’t work properly. One can get a false positive.
Armstrong would never have been so foolish to attempt to take any performance-enhancing drugs, no less on seven Tour de France races.
That said, he was tested and tested several times, and now the USADA comes back to the issue. It is a witch hunt if I ever saw one.
This is a huge tragedy for the United States and the world of sports.
Denise Thomas
Manhattan
I remember the old, soulful song “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel, which contains the lyric: “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?”
To me, it meant a loss of innocence — and, boy, is there a loss of innocence in sports today.
In the last few weeks, two major-league ball-players have been suspended for using steroids, and now it appears Armstrong is something of a fake.
Where is the Joe DiMaggio of today?
Where are our heroes?
Gary Schwartz
Fort Lee, NJ