TYLER ZSCHACH
ONLINE EDITOR

Lance Armstrong’s doping

Megan Stracener
I think it has a negative impact on the industry and the legacy of his cancer research. I don’t feel that he should have done that. It is not an honorable thing to do as an athlete or a cyclist.

David Cress
I saw him as this American hero, so to find out that it was some lie was really disappointing. The fact that a lot of other cyclists were doing similar PEDs can alleviate some of the blame.

Avi Agarwal
All the other athletes because of all of these cyclists won’t go down in history as champions because they cheated. Even though you can take away his titles, you can’t delegate it elsewhere.

Maddie Schwinn
It was bad because he had cancer and he came back and he encouraged people to come back. He encouraged people to try things, and it’s not a good thing to do, and he’s not a good role model.

Tyler Zschach
If he came clean, then I would have empathized with him, but the fact that it took years of lies to get to this point makes me lose all respect for Armstrong as an individual and as an athlete.

Eden Hazard‘s tussle with a ball boy

Megan Stracener
It doesn’t sound like a very sportsmanlike thing to do. As a professional athlete, you shouldn’t behave in that manner, no matter how upset you are. It doesn’t matter if Eden Hazard meant to hurt the ball boy or not. He’s performing on an international stage. People are watching what he is doing.

David Cress
I actually do think that it was the ball boy’s fault and that he deserved to get kicked. It didn’t look like he was aiming towards the ball boy… Hazard looked like he was going for the ball. It was in an unsportsmanlike way, but it didn’t look like he intentionally tried to hurt the boy.

Avi Agarwal
I think first of all that it was definitely unsportsmanlike because a player has no reason to do that no matter how frustrated you are. And I think that if it had been Luis Suarez it would have been [a worse punishment] because of his history calling people things and whatever he had done.

Maddie Schwinn
It’s unsportsmanlike, that is all there is to it. You can’t just kick a kid. It’s not fair. It’s wrong on a basic moral level. If he was once a role model, he won’t be one now because his action was uncalled for. I’ve found that in sports right now role models in general are getting worse and becoming bad people.

Tyler Zschach
I hardly think it is out of line to use a little bit of force to get the ball from a boy who was protecting it like it was an unborn fetus. He was obviously stalling from playing and wasting time. I personally don’t even think it warranted a red card, let alone an additional suspension.

Baseball Hall of Fame’s lack of new inductees

Megan Stracener
No, they shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame, because it’s hard to look up to an athlete who dopes. I don’t think doping is a very honorable thing to do, and baseball players should be role models. I think it’s hard to be supportive of an athlete who abuses substances. If you’re in the MLB you shouldn’t have to use drugs to stay at that level.

David Cress
I think that they should be put into the Hall of Fame. They accomplished lots of feats, even with the steroids, but they should have asterisks. These include some incredible players such as A-Rod, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. It’s a steroid sport, and people think even Babe Ruth took some sort of PEDs, so let them in.

Avi Agarwal
I think that they should definitely be in the Hall of Fame if they are good enough, but I agree they should have an asterisk. It’s definitely an advantage compared to players that havent taken it. and I don’t think the public can be in a position to accuse anyone who’s hit a lot of home runs, based on the body shape or whatever it is.

Maddie Schwinn
It was bad because he had cancer and he came back and he encouraged people to come back. He encouraged people to try things, and it’s not a good thing to do, and he’s not a good role model.

Tyler Zschach
I can’t help but think people like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, though I dislike both of them, and the other steroids guys should be inducted with an asterisk, without first ballot honors. They represent a generation in baseball and have massive career statistics that would warrant induction sans the steroids.

Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend

Megan Stracener
I felt very bad for him. Whoever made that up is very cruel, especially because it was the day his grandmother died. I don’t think he’s part of the fraud, though some suspect that. Why would he publically humiliate himself? It makes no sense.

David Cress
It’s clear from the evidence that he played no part. It’s important to note that he’s 21 and he doesn’t have a lot of experience with girls, so he doesn’t know whats going on. It happens to a bunch of NFL players as well, but they didn’t get in as much trouble.

Avi Agarwal
His draft stock has lowered. I think it lowered anyways because of his performance in the national championship game. Unless he does something significant in the NFL, people will always remember him for this.

Maddie Schwinn
It’s very horrible. Manti Te’o didn’t deserve this. I don’t think he played a role in it at all. He got completely thrown into everything. I would feel bad if his place in the draft is lowered as a result of this scandal because he doesn’t deserve it.

Tyler Zschach
This story just continues to get juicier, and I can’t help but think that Te’o is the most oblivious linebacker in college football and that this was really a sick scheme. This is so astounding that I find it difficult to fathom that he played any role in this.

tyler_zsach@asl.org