Live Strong

With the recent Lance Armstrong debacle seeming more and more like a true cover-up, and his titles actually being stripped, serious questions are being raised over the ethics in professional sports. The people who have testified against Armstrong include members of his own team and men he competed against. A former girlfriend is quoted as saying that steroid were necessary evil, but nonetheless necessary. Whether or not Armstrong was on the juice or other performance enhancers, he is a highly marketable figure, with his name , face, and even signature color, "Livestrong Yellow" saturating the market.

Recently in class we wrote about conformity and social power. If Lance Armstrong, a legend of cycling and overcoming adversity has come this far due to cheating, this sends a very powerful message to younger athletes. In the world of "everyone's doing it", it will become increasingly harder to avoid performance enhancing substances and practices. Hopefully in the future, companies will support athletes who not only perform, but show a moral obligation to a fair competition.

The article below explains more in depth the charges brought against him, and the steps Nike and Lance himself have taken to maintain distance from this scandal, while still supporting his causes such as Livestrong and the Lance Armstrong Foundation

Armstrong Marketing Legacy