Really? I don’t even follow cycling and as I recall, LeMond was pretty famous up until Armstrong eclipsed him by miles by blowing away every single record LeMond held. LeMond was the guy that put cycling on the map for the United States.
And, from what I recall, there was such a large gap in Lance’s performance compared to LeMond’s that it seems likely LeMond wasn’t cheating when he accomplished everything he did.
LeMond was at least moderately well-known in the U.S. when he was winning the Tour de France in the late 1980s; he was even Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 1989.
But, I think, at that point, cycling was still a very niche sport here, and, as you note, when Armstrong came along, he took over as the name in U.S. cycling, and the then-retired LeMond faded from the public consciousness. I wouldn’t be surprised if, as Snarky Kong suggests, most Americans today wouldn’t recognize LeMond’s name, but I think he was considerbly more well-known in his prime, 30 years ago. (Not O.J. Simpson or Pete Rose level fame, mind you… 
)
Me either. Well, it’s vaguely familiar I guess, but if you mentioned the name I’d have no idea who you were talking about.
The perception in Nebraska is that coach Tom Osborne could be on the list “thanks to the media”. Legendary coach, 255 wins in 25 seasons, 3 national titles, no NCAA probations, and nice guy.
But when he retired in 1997, all the news reports seemed to say “Oh, you mean the guy who let criminal Lawrence Phillips play?”
I’m not sure skeletor counts as an athlete.
He’s also considered one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time. He’s even in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Not the biggest fall, but certainly timely. Two time all-star and Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felix Vazquez just destroyed his MLB career. If convicted, he’ll lose the remaining $13 million on his contract due to the standard morals clause.
Your second link is the same as the first. And it’s Felipe Vasquez.
He was on an episode of phineas and ferb fer chrissakes! Phineas…and… Ferb! You don’t get bigger than that.
Don’t think I’ve seen Michael Vick here, but he’s paid his debt to society, so I guess what he did was OK. (Yeah, heard that more than once.)
:smack:
Tony Harding’s fall from grace doesn’t hold a candle to what happened to Debi Thomas. That’s a long-running tragedy.
Christopher Bowman was another ice skater who met a tragic end.
Indeed. For example, I just looked at the final General Classification standings for the 2002 Tour. That was Armstrong’s 4th “win”, and therefore right in the middle of his run. I had to go down to Carlos Sastre in 10th to find the first rider that hadn’t been caught, confessed, or implicated in a doping scandal.
As far as the radical religious are concerned, I image OJ doesn’t hold a candle to Bruce Jenner:
On a side note, WTF is a “gender-confused lifestyle”?
Mark Gastineau, defensive end for the NY Jets:
Legal issues
In 1984, Gastineau was found guilty of assaulting a patron at Studio 54. He was sentenced to 90 hours of community service, teaching football to inmates at Rikers Island.
In 1991, Gastineau was arrested for picking up a package of amphetamine pills at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. He was sentenced to three years probation in 1993.
In September, 2000, Gastineau was sentenced to 18 months in jail after failing to complete an anger management course after hitting his second wife, Patricia.
Good point; this was going beyond ‘just doing what everyone else did’
I think I’m voting for Paterno if he counts. The guy who was supposed to be the shining example of the opposite of a ‘win at all costs’ mentality was in fact perfectly willing to pay the cost of kids being raped, in order to win. No deaths, but probably the next worst thing, and there were a lot more than two victims.
LeMond was one of the earliest vocal doubters of Armstrong’s accomplishments.
What about Mike Tyson? Convicted rapist and bit his opponents ears off in his “comeback”.
Sorry, just a nitpick here: When did Lenny Dykstra nearly hit .400?
And I’ll submit Mark Chmura. Though acquitted of raping a 17-year-old, he was drunk at a party with teenagers. His career plummeted thereafter.
Indeed. And and I believe he faced a lot of blowback for it at the time.
There was a 30 for 30 about LeMond and his rivalry with French cyclist Bernard Hinault that i thought was fascinating.
Everyone loves Ben Johnson, the Canadian who wins the 1988 Olympic 100m final in a world record time!
three days later
We regret to inform you that Ben Johnson is a massive drug cheat.
When he was a champ, he was Canadian. Afterward, he was “a Jamaican immigrant”.
And in between, Johnson famously said:
