In doing so, he also was admitting that he was a shameless, bald-faced liar who threw away millions of dollars (much of it other people’s money) trying to “clear” his name when he knew all along that he’d been nailed to the wall.
Now Landis seeks a “clear conscience.”So how does he go about getting one? By throwing his friends and former teammates under the bus. Whether the others also were cheaters may be open to debate – Lance Armstrong has spent years fighting off accusations without convincing proof of his guilt – but why should we listen to Landis? He failed verified blood tests that have held up under intense scientific and legal scrutiny, was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title and spent the next four years telling lie after lie, often under oath.
On that point, it will be curious to see whether the perjury Landis now so freely admits will be thrown back in his face. He should pay a price for violating his sworn oaths to tell the truth – I think he should be compelled to repay the costs expended by other parties in all those administrative and legal hearings he dragged everyone through – if for no other reason than to discourage circus acts like his in the future. At the very least, Landis’s case vindicates the anti-doping authorities and provides hope that, as drug-testing procedures become even more reliable and acceptable, the adage that “cheaters never prosper” might enjoy a revival.