Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong finally gave his critics what they wanted in the concluding chapter of his sitdown with Oprah Winfrey on OWN Friday night: a show of genuine emotion.
The stoic Armstrong struggled as he described telling his 13-year-old son to stop defending him on social media.
But Armstrong made it clear: He wants back in. He wants to return to competitive sports. The lifetime ban seems unfair when others have received six months, he said.
His most humbling moment? When the charitable organization he founded, Livestrong, asked him to step aside. The cancer survivor viewed the organization as his sixth child.
The most damning moment? When Oprah played part of his 2005 deposition in which he swore he was clean, that he would never risk his reputation because he knew he would be letting down millions of cancer survivors.
Even Oprah laughed at the audacity of that notorious picture he tweeted of him with his seven Tour de France jerseys after being stripped of his titles. What was he thinking? But Armstrong acknowledged he's not one for much reflection.
Oprah proved herself to be a great interviewer - setting Armstrong at ease, never going on the attack, asking straightforward, important questions. The two nights, though, should have been edited down to one special. This was a lot to sit through with little payoff.
Oprah, being Oprah, is always looking for redemption in others - What did they learn? What can they share with other people? Where do they go next?
Armstrong hasn't reached a point where he can consider that. "I feel humbled. I feel ashamed. Yeah, this is ugly stuff," he said at the top of the hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment