Sarah Fischer’s opinion piece in the Jan. 22, 2013 edition of The Daily Illini on doping in sports, specifically cycling, demonstrates a misunderstanding of the subject.

Sport is, fundamentally, a test of the limits of human potential; it calls into question what is possible. We cheer for the incredible run, jump or ride not because these things are inhuman, but because they are entirely, intensely human.

Athletes dope for a variety of reasons, but they are all taking an illegitimate shortcut. They are cheating. In doing so, they replace the humanity of sport with the deceit of a needle. They maintain the veneer of excellence while betraying the ideals of faster, higher and braver. They violate the trust fans place in them.

Lance Armstrong is a household name because when presented the choice to pursue clean sport or take the needle, he decided to cheat, apparently without remorse or regret. 

He, and others like him, didn’t dope to please adoring fans but for personal gain. He’s a cheater, a liar and in Oprah’s words, a “bully.” These are not traits I would attribute to a hero or role model. Other cyclists chose strength when faced with the same options, even though it meant worse placings or losing their jobs altogether. These are the heroes, the people whose lives can serve as a model for others.

I have heard repeatedly that we should stop holding our athletes to higher standards than we hold ourselves, and I don’t understand this sentiment at all. We hold athletes to the highest standard precisely because they represent the best of us. Sport is a celebration of human strength, not weakness, and weakness is exactly the nature of a doped athlete.

Alex Voitik,

junior in LAS