Dear Lance,

You disappointed me.

Sincerely,

Jack

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Until a few days ago Lance Armstrong was a hero to me – he was bigger than life and someone I looked up to. He was a great example – a person that we could tell our children about (you know the drill – the work hard, practice, don’t cheat line that we as parents use when talking to our children about life, sports, and competition).

Lance Armstrong beat the odds and he won all those races. He took all those drug tests and he passed them. Lance Armstrong was clean and he was a champion! The French people and other athletes in the cycling world were just resentful about his domination. It even looked like Scott Pelley and the entire CBS News organization was a little jealous of Lance’s domination in the cycling world and they were out to get him with all their stories on the evening news and 60 Minutes.

At least five times since August 2007 I stood up for Lance Armstrong on this website writing about people attacking him and saying he “doped.” I did not believe it. He was one of the good guys.  

I was wrong.

All my columns in which I defended Lance Armstrong seem pretty dumb right now. It is now reported by several news organizations that Armstrong confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs during an interview with Oprah Winfrey on Monday.

You’re a cheater Lance Armstrong – a CHEATER.

The good news (for Armstrong) is that he is now free from living a lie. Having that weight lifted off his shoulders must feel pretty good. Coming clean is just the first step, though.

I do forgive Lance Armstrong – but the disappointment with how he deceived me and millions of fans will linger…

Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord