Dear Floyd, I don’t like you. From, Me

I used to be pretty certain that I didn’t like Floyd Landis.

He just came across as somebody who would easily aggravate me.

He’s probably the type who traps people in conversations at parties, ignoring all their obvious signs of disinterest.

He has a sort of sneer that’s off-putting.

These are simply things that I read into his personality with little to no evidence or support. All I really knew about him was that he “won” the 2006 Tour de France, then had his title stripped after a positive test for enhanced levels of testosterone.

He vehemently denied the charges and took the World Anti-Doping Agency to court to reinstate his victory. He also reportedly collected $1 million from supporters to fight the case, saying he had racked up $2 million in legal fees to clear his name.

All the while, not many people — myself included — really cared.

This week, Landis elected to come forward with a confession that very few were clamoring for and admit his doping. He said he’s been doping since 2002.

He also said he knows that a number of his former teammates, including Lance Armstrong, were also doping during the same time period. He admits that he has no evidence to support his claims.

OK Floyd, now I care.

Not only do I care, but I’m no longer pretty certain I don’t like you.

Now I’m sure.

I don’t dislike you because it finally became obvious you had, in fact, cheated your way to a Tour de France title. In this day and age, as unfortunate as it may be, I’m no longer surprised at anyone using performance enhancers.

The reason I dislike you is because you decided to publicly make yourself just a small part of a large problem, but provided no data to prove it.

I’m fine with people wanting forgiveness. The weight of this secret has probably been psychologically unbearable for Landis all these years. Getting something like that out in the open can lift an enormous weight from his shoulders.

Had he just come out and said he was guilty of all the accusations, asked for forgiveness and the ability to move forward with his life, I’d have a huge amount of respect for both his actions and his character. I’d have been fine forgiving him, though I never really held anything against him in the first place.

What bothers me is how he has decided to drag all his teammates under the bus along with him. By making these claims while also acknowledging he can’t prove any of them, all he is doing is perpetuating rumors and hearsay.

Armstrong is clearly the most famous cycler in the world and a hero to many Americans. He has fought back against doping allegations in the past and has given these new ones very little credence, pointing out that Landis doesn’t exactly have much credibility in the public sphere.

I’m not a die-hard Lance fan, but I can certainly appreciate what he has done after all the obstacles placed before him. The fact that he did a cameo in “Dodgeball” only bumped him up a few pegs in my book.

So these new accusations, like Landis saying he once stayed in Armstrong’s apartment while he and his wife were away to make sure the blood stored in his secret refrigerator stayed cold in case of a power failure, will do nothing to prove a case one way or the other.

Some might say that in a few years, we could look back on Landis as a pioneer the same way we now see Jose Canseco. When Canseco initially outed many baseball superstars as steroid users, the general public and media ignored his claims, saying his credibility was non-existent.

While this could prove true in time, there is one big difference here. There was no steroid testing going on in baseball. Conversely, Armstrong has been subject to one of the most stringent testing regimens any athlete has ever gone through. He has been surprised by middle-of-the-night knocks on his door, had French reporters dig through his garbage, basically been top dog on the international Most Wanted list for anyone interested in cycling overseas.

All the while, he’s come through it without a positive result.

How bringing more allegations against this guy managed to clear Landis’ conscience, as he claimed, I don’t understand. If he had any sort of verifiable evidence as support, I’d be singing a different tune. But this just seems petty.