Originally Posted by Martin Jackson .
Please take this movement to allow me to introduce myself.
For four years I played college football at the University of Texas and later I played seven years in the NFL. During that time I came in contact with many celebrities who were professional athletes.
In 2001, at a charity golf tournament I promoted in Austin, I had the honor of meeting Lance Armstrong. We had several in-depth and stimulating conversations at the awards banquet and after it was over I told him I'd like to go for a ride with him sometime and that I'd like to learn more about his sport. I didn't think I'd hear from him.
Later that week I got a call on my cell phone from Lance. He invited me for a ride later that afternoon. I told him that I didn't own a bike other than a K-Mart Spring Shock Cruiser to which he replied, "don't worry about that."
I packed my K-Mart Spring Shock Cruiser in the trunk of my benz and headed over to Lance's house. When I showed up, there in the driveway was a new Trek bicycle for me to ride and Nike shoes that fit. We began riding. I think Lance could have easily "dropped" me, but he didn't. He rode at my pace, which was about 14 mph. For the next two hours we chatted. Beside both being pro athletes, we had many other things in common, one of which was, we both came from broken homes with absent fathers, but we both strove to achieve our goals using every tool at our disposal. By the end of the ride there was a definite bond, a brotherhood between us.
Allow me this brief digression. The NFL is rife with performance enhancing drug abuse. I myself have many connections into this world and have used steroids to improve my athletic performance on many occasions.
Anyway, nearing the end of the ride, I told Lance, "If you need any help beating those guys in the Tour de France, just let me know. I can bring the power like Scotty. I can get anything you need," and he knew exactly what I was talking about.
Lance said, "I don't need that ****. I win without it." And then he smiled that Texas smile that says, "Don't tread on me."
I've been reading a lot in the media about Lance taking performance enhancing drugs and it really bothers me. I believe the French laboratories, the Tour de France organization and Greg LeMond are behind this attack on my friend Lance. I've decided to right the wrong where ever and whenever I can. This is just the beginning of my fight to help restore the reputation of someone who is still very dear to me.
