A different perspective - many of us are saying what we would do or wouldn't do - but have never been remotely close to his situation.
(and keep in mind, doping back then was everywhere. There were steroids in my HS wrestling and football team locker rooms, roids in the gym, institutional doping on national levels - it was flat everywhere- pro sports, college sports, olympic sports, recreational sports - flat out everywhere).
-You are one of the most gifted athletes born
-You are also one of the most driven people
-You attain local and regional celebrity at a very young age
-You begin to have success at an international level at a very young age
-Your popularity grows.
-You start to have success and gain even more attention.
-You have a major setback or illness and the world is watching
-You emerge from your illness, get back on the horse - and doping is a part of that equation. As it is for the majority of sports at that time, and for the majority of athletes.
-After this illness - you win the superbowl right out of the gate.
The train has now left the station and you are strapped in for the ride, and may even be helping to drive the train.
-You are now involved with what is probably billions in potential earnings for your corporate sponsors, the sport, your own ventures.
-This grows exponentially on the shoulders of your success.
-You are now a world wide celebrity, a household name - and you are in your early 20's.
-The majority of, the overwhelming majority of, people around you, that sponsor you, that allow you to race - know exactly what is going on.
-The majority of, the overwhelming majority of, people racing you - are doing just about the exact same things to win.
I'm gussing that none of us have any where near the talent, the abilities, the dedication and the drive of any of these athletes, and nowhere near anything that LA had. We were never exposed to the celebrity, the money, the power, none of it.
But as old men sitting behind a keyboard - we are quick to take a position that we wouldn't be caught up in something similar. We would just walk away from our talent, from the celebrity, from the money, from the women (or men), at the tender age of the early 20's.
What did y'all expect the man to do? Step back and say - welp, my masseuse caught me, its all over - the jig is up... and just walk away from a billion dollar industry that is being carried by your young shoulders? Is that what y'all would do? Just up and confess, walk away and blow it all up?