Lance Armstrong's Image Repair and Maintenance

226 Pages·2016·0.81 MB·English

by  S. Andrew Stowe

Clemson University
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All Dissertations Dissertations
8-2016
The Drive to Deceive: Lance Armstrong's Image
Repair and Maintenance
S. Andrew Stowe
Clemson University
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Stowe, S. Andrew, "The Drive to Deceive: Lance Armstrong's Image Repair and Maintenance" (2016).All Dissertations. 1698.
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THE DRIVE TO DECEIVE:
LANCE ARMSTRONG’S IMAGE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

A Dissertation
Presented to
the Graduate School of
Clemson University

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design

by
S. Andrew Stowe
August 2016

Accepted by:
Dr. David Blakesley, Committee Chair
Dr. James Sanderson
Dr. Sean Morey
Dr. Daniel E. Wueste
ABSTRACT

Lance Armstrong is one of the most recognized athletes of all time and one of
the most successful cyclists ever. After surviving cancer, going on to win the Tour de
France a record seven times, and being the center of a media empire, Armstrong’s
reputation was publicly ruined after the United States Anti-Doping Agency released
a huge case against him. Armstrong had to recant years of righteous denials and
arduous insistence that he did not use performance-enhancing drugs. This doping
scandal exposed a well-liked sports hero as a fraud and cheater, making him an
exception case study in branding and crisis communication. Drawing on image
repair theory as well ethical and sociological perspectives on performance-
enhancing drug use, this dissertation seeks to better understand the rhetorical
situations of cycling and doping, the relationship between Armstrong and the media,
and the ways Armstrong’s identity construction damaged his reputation. Walter
Fisher’s theories of narrative and Kenneth Burke’s dramatism are also brought to
bear on the stories Armstrong uses throughout the scandal to explain or rationalize
his acts.

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DEDICATION

For Heather.
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I could not have completeAdC tKhiNs OdiWssLeErtDatGioMn EwNitThSo ut a tremendous amount of hard
work, support, and sacrifice from many. Firstly, for Heather, you grounded me through
this whole process; there are not enough words to thank you for your help. Many thanks
to my chair, Dr. David Blakesley, who provided clear insight, a keen editorial eye, and
never ending support. Also, my committee members, Drs. Sean Morey, Jimmy
Sanderson, and Daniel Wueste, brought interesting insights, varied perspective, and
helped me manage the direction of this project. I owe special thanks to Cynthia Haynes
whose words of wisdom have not failed to echo through my head every single day.
Thanks to Jan Holmevik, Steve Katz, and Bryan Denham for their candor, care, and
thoughtful feedback. Victor Vitanza provided valuable feedback and patient support for
the initial seed that became this project. I could not have completed this project without
the support of my family, specifically my parents (all of them). Thanks to my church
family and pastor for all of their support, prayers, thoughtful question, and willingness to
listen and talk out ideas. I’d like to acknowledge Ms. Anna Inabinet, Steve Knight,
George Williams, Ben Myers and others who have been incredibly important figures in
my education. Special thanks to Camille Cooper, for being my librarian extraordinaire.
I’d like to thank my cohort (Mike Utley, Matt Osborn, Hayley Zertuche, Heather
Christiansen, Data Canlas, Kathy Elrick, Lauren Woolbright, and Jay Jacobs) for their
endless help, support and inspiration; I could not have done this with you all (and if I did,
it would not have been nearly as much fun). Thanks to Verner Møller and Christopher S.
iv
Thompson for sharing their thoughts as I began this project. Finally, I wish to
acknowledge the joy that my daughter, Elliott, brought to this process.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ............................................................................................................................................... i

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. ii

DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................iv

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... ix

CHAPTER

I. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH DOPING? ............................................................... 1

Introduction: Representative Anecdote .......................................................... 1
Dissertation Framework ........................................................................................ 5
Beyond Lance Armstrong ...................................................................................... 7
The Issue of Motive ............................................................................................... 11
Doping as a Job Requirement ........................................................................... 14
Setting the Stage: The Tour de France .......................................................... 19
Identity Construction from Doping to Doper ............................................ 22
Media Coverage of Dopers ................................................................................. 24
Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 27

II. TOWARD A BANKING THEORY OF ETHOS ........................................................ 31

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 31
Crisis Communication .................................................................................... 33
Lance Armstrong Secular Saint .................................................................. 36
Image ........................................................................................................................... 38
Identity Performance ...................................................................................... 38
The Need for Image Repair .......................................................................... 43
Image Repair ............................................................................................................ 44
Expectations ....................................................................................................... 49
Armstrong and Image Repair Strategies ................................................ 52
Discussion ................................................................................................................. 57
vi
Table of Contents (Continued)

Page

III. ANTAPOLOGIA: CONSIDERING THE IMPACT
OF THE MEDIA ........................................................................................................ 61

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 61
The Power of the Media ...................................................................................... 62
Coverage of Le Tour .............................................................................................. 63
Social Media ........................................................................................................ 69
Agenda Setting and Narrative .................................................................... 69
Armstrong and His People Control Media .................................................. 71
Armstrong Confesses to Oprah ........................................................................ 74
Antapologia as an Indicator of Distrust ........................................................ 76
Thematic Analysis .................................................................................................. 77
Research Question ................................................................................................. 81
Methods ...................................................................................................................... 82
Results ........................................................................................................................ 85
Discussion ................................................................................................................. 90
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 92

IV. THE LANCE ARMSTRONG STORIES: A DRAMATISTIC
CONSIDERATION OF NARRATIVES ............................................................... 94

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 94
Telling the Story ..................................................................................................... 95
Background .............................................................................................................. 96
The Stories That We Tell and What They Mean .................................. 98
Interpretation ................................................................................................. 103
Dramatism ........................................................................................................ 104
Interpretive Criticism of Armstrong ........................................................... 106
The Armstrong Stories ..................................................................................... 108
Pre-Confession Narrative: Hard Work ....................................................... 109
Analysis of Armstrong’s Hard Work Narrative................................. 112
Pre-Confession Narrative: Cancer Shield ................................................. 113
Analysis of Armstrong’s Cancer Shield ................................................ 115
Lance Armstrong Confession ......................................................................... 117
Analysis .............................................................................................................. 119
Post-Confession Narrative .............................................................................. 121
Analysis of Armstrong’s Refusal to Be
Cycling’s Scapegoat .................................................................................. 123
Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 124
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Table of Contents (Continued)

Page

V. WHAT CAN LANCE ARMSTRONG TEACH US
ABOUT COMMUNICATION? ............................................................................ 127

Considering Armstrong’s Identity ............................................................... 128
Armstrong’s Identity Performance
After the Confession ................................................................................ 130
The Doping Problem Continues .................................................................... 136
Doping in the Broader Context ................................................................ 136
Cycling’s Omerta: Spiraling into Silence .............................................. 139
Conclusion/s ......................................................................................................... 144

AFTERWORD ..................................................................................................................................... 147

APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................................... 151

A: Transcript of Lance Armstrong’s Oprah Confession ................................... 152
B: Articles coded for Antapalogia in Chapter Four ........................................... 195

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 204
viii
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1.1 Armstrong and Oprah during confession .............................................................. 3

3.1 Number of news articles published around
Armstrong's televised confession ................................................................... 84

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