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Lance Armstrong's Image Repair and Maintenance S Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations 8-2016 The Drive to Deceive: Lance Armstrong's Image Repair and Maintenance S. Andrew Stowe Clemson University Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Recommended Citation Stowe, S. Andrew, "The Drive to Deceive: Lance Armstrong's Image Repair and Maintenance" (2016). All Dissertations. 1698. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/1698 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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. ii DEDICATION For Heather. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I could not have completed this dissertation without 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. v 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 .............................................................................................................
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