Consumers’ Views on Cheating Reflected in Woods, Armstrong (Opinion)

Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. Lance Armstrong, his accusers say, cheated his sport.

Which is worse?

From a business standpoint, there appears to be little doubt. While Woods lost more than $20 million in endorsement money in the aftermath of the exposure of his canoodling with everyone from porn stars to pancake waitresses, Armstrong has gained financial strength despite repeated allegations of blood doping.

The latter was made abundantly clear by CNBC’s Darren Rovel.

“As the federal investigation continues and more of his teammates speak out against him,” Rovell wrote, “the speculation is that Lance Armstrong’s golden name is getting smeared by the day and that his strong business empire is slowly crumbling.

“But that’s actually not the reality.”

Instead, Rovell points out, Armstrong no longer counts on small deals with Coca-Cola and Subaru. Nowadays, he lends his name to smaller companies in return for an equity stake in them.

There’s also Armstrong’s agreement with Nike. His Livestrong brand, Rovell wrote, “has grown from 80 million rubber bracelets sold to a significant business of apparel and shoes that is expected to hit $75 million this year.”

Nike even issued a statement supporting Armstrong after the latest round of doping allegations by a former teammate.

Armstrong, remember, won seven consecutive Tour de France events starting in 1999.

“Our relationship with Lance remains as strong as ever,” Nike told The Hollywood Reporter in the statement. “We are proud to work with him and support his foundation. Nike does not condone the use of banned substances and Lance has been unwavering on that position as well.”

Nike still has an agreement with Woods, too, but the man who not that long ago seemed destined to become The Greatest Golfer Ever hasn’t escaped his escapades unscathed. A Sports Illustrated report last July estimated Woods’ 2010 endorsements to be worth $22 million less than they were in 2009.

Granted, Woods remained No. 1 on the magazine’s list of highest-earning American athletes at $90 million. That was down, however, from a whopping $128 million in 2008.

Nike isn’t the only sponsor standing behind Armstrong. An Anheuser-Busch representative told THR Armstrong will continue in his role as a pitch man for Michelob Ultra.

“Lance has performed as an extraordinary athlete in a demanding sport, making him admired by millions who lead active lifestyles,” the statement read. “That was our opinion when we signed him and that is our opinion today.”

Interestingly, the public’s opinion of Armstrong doesn’t appear to differ much from that of his business partners.

“Since the foundation was created,” Rovell wrote, “donations have increased. In 2002, the [Lance Armstrong Foundation] passed $6 million in donations, annual funding surpassed the $20 million mark, the $30 million mark in 2008, the $40 million mark in 2009 and is on target to blow by the $50 million mark this year.”

This is the case, Rovell also noted, even as other charitable endeavors have struggled to maintain donations during turbulent economic times.

“As of now,” Rovell wrote, “Armstrong’s business thus far has been as bulletproof as his adamant responses that he never took performance enhancing drugs.”

Just because they are strong, however, don’t mean Armstrong’s denials can’t be viewed as shaky. Let’s face it, cycling has had more doping scandals over the last 20 years than Motley Crue.

Following that line of thinking, then, consumers who buy Armstrong’s products either believe he was clean and simply so dominant he could beat fields littered with dopers seven years in a row, or just don’t care he might have cheated. If it’s the former, it seems here a case of blind hero worship is running rampant.

Perhaps more likely, consumers are willing to overlook the doping allegations due to Armstrong’s cancer-related work. The increased donations and funding for his foundation certainly support that idea.

Rovell even posted a poll on Twitter, essentially asking if the government should investigate whether Armstrong took performance-enhancing drugs. More than 85 percent of the 459 respondents said it’s not important, less than 8 percent find it very important, and 7 percent believe it’s somewhat important.

All of that leads us back to the original question: Is Woods cheating on his wife worse than Armstrong cheating his sport?

The cash register says, “Yes.”