Two of the most amazing athletes in history — Lance Armstrong and Barry Bonds — have been the targets of all sorts of accusations about using steroids or other illegal performance-enhancing drugs. They haven’t ever been charged by police or disciplined by their sports’ governing bodies, but their reputations have been smeared repeatedly by “fans” and jealous rivals.

This is one of the few competitions that Armstrong and Bonds simply can’t win. Even if they never used the drugs and never will, it’s impossible to prove something like that. Nasty people can always say they found a way to cheat the tests — without ever offering proof, of course.

You don’t come across steroid accusations in many workplaces, but you do come across petty jealousies. People who move up fast or get choice assignments get accused — behind their backs, of course — or playing office politics or brown-nosing. It couldn’t possibly be that they’re more talented than their accusers.

Armstrong beat long odds to survive cancer, and that time of life-altering experience could inspire people to great heights. But it’s easier for rivals to accuse him of something than to admit that he works harder than they do.

Steroid-users are often unusually aggressive, yet Bonds is more patient at waiting for good pitches than anyone since Ted Williams.
Could Armstrong and Bonds be cheats? Sure. And some people who get choice assignments certainly are brown-nosers.

But if you take the cynical approach without any proof, you miss the chance to appreciate their greatness. What can they teach you? How can they inspire you? How can you be better because of them?

If Armstrong and Bonds are cheating their sports, shame on them. But if you’re so skeptical that you’re cheating yourself, shame on you.