If this were a movie, and Lance had ensured to team to continue with Chad, and everything worked out, it would have been testament to the wisdom of Lance. However, this wasn’t a movie and Lance had other things to consider. Chad, whether attributable or not, was immature and paid the price.

It would be a mistake to believe that Chad was kicked off the USP team for a single incident. By all accounts, there was a pattern of (bad boy) behavior that led to Chad being dropped. Perhaps the insult you refer to was “the last straw”, but it is a gross over-simplification to state that Lance couldn’t take criticism and booted his rival over one (poorly advised) comment.

With logic like yours, Chad never has to be responsible for his own actions and his own behavior. He has blamed his parents getting divorced for his bad behavior… yet his siblings didn’t go off the rails like he did (nor do 99.9% of people whose parents split up). You blame Lance Armstrong for getting him kicked off, but Chad never apologized for his behavior. Perhaps if he had made amends, he could have salvaged his spot on the team. But it’s never about being on a “team” with Chad, it’s all about him.

You go on to say that being on less popular teams “didn’t suit Chad”, and that he then was kicked off four (4) more teams before leaving cycling. I suppose it was Lance’s fault that Chad was kicked off those other four teams as well. No sense imagining that it was Chad’s behavior that resulted in getting the boot, because he’s not responsible for anything, right?

I suppose if I don’t get a promotion I’m hoping for, I can just fall into homelessness and drug addiction, and none of it will be my fault. It will be the my manager’s fault for dealing me a crushing dissappointment. What a relief, now I don’t need to worrt about being responsible for anything anymore.

Chad was a spoiled, self-centered, irresponsible little brat. If you watch the follow up on Intervention, you’ll see that even when he’s clean and sober he’s still a selfish, self absorbed jerk.

@WriterX: I disagree. 17 is the perfect age to be taught when to keep your mouth shut and that there are consequences for things you say and do. If Lance would have allowed the disrespectful punk to remain on the team, it would have reinforced the self-entitlement that seems so pervasive with today’s youth.

Like perez hilton recently learned, there are consequences for running the pie hole. If you don’t want to face those consequences, keep it shut or learn how to talk to people respectfully and politely.

Chad was 17; Lance Armstrong was the adult. Sounds like Lance Armstrong behaved like more of the child. Still, it sounds like Chad was pretty unstable to begin with. If it hadn’t been Lance Armstrong, it could very well have been somebody else.