????十五年前，蘭斯?阿姆斯特朗成立了一家致力于幫助癌癥患者的非盈利機構，成為最成功的同類機構之一。之后，阿姆斯特朗的Livestrong基金會已募集超過4.7億美元，曾幫助超過550家機構進行癌癥存活研究，或為癌癥患者提供服務。

????這還不包括阿姆斯特朗幫助基金會在德克薩斯州贏得的一場大勝。該州選民通過一項公投，保證出資30億美元用于支持癌癥研究。

????眼下，這位著名運動員和癌癥康復者身為耐克（Nike）等多個國際品牌的代言人卻遭到人們的普遍唾棄，他又該何去何從？

????與其他不光彩的公眾人物一樣，我們可以預見，他可能會出書披露內幕，或者拍電影，亦或通過其他活動，充分利用重塑形象的努力給自己生財。但目前來看，阿姆斯特朗所有環法自行車賽冠軍頭銜和一塊奧運會銅牌都被剝奪，同時還失去了所有品牌贊助，職業生涯已經陷入谷底。阿姆斯特朗一直服用能夠提高比賽成績的藥物，而且他以前的隊友爆料稱，阿姆斯特朗還脅迫他們服用禁藥。要想修復之前勤奮的形象，他得付出一生的時間。

????但給阿姆斯特朗恢復信譽造成最大困難的或許并不是禁藥丑聞?！堕]嘴，說點什么：克服挑戰與影響聽眾的商業溝通策略》（Shut Up and Say Something: Business Communication Strategies to Overcome Challenges and Influence Listeners）一書的作者凱倫?弗里德曼認為，阿姆斯特朗屢次拒絕承認撒謊和欺騙，“造成了嚴重的信用問題”，僅僅在奧普拉?溫弗里的節目中道歉是解決不了的。她說：“隨著時間的推移，人們可以原諒，但卻不會忘記。”

????不過，許多背負丑聞的名人最終都成功贏回了粉絲的支持，還再次得到公眾的認可。比如，2003年，科比?布萊恩特因被控強奸而幾乎名譽掃地?！皵[脫刑事上的麻煩后，科比立刻在賽場上給球隊帶來了勝利，并接受媒體采訪和參與慈善工作，同時避免再次犯錯，”《即時幸存者：如何應對不利局面》（The Instant Survivor: Right Ways to Respond to When Things Go Wrong）一書的作者吉姆?摩爾海德說。多年以后，布萊恩特不僅在賽場上取得成功，并且成為雪碧（Sprite）、麥當勞（McDonalds）、耐克、阿迪達斯（Adidas）和其他許多品牌的代言人。而導致阿姆斯特朗步入歧途的競爭個性也可能有助于他重新獲得公眾好感，正如當年的邁克爾?米爾肯。邁克爾?米爾肯便是臭名昭著的“垃圾債券之王”，上世紀90年代初，因證券欺詐而鋃鐺入獄。與阿姆斯特朗一樣，他也是一位癌癥幸存者。米爾克將其巨大的影響力和巨額財富全部貢獻到癌癥研究當中，2004年《財富》雜志（Fortune）的專題報道稱米爾肯是“改變醫學的人?！?/p>

????Fifteen years ago, Lance Armstrong launched one of the most successful nonprofit organizations to address the needs of people affected by cancer. Since then, Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation has raised more than $470 million to help more than 550 organizations conduct cancer survivorship research or offer services to people affected by cancer.

????That doesn't include a big win Armstrong helped score for the foundation's home state of Texas, where voters passed a referendum guaranteeing $3 billion in funding for cancer research.

????So what happens now that there's egg all over the public face of such a prominent athlete and cancer survivor who's also built a business as an ambassador for global brands like Nike (NKE)?

????As is the case with many a disgraced public figure, we should expect things like a tell-all book, a movie deal, and other income-producing endeavors that take full advantage of an attempted return to glory. For now though, stripped of all of his Tour de France titles, an Olympic bronze medal, and all of his brand sponsorships, Armstrong has hit career rock-bottom. He's been exposed for using performance-enhancing drugs and some of his former teammates say that they were bullied by Armstrong to take them as well. He will need to put in a lifetime's worth of diligent image rehab.

????But it may not be the doping scandal that'll prove hardest on Armstrong's reputational comeback. Karen Friedman, author of Shut Up and Say Something: Business Communication Strategies to Overcome Challenges and Influence Listeners, argues that Armstrong's repeated failure to take ownership of lying and cheating "causes a huge credibility problem" that may not be easily swept away by apologizing with Oprah Winfrey. "Over time, people tend to forgive, but not forget," she says.

????Then again, plenty of shamed high-profile personalities have found their way back into the hearts of fans and scored endorsements again. Take Kobe Bryant, whose reputation took a major nosedive after being accused of rape in 2003. "After his criminal troubles ended, he immediately resumed his on-court triumphs, access to reporters, and charitable work, while avoiding any further trouble," says Jim Moorhead, author of The Instant Survivor: Right Ways to Respond to When Things Go Wrong. Years later, Bryant is a success both on the court and as the face of Sprite, McDonalds (MCD), Nike, Adidas, and other brands.

????Armstrong's competitive nature, which led him astray, might also help accelerate his path back into the public's good graces, much like Michael Milken. The notorious former "junk bond king," who went to federal prison for securities fraud in the early 1990s, is a cancer survivor like Armstrong. Milken devoted his considerable influence and wealth to cancer research, prompting a 2004 Fortune feature story proclaiming Milken as "The Man Who Changed Medicine."