When I first saw the headline for this story on The Huffington Post, which reads “Lance Armstrong Throws A Hissy Fit At Texas Bar,” I assumed it was a clearcut case of a celebrity acting like an ass and thinking that the world should bend over backwards for them. Other examples of celebrities getting shot down when they demanded special treatment at drinking establishments include Sienna Miller’s “Don’t You Know Who I Am?” shriek in Pittsburgh when she was denied for lack of ID, and Woody Harrelson’s drunken bloody fight with two bouncers after he was told not to leave with wineglasses in hand.

The story is that Armstrong was sternly told by the bouncer at a sold-out Austin show at a bar not to leave with a drink. He then got all up in the bouncer’s face with the old “I’ll have you fired” line. In this version of events, Armstrong comes off as an asshole with a sense of entitlement, but at least he wasn’t physically abusive.

Backstage door man Sean Higgins, obviously not concerned with the celebrity of the person who was breaking the law, quickly ran over to Armstrong and his pal and rather forcefully made it clear that the guys could not walk off with drinks. Armstrong at first seemed surprised and briefly cordial, but that soon gave way to fierce indignation. Having taken the drinks from Armstrong and friend, Higgins returned to his post at the door. But, possibly due to being called out in front of a few dozen people, Armstrong, apparently having taken exception to the manner in which Higgins was performing his job, would not go quietly into that good night.

He returned to the door, full of sound and fury. Higgins, who has worked at the Backstage Bar for four-and-a-half years, made it quite clear that he had no interest in Armstrong’s celebrity or defense of his actions. Armstrong, not willing to drop the issue, flailingly tried to retake whatever sense of pride he apparently felt was taken from him, by berating Higgins while his friends stood at his side. With a finger that came inches from Higgins’ face, Armstrong, according to Higgins, let loose a series of threats that concluded with the time-worn threat of “You’ll never work at this bar again.” Higgins, who apparently didn’t get the memo that nobody puts Lance in the corner, scoffed at the irate Armstrong, who then left to a series of under-breath cat calls and one patron labeling Armstrong as overrated (the cleanest of the insults softly launched his way.) Bizarre end to an excellent night. I’m sure Higgins is on Career Builder as I type. (Not really.)

[From Austin360.com]

It sounds like Armstrong was provoked but that he didn’t handle it well. What he did handle with grace was a follow-up statement. Armstrong called the author of the original blog article on Austin 360, which is the Entertainment section of Austin newspaper The Austin American Statesman, and owed up to the incident and apologized. He also gave his side of the story, saying he was manhandled but that he overreacted. He could have had his publicist fax in a statement to US Weekly, but he personally called the author and it comes off as much more sincere:

“Listen, I was totally out of line,” Armstrong said.

Although Armstrong says he was in the wrong, he felt that the door man in question could have handled the situation better, as well. “You know, give us a warning. He walked over and nearly tackled us as if he had warned us four or five times. He was so aggressive without any warning. Believe me, man, if somebody says, ‘You can not take these beers out of here,’ I’ll just throw them away or go back inside. I’ve got no problem with that. I wasn’t looking for any special rules or treatment.”

Armstrong confessed that despite feeling he wasn’t given any warning before being confronted, he should have responded differently. “I don’t need to do that (respond the way he did), though. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

[From Austin360.com]

The Huffington Post didn’t link directly to the source, they linked to another reporting site, Austinist, which has not yet updated with Armstrong’s statement of contrition, so it’s likely that this story might get picked up by other outlets and reported with only one side. It was a minor incident at a crowded bar with an overzealous bouncer, but since a celebrity is involved it’s big news. At least Armstrong responded well afterwards and it never came to blows.

Armstrong is shown below running the 2007 NY Marathon, which he finished in under three hours. It was his second marathon after running the same course in 2006, and he finished 13 minutes faster after a lot of training. 36 year-old Armstrong is arguably the worlds most celebrated cyclist, having won the Tour De France seven years in a row, from 1999 to 2005. He has repeatedly been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, but only tested positive once in 1999 for traces of corticosteroids. He had a medical certificate showing that he used a topical steroid cream that was authorized to treat saddle sores.

Armstrong is now retired from cycling and trained for the marathon in order to keep up his physical condition. He called the 2006 marathon “the hardest physical thing I have ever done.” He is a cancer survivor after undergoing successful treatment for testicular cancer in 1996, and went on to found the Lance Armstrong Foundation to benefit cancer patients.

Armstrong is shown in the header at Stand Up For Skateparks on 10/7/07. Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.