Armstrong whines over A-Rod’s rebuilt image

Lance Armstrong has a pretty solid spot in the pantheon of most hated sports figures, and he doesn’t sound thrilled with that — or his company.

The former cyclist, famous for winning seven Tour de France titles only to have them stripped due to his proclivity for doping, didn’t quite embrace his place in sports lore during a Thursday interview on the “Today” show.

“I do think there’s a double standard,” he said. “But I’m OK with it.”

After his 2013 confession to Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong received a strong amount of backlash, with a healthy amount of anger toward him lingering to this day.

Armstrong, banned from cycling for life in 2012, in- voked another famous cheater in Alex Rodriguez, the former Yankees superstar who received a oneyear ban for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, but has been able to reclaim a positive spot in the public eye years later. It’s a luxury Armstrong hasn’t been afforded, despite his Livestrong brand’s work for cancer research.

“Alex Rodriguez didn’t raise half a billion dollars and try to save a bunch of people’s lives,” Armstrong said. “That’s kind of the irony of this. Look, it’s great when somebody hits home runs and maybe does an event here and there for the Girls and Boys Club. This story held a place in people’s hearts and minds that was way beyond those guys.”