This is a complicated matter and many different organizations will have to sign off to some degree on any forthcoming “I did dope” statement from Armstrong, imo. It will be interesting to see what occurs over the next few months as this testing of the waters plays out.
Knowing human nature, a perfunctory mea culpa is not going to cut it. People are going to want to make a spectacle of his public shaming, probably followed by a period in the wilderness. That’s just our natural tendency when people held up as heroes disappoint us like this, we want to punish them for making us feel foolish.
The upshot for Armstrong is that everyone loves a redemption and comeback story. So if he does the right thing and can ride it out he might have some light at the end of the tunnel.