Lance Armstrong says stepfather 'beat the s— out of me' as a child in '30 for 30' doc

How much of Lance Armstrong's bullying behavior was a result of his upbringing? The ESPN documentary "Lance" provides context to his abuse of others as an adult by exploring his relationship with stepfather Terry Armstrong.

Lance Armstrong said his stepfather — whom he called "kind of terrible" in the documentary — would use corporal punishment against him for the slightest offense.

Said Armstrong: “Sure enough, I would leave a drawer open, and he would pull out his fraternity paddle and just beat the s— out of me.”

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Terry Armstrong adopted Lance — whose surname at the time was Gunderson — when the latter was 3; his mother, Linda Armstrong Kelly, had him when she was 17 years old. She was in an abusive relationship with Armstrong's biological father, separating from him before meeting and marrying Terry Armstrong.

Armstrong's stepfather, who also appears in the documentary, acknowledges he was too hard on his stepson — a result of his military school background. That said, he claimed his stepson wouldn't have become a champion were it not for his parenting.

“Lance would not be the champion he is today without me, because I drove him,” Terry Armstrong said. “I drove him like an animal. That’s the only thing I feel bad about: Did I make him too much 'win at all costs?'

“I was a taskmaster, but I didn’t put my arms around him enough and tell him I loved him,” he said. “I was always there, always coaching him, always pushing him. But I didn’t show him the love that I should have.”

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Armstrong is known to have bullied and intimidated people who questioned whether his cycling success was a result of taking banned substances. But that behavior, the documentary suggests, may have begun as early as his teenage years.

Evidence of that comes from Armstrong's former triathlon coach Rick Crawford, who said in the documentary that he saw character issues in him "from Day 1." Crawford recalled how he chaperoned Armstrong to Bermuda for a triathlon event, renting him a scooter to get around; he said Armstrong not only abused the scooter, but also failed to return it on time and disregarded his concerns.

When Crawford approached Armstrong's mother to say her son was "mouthy and disrespectful," she purportedly responded by saying she had no authority over him.

“That stung,” Crawford said. “That stung a lot."