Lance Armstrong Ends Fight Against Doping Charges

We were all deprived of the The United States of America vs. Lance Armstrong last week when Armstrong agreed to pay $5 million and avoid potentially paying $100 million in damages for defrauding the U.S. government.

It could have been the sports trial of this century. The U.S. Postal Service would have tried to argue that Armstrong did more harm than good to the brand when he rode for its racing team from 1998 to 2005, a timeframe in which he won seven Tour de France titles but also ran one of the most Machiavellian, cheatingest cheating operations imaginable. The trial would have been a very literal tallying of what Armstrong was worth, ending in either absolute vindication for one of the greatest villains in the history of American sports, or his utter destitution.

Lance Armstrong met with the staff of the Livestrong Foundation on Monday and issued an emotional apology.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Armstrong told members of Livestrong that he was sorry for letting the foundation down and putting them at risk, but stopped short of admitting to doping or using banned substances. The AP added that Armstrong choked up during the address, while several in the crowd cried.

Lance Armstrong has been banned from competition and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the International Cycling Union following recent revelations about the legend’s doping regimen. The ICU made the ruling on Monday.

Last week, Armstrong stepped down as chairman of Livestrong, the cancer-focused charity he founded. He was also dropped by Nike, who’d been a major sponsor since 1996. The United States Anti-Doping Agency recently published a damning, detailed report that proffered a critical look at the evidence that Armstrong had doped throughout his cycling career.

Lance Armstrong is not the fight against cancer. He would like you to think he is, since the entire thrust of his career post-cancer was to race not just for himself, but for a cause, the long fight against cancer. He said as much in the only deposition Armstrong ever sat for in the series of legal battles waged by Armstrong against critics, anti-doping agencies, and in this case, an insurer who refused to pay a performance bonus because of Armstrong’s doping.

Starting at about the 44:00 mark here, Armstrong says this.

American cyclist George Hincapie issued a statement in which he admitted to using banned substances during his career and confirmed his cooperation in the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s investigation of Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service team.

Said Hincapie in his statement:

In his first public comments since being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life by the USADA, Lance Armstrong did not ask for sympathy. He told Reuters:

Armstrong was speaking from Aspen, Colo., where he finished second in the 36-mile Power of Four mountain bike race on Saturday. He praised the response he had gotten from fans since the USADA’s decision, including that from the crowd in Aspen.

Despite the news that Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his Tour de France titles, Nike came forward Friday to announce they’d stand tall by Livestrong and continue to sponsor Armstrong, according to Chicago Tribune report. Here’s the statement from Nike Inc.:

Armstrong announced Thursday evening that he would no longer continue to fight performance enhancing allegations from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and therefore be handed a lifetime ban. The USADA will also be revoking his seven consecutive Tour de France titles from 1999-2005.

“What do you think about Lance?”

I was asked that a few times in the immediate hours following the news that Lance Armstrong was dropping his case against the USADA and would be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. So I decided to answer that question in this space. At the very least, it should cut down on the number of tweets and text messages I have to respond to.

In a move that was expected after Lance Armstrong’s Thursday night decision to drop his fight against doping charges, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officially announced on Friday that they have stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and the cyclist has been banned for life from the sport.

In the statement, USADA claims to have overwhelming evidence against Armstrong, including proof of the “use of prohibited substances,” the “possession of prohibited substances,” and the “trafficking of EPO, testosterone, and corticosteroids,” along with other violations.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency will strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and give him a lifetime ban, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The news comes after Armstrong announced he would drop his fight against doping charges levied by the USADA. Armstrong maintains he is innocent, but decided “enough is enough.”

So Lance Armstrong released a statement on his website after dropping his fight against doping charges. Then the statement disappeared, replaced for a short time by another, almost identical page. Now, the old statement is back, likely because it was the link being shared by everyone.

↵The problem (click to enlarge)?

Following the news that he will abandon the fight against doping charges from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Lance Armstrong released a statement Thursday night.

The entire statement can be found below:

After years of denying claims of doping and fighting against charges, Lance Armstrong has decided to abandon his fight against doping charges and will likely be stripped of his Tour de France titles, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Armstrong, a seven-time winner of the Tour de France, said he will no longer fight charges from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Despite deciding not to continue to fight the charges, Armstrong maintains his innocence.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was shut down in a federal court on Monday afternoon, after a district judge threw out the cyclist’s lawsuit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency involving his use performance-enhancing drugs.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled that the USADA’s investigation into Armstrong’s past did not create ‘irreparable harm’ for the cyclist, and therefore does not violate his due process rights. Now forced to decide by Thursday if he will accept the ruling or instead opt to enter arbitration, Armstrong is clearly losing ground in his last-ditch quest to save his reputation.

Lance Armstrong is currently facing doping charges from the USADA and according to a Dutch paper, five of Armstrong’s former teammates agreed to testify against him in exchange for lessened penalties.

While this might look like a big blow against Armstrong, who has denied the charges, it doesn’t appear to be totally accurate. Jonathan Vaughters, a former Armstrong teammate and current director of team Garmin-Sharp, took to Twitter early on Thursday to deny the report.

Lance Armstrong has filed his response to the doping charges levied by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on June 12. In the written response, Armstrong accuses the USADA of rules violations and breaking federal law in the course of its investigation.

Armstrong was given until Friday, June 22, to file his formal response. Armstrong and his lawyer, Robert Luskin, have been very critical of the USADA following the new allegations. In an earlier letter, Luskin objected to the USADA sitting in on interviews during the federal investigation that concluded in February.