It was announced today that Lance Armstrong is stepping down as Chairman of his own foundation, the Livestrong cancer charity. The announcement comes after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released over 1,000 pages of evidence, including testimony from 11 former teammates, against Armstrong last Wednesday. Despite stepping down, Armstrong contests that he will still remain active with the foundation and advocate for cancer patients.
Doug Ulman, President and CEO of Livestrong released a statement this morning praising Armstrong for efforts in reaching out to cancer patients and survivors. However, he made sure not to mention anything having to do with the doping scandal. In fact, he began to distance himself and the organization from Armstrong by saying that Livestrong will continue to thrive and help others without its founder.
“We look forward to celebrating 15 years of progress with Lance and his family this weekend and recommitting ourselves to the work of the cancer community for the years ahead,” he noted.
To add insult to injury, Nike also announced today that the international retail and marketing giant has terminated its contract with Armstrong on the grounds that Armstrong has deceived Nike during the entire duration of their partnership. Nike released a statement on its website saying, that it does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs, whatever the reason may be. And now that Armstrong is out as Chairman of Livestrong, Nike is looking to further its support of the organization.
Formerly considered one of the world’s all-time greatest athletes, Armstrong is famous for winning an unprecedented seven Tour de France races, though most recently is famous for disputing the allegations against him. He claims to have been drug tested over 500 times without fail throughout the entirety of his career, though CNN notes that the USADA said it had tested Armstrong less than 60 times and the UCI conducted about 215 tests. Though the agencies never denied the fact that Armstrong may have passed all of his tests, the 11 testimonies from former teammates does just that. Those cyclists are George Hincapie, Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie.
Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 25. Upon recovery, he founded the charity Livestrong which has since been popularized by the yellow silicone gel bracelet that bears the namesake of the organization. Since their debut in 2004, 84 million bracelets have been sold
On his website, Armstrong released a statement that, rather than apologize, thanked everyone in the organization for their hard work and support. He does make mention, though, of how the allegations are detrimental to the charity’s furtherment.
“Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship,” he wrote on his website.
It is almost certain that Armstrong will be stripped of each of his Tour de France titles. It is also possible that the allegations could lead to the reopening of a criminal case against Armstrong that federal prosecutors closed without charges in February.
Stepping down from Livestrong may be the first step to repairing Armstrong’s tarnished image. But where’s the apology? If history has taught us anything (and the same principle works with dopers) its that the best way to rectify oneself in the eyes of the public is to take responsibility for one’s actions. Armstrong, despite being up against thousands of pages of evidence that likely prove he’s guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs for one of the most grueling races on Earth, has yet to own up to the accusations. The sporting world has been riddled with PED use for over 20 years now (most notably with baseball). Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Marion Jones, and now Lance Armstrong, are among the most notorious dopers who at one time were popular favorites but are now defamations to their respective games and antiheroes to the fans.
What do you all think about Lance Armstrong and the doping allegations? Is this a witch hunt? Has Armstrong betrayed everyone that believed in him? Let us know how you feel in the comments section below.
