In what is tantamount to an admission of guilt, Lance Armstrong has opted to no longer contest the charges against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency which included allegations of EPO use and blood doping activities to enhance performance. Had he continued, Lance faced an arbitration process that would have made public all evidence against him, including testimony from a reported 10 former teammates and associates prepared to take the stand against him.
Though the implications of all this remain to be seen, in addition to a lifetime ban from the sport, the USADA asserts that it has the authority to strip Armstrong of his victories, even erasing his unprecedented seven yellow jerseys won in the Tour de France.
"It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes," said Travis Tygart, head of the USADA, in a statement. "This is a heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all-costs culture of sport, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition, but for clean athletes, it is a reassuring reminder that there is hope for future generations to compete on a level playing field without the use of performance-enhancing drugs."
Armstrong issued his own statement, of course. "There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now." He went on to call the USADA efforts against him an "unconstitutional witch hunt" and cited the toll the constant investigations have taken on him, his family and his work for his foundation as reason to step aside. (You can read Armstrong's full statement here.)
Regardless of what you think of Armstrong or these charges against him, this is an unfortunate day for cycling. For a sport that remains on the fringe of mainstream America and either ignored or misunderstood by most of the public, it's frustrating that the only time it makes the news is to cover seedy stories like this, with strange accounts of midnight doings and drugs and bags of blood in the refrigerator.
And when arguably the biggest name in the sport of the last two decades -- and certainly the only who who carried it even a bit closer to awareness and credibility among the general population in the U.S. -- is taken down by allegations that almost certainly paint him as a liar and a cheat, nobody can feel happy about that. Lance was a hero, a larger-than-life Texan who dated starlets and couldn't be beat -- not by cancer, not by the mountains on the Tour de France. But now his legacy has been ruined, him forever thrown in with the like of Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco and Shoeless Joe Jackson. That's what he will be remembered for. And that's a shame.
- Lance Armstrong's Statement Announcing Decision to No Longer Contest USADA Charges
- Report: Former teammates testify against Armstrong, receive suspensions themselves
- Lance targeted again: USADA brings doping charges
- Met Lance Armstrong (and he was a little stiff)
- Nothing Sticks to Lance in U.S. Justice Department investigation
- Former teammate Tyler Hamilton says Lance was a Doper
- Is there anything Lance can't do?
- Drugs and Doping in Professional Cycling
- All About Lance Armstrong
- Lance Armstrong: a photo gallery of a life in cycling
- Books by and about Lance Armstrong
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Comments
Lots of people will still admire Lance Armstrong. I do. By refusing to enable his accusers, even if it means he is stripped of his titles, he has shown what he is made of. The titles obviously don’t mean that much to him. He knows what he accomplished, and so does the world. A person who has never tested positive for doping does not have to provide a dais for every scurrilous accusation that can be made. Enough is enough. I for one will continue to be in awe of Armstrong’s athletic achievements and what he has focused on and achieved in other facets of his life.
Lance is the greatest rider of our time. They can never take that away.
Chin up Lance we are all still behind you
Lance has been a hero to me and my family and nothing USADA or Travis Tygart do will change that. USADA & Tygart demonstrate government corruption at it’s worst. I’m disgusted to see my tax dollars being used to pay these thugs for this endless witch hunt. Tygart, you say you want “honest competition”, but how honest are you with the way you’ve manipulated even your own rules to go after this man? It seems that the “win-at-all-costs” mentality is one you know too well. Who knows how many test results you’ve also manipulated…results that were negative previously and now YEARS later you say they were actually positive…how does that happen???
Lance’s foundation and his commitment to cancer research have had an incredible effect on the lives of SO many cancer patients. Many who can now call themselves survivors because of his work. To USADA and Tygart I would ask, “What good have you done for society?”
Lance will always be champion until real evidence is presented. USADA does not have the power or right to strip him of his TdF wins. USADA has itself cheated by not following its own protocols. The press does Lance a disservice by assuming his guilt by his decision to no longer contest USADA’s witchhunt.
I honestly don’t care if he was, or wasn’t, doping, and I must say that it’s rather telling that, all but ONE of the 21 riders who would move up one place if Lance is removed as the winner of his 7 Tours, have faced doping allegations, too!
That’s right, 20 out of 21, almost ALL of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place riders in those Tours, have faced doping allegations at one point or another, too!
Boston Herald: Who Will Get Lance’s Tour Titles…
http://tinyurl.com/9hzxyhr
This is nothing more than a railroad job against Armstrong by some unofficial agency and a bunch of jealous cyclists that actually failed doping tests and got caught.
How is it that the US Department of Justice dropped all charges against Lance FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE, yet this podunk group claims to have evidence to prove he cheated? Where were these 10 former teammates when the DOJ was investigating? No where. It’s all hearsay and they have no proof of anything. If they did, the DOJ wouldn’t have dropped the charges. I have a feeling this whole thing was spurred on by Floyd Landis, and as we all know, is a real cheater and major liar.
This is nothing more than a bunch of morons on a witch hunt trying to justify their jobs and their paychecks.
Having said that, I’ve read a lot about Lance Armstrong, including one of his books. It’s a fact he has an over-sized heart. That alone separates him from the pack. I know of four other phenom athletes that had over-sized hearts or lungs and were very hard to beat. Namely Greg Lemond, Miguel Indurian, Seabiscuit and Secretariat. If I recall correctly, Lance was a national champion at the age of 15. Was he doping then, too?
Lance Armstrong is still tops in my book. As others have mentioned here, he is still the most tested athlete in the history of the world and never failed a test. Not once. That’s enough for me and in this country you’re innocent until proven guilty. No one has proven Lance guilty of anything. And now they never will.
I applaud Armstrong for stopping the never-ending witch hunt, saving the millions of $$ it probably would have cost him in more legal fees and moving on with his life. He’s a great champion, a good man, and a generous philanthropist.
giving up dont have to mean guilty,,,