In recent years, the U.S. Anti-Doping agency has been cracking down on athletes using illegal steroids to help enhance their performance. The latest athlete to be scrutinized, Lance Armstrong-one of the greatest cyclists ever was stripped of all 7 of his Tour De France titles, and on Tuesday October, 17, 2012, Lance stepped down as the chair of The Live Strong charity, the charity he founded and cut all ties with Nike, (the charity that has helped raise millions for cancer research.)
Denying the claims from the start, Armstrong said, “Though the United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] claims it has collected at least 10 witnesses to these events, it refuses to name a single one or even to identify what they will say.” Armstrong and his legal team began denying the allegations almost immediately after the USADA began, accusing Armstrong of doping. Not even a week after the accusation was made, Armstrong was stripped of all of his Tour De France titles and was banned from cycling for the rest of his life. Armstrong said he decided not to contest the charges because of the “lack of evidence” presented in the case.
The ban and the removal of his titles shocked the world of sports and raised questions about how the USADA had the power to take away championships that were won in another country. “The legal arguments center upon the jurisdiction of the U.S. Anti Doping Agency. In essence, Lance Armstrong is trying to adopt a legal argument that the agency should not be prosecuting the regulatory and disciplinary process,” said Armstrong’s attorney. Basically meaning, that Armstrong is arguing that U.S. officials should not prosecute him for international championships. Armstrong is claiming that the agency, “…is violating his human rights,” said one of Armstrong’s attorney’s.
Lance Armstrong and his attorney filed a suit against the USADA, which was thrown out the same day.” Armstrong’s complaint is far from short, spanning 80 pages and containing 261 numbered paragraphs, many of which have multiple sub parts,” said Judge Sam Sparks, “Worse, the bulk of these paragraphs contain ‘allegations’ that are wholly irrelevant to Armstrong’s claims and which, the Court must presume, were included solely to increase media coverage of this case, and to incite public opinion against Defendants.”
Because everyone seemed to back Armstrong, even his sponsor Nike, he demanded that the USADA released all of the so-called “evidence” mounted against him. This seemed to be the wrong move on Lance’s part, because the agency released a detailed 202-page report, which included statements from his former teammates, and another 1,000 pages of documents and testimony, which seemed to destroy Armstrong’s image. In one document teammates of Armstrong said that he had forced them to take illegal pills to help their overall performance. In the statement, the USADA said, “Armstrong was the driving force behind the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen” and claimed he had won his Tour titles “start to finish by doping.”
This report seemed to crush Armstrong’s support, causing even his sponsor Nike to drop him after releasing in a statement Wednesday saying, “Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him.” The same day, Armstrong announced his resignation as the chair of the Livestrong Foundation saying he wanted to “…to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career.” After Lance stepped down, Nike reported it would continue to support the Livestrong foundation. Nike produces Livestrong apparel and the Livestrong bracelets that have generated over 50 million dollars in revenue.
As the story continues to unfold and the USADA continues to mount evidence against him, Armstrong continues to deny claims. Even with evidence, the problem with the whole mess with Lance Armstrong and the USADA is the fact that the procedure that is supposed to be followed in a case like this was thrown out the window. The world will continue to watch as the events unfold surrounding Lance Armstrong and the USADA.
