Lance Armstrong Doping Scandal

[EXIA15145]

I know Travis Tygart, the guy who prosecuted Lance, and I can guarantee that he is a straight shooter and believes to his very core in clean sport free from corruption. Two years ago he was given a detailed confession about what went on in Lance's former team (US Postal, yes, sponsored by the Post Office) and he did what any prosecutor would do...he started an investigation. There was also a federal government investigation into possible racketeering opened up at the time too Eventually more than 10 cyclists and multiple team staff came forward and gave Travis and USADA detailed information. They were all prepared to testify against Lance at an arbitration hearing. Travis had no choice but to prosecute this, it's his job and there was overwhelming evidence against Lance.

BBM
Can it be said he prosecuted Lance when there wasn't any trial. Was there even a hearing?

 

[EXIA15145]

I know Travis Tygart, the guy who prosecuted Lance, and I can guarantee that he is a straight shooter and believes to his very core in clean sport free from corruption. Two years ago he was given a detailed confession about what went on in Lance's former team (US Postal, yes, sponsored by the Post Office) and he did what any prosecutor would do...he started an investigation. There was also a federal government investigation into possible racketeering opened up at the time too Eventually more than 10 cyclists and multiple team staff came forward and gave Travis and USADA detailed information. They were all prepared to testify against Lance at an arbitration hearing. Travis had no choice but to prosecute this, it's his job and there was overwhelming evidence against Lance.

This is not just about Lance using performance enhancing drugs to win bike races. It's about:

- Lance and team management pressuring other team members into using drugs. This happened many, many times over the years and it's a horrible thing to do.

- Lance and team management acquiring drugs and selling them to team members...trafficking drugs. This included extremely unsafe experimental drugs like Hemassist that were never even approved for human use.

- Lance paid large amounts of money (bribes) to the governing body of the sport, the UCI, to have them look the other way and cover up his doping. The real injustice here is that the UCI management has not been held accountable. The top of the sport is extremely corrupt and Lance was able to use his fame and large amounts of cash to basically join in cahoots with the UCI Presidents.

As for Lance and cancer. I think the inspiration he has provided is terrific. But sadly, his accomplishments came while using some of the same dangerous drugs that doctors only prescribe to cancer patients with serious anemia. Many here have probably had loved ones, or even themselves, take erythropoietin and know how that drug should only be taken with great care.

So Lance did all he could...he gave in to USADA and is doing his best to win the PR war. But don't be fooled into thinking he's a victim of the system...far from it. When you play the system like he did there's going to be some pushback from the true watchdogs.

I still don't see any links to verify the accuracy of your statements.

 

[EXIA15145]

He passes not because he isn't doping, but because he beats every test. He has enough money to hire some very bright people to help him get over on the USADA, either by using things they could not detect or by using mechanical means to clean his blood before testing.

What "honor"??? Really, if you know anything about this man, there would be no admiration for him at all. He is simply a putrid human being. He is petty, mean and vindictive and has ALWAYS been that way. He's a cheat, his surviving cancer didn't change a thing about him. I think his manager/agent at one time even implied that he won time after time because his chemotherapy made him stronger. How ridiculous.

Is this your opinion or where's your proof?

 

[EXIA15145]

I already said this, but I'll say it again. I don't even like Lance Armstrong. But I do believe in justice. I know injustice exists and is thriving. Before I became a relatively active participant here, I already knew injustice was thriving. Sometimes it's not how smart you are it's how devious you can be. It's not how innocent you are, it's to what extreme the opposing side will go. I would be wary of anyone that LA competed with or against, anyone that could be gaining something out of bringing him down. That last would apply to the prosecutor. How much money has he made out of prosecuting this case?

 

[mister happy]

Lance facing some legal woes.


SCA Promotions wants their money back:

On Friday, Jeffrey M. Tillotson, a lawyer in Dallas who represents SCA, said his client would attempt to regain the $7.5 million plus interest. "[Armstrong] basically said that we were scum and how dare we criticize him," Tillotson said. "So there is some measure of relief that we can now say that he didn’t get away with it forever and, by the way, 'You owe us $7.5 million.'"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/13/s...w-legal-issues-for-lance-armstrong.html?_r=1&



And the London Sunday Times may sue Armstrong for alleged fraud in a libel settlement.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/lance-armstrong-sunday-times_n_1962965.html

 

[southcitymom]

The evidence that LA doped is overwhelming, imho. Frankly, it seems like just about everyone in the top ranks of cycling was doping during that time period.

I wish him the best and, as always, am grateful that my face-planting falls from grace have been in front of a pretty small theatre as oppose to the entire world!

 

[sherlockh]

And another one admits to doping use.

White admits to doping with Armstrong team

 

[mister happy]

Australian TV did a well researched piece on the Armstrong doping controversy. It includes videotaped depositions of Lance and others testifying in the SCA Promotions case. Lance firmly states under oath that he never used performance enhancing drugs.

The show covers a lot of detail, and presents it well:

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2012/10/11/3608613.htm

 

[robinparten]

I read somewhere that George Hincapie said, when he admitted to doping, that it became clear to him that to compete at the top level, you had to dope. Given that Lance is such a fierce competitor, I can't really see how it fits his personality to NOT do something that would give him an edge in order to win. I honestly think they pretty much all did it.

I don't know how I feel about Lance. I used to believe him when he said he never doped, but I don't believe him anymore. Professional sports in general are rife with dishonest tactics in order to win.

 

[Chili Fries]

I read somewhere that George Hincapie said, when he admitted to doping, that it became clear to him that to compete at the top level, you had to dope. Given that Lance is such a fierce competitor, I can't really see how it fits his personality to NOT do something that would give him an edge in order to win. I honestly think they pretty much all did it.

I don't know how I feel about Lance. I used to believe him when he said he never doped, but I don't believe him anymore. Professional sports in general are rife with dishonest tactics in order to win.

I learned at an early age, when I was 15-16 years old back in the mid-1980s, that sports equals drugs (for me it was football and wrestling and steroids, amphetamines and diuretics). Back then the public's focus was on recreational drug use, with the Just Say No to Drugs campaign and things like that, and sports were seen as the wholesome alternative - something that never made sense to me. I remember that even in the late 1990s I got into an online conversation with some folks who were involved in US drug control policy and they were very skeptical about what goes on with performance enhancing drugs. Now people are really starting to understand more about the drug culture in sports, although some fans (most notably of the NBA) still seem to think it's not a part of their sport.

The thing about Lance is that he really did take it to another level as far as paying the top doping doctor well over a million dollars (that we know of) for his expertise and exclusivity (the doctor, Michele Ferrari, wouldn't work with Lance's direct competitors) and "donating" money to (bribing) cycling's governing body, who were in charge of policing him, to get favorable treatment. He was playing all the angles. It's also important to note that these drugs don't effect everyone the same - the winner in cycling is often the one who responds to the drugs (or blood transfusion) the best.

People can make their own minds up about Lance his impact on the cancer patients/survivors who looked to him for inspiration - did the end justify the means?

The Australian TV show mister happy linked above did a very good job with the story, if anyone has 45 minutes and is interested. One thing that many of the cyclists who have come clean about this say with conviction is how important telling the truth has been to them. Deception definitely carries a cost.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Nike Severs Ties With Armstrong Citing Insurmountable Evidence of Doping

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/t/story/nike-ends-contract-lance-armstrong-17498498

 

[Gozgals]

http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_new...g-proof-of-cheating-by-cyclist-armstrong?lite

Doping agency claims 'overwhelming' proof of cheating by cyclist Armstrong

The evidence of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team-run scheme is overwhelming and is in excess of 1000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participants’ doping activities.

I have personally talked with and heard these athletes’ stories and firmly believe that, collectively, these athletes, if forgiven and embraced, have a chance to leave a legacy far greater for the good of the sport than anything they ever did on a bike.

Lance Armstrong was given the same opportunity to come forward and be part of the solution. He rejected it.

Amen.. Never liked Lance as stated before but now I have changed my opinion about him. Since the release of these documents, I feel he is guilty and he should come forward. I feel he is a big dang cheat......

Goz

 

[nursebeeme]

http://www.kgw.com/sports/Nike-severs-ties-with-Lance-Armstrong-174558841.html

he has also stepped down as the livestrong chair.

 

[tezi]

Four more sponsors dropped Lance today.

www.tmz.com

 

[JeannaT]

To me, it wasn't the doping that's the worst of it - apparently athletes do this, and I'm not sure how I feel about adults deciding to use legal drugs/procedures to enhance performance. It's a grey area.

What bothers me is his complete arrogance throughout this, taking the public at large for morons. Those of us who watched the story knew what he was saying - when he said he never tested positive, in fact he never tested positive TWICE IN A ROW, which was needed to ban him. What a liar.

 

[robinparten]

To me, it wasn't the doping that's the worst of it - apparently athletes do this, and I'm not sure how I feel about adults deciding to use legal drugs/procedures to enhance performance. It's a grey area.

What bothers me is his complete arrogance throughout this, taking the public at large for morons. Those of us who watched the story knew what he was saying - when he said he never tested positive, in fact he never tested positive TWICE IN A ROW, which was needed to ban him. What a liar.

I agree,the doping doesn't bother me as much as him smearing the reputations of people who it appears now were telling the truth. He needs to come clean and apologize to those people. My husband doesn't think he ever will, because of potential defamation lawsuits etc. However, I hope he is thinking about his kids and what they will think of him once they can read up on all this. His oldest I think is almost a teenager.

 

[Reader]

Column: Are reporters to blame for Armstrong myth?

http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...ass&action=1&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_SPNWU00L1_UNEWS

[4 page article]

PARIS (AP) — The memory from the 2003 Tour de France remains fresh — because it was among the more astounding things I've seen as a journalist.........

It feels like a punch to the stomach to learn that Hamilton and other former teammates of Armstrong were for years systematically doping — and say that he was, too — because it happened under our very noses, we reporters who waited daily outside the team buses at the Tour, doing our job.

I and others didn't see that Armstrong's team was running what the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency now tells us was "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Why? I'm not the only journalist who has been asking themselves that question since USADA published damning testimonies from former U.S. Postal Service riders last week, to explain why it banned Armstrong for life and erased his seven Tour titles.

More at link.....

 

[michmi]

Now people are really starting to understand more about the drug culture in sports, although some fans (most notably of the NBA) still seem to think it's not a part of their sport.

I am an avid NBA fan and boy oh boy do THEY have a problem. There are players (I can think of one very high profile player in particular but there of course are more) who are quite obviously using human growth hormone. Though I agree that a kid coming out of high school or 1 year of college does fill out and with weight training gets "bigger" naturally, but the people I'm thinking of show physical side effects that are hard to ignore. The NBA's drug testing program seems to be conducted behind closed doors, if it's even being conducted at all. As with everything else, I doubt the "stars" are held to the rules.

The ironic part is injury seems to be the aftermath--whether that is a side effect of the drug(s) or because they are pushing past human limits in training and play.

 

[michmi]

I agree,the doping doesn't bother me as much as him smearing the reputations of people who it appears now were telling the truth. He needs to come clean and apologize to those people. My husband doesn't think he ever will, because of potential defamation lawsuits etc. However, I hope he is thinking about his kids and what they will think of him once they can read up on all this. His oldest I think is almost a teenager.

Emphasis is mine in the quote above. True because of his liability but also because he probably feels they don't deserve apologies since "they" wrecked his career/accomplishments. The man takes no responsibility for anything.

 

[robinparten]

I think, for me, the reason I am not as upset at the fact that he actually doped is because the drug issue has several contributing factors. Of course, the athlete wants to be the best, but we (the public) like to watch people do extraordinary things and break records, and the media likes it because they have better ratings and make more money, and on and on.

But what I do find reprehensible is how Lance has treated people who spoke out about the drug culture. I liked George Hincapie's statement - he was gracious, humble, acknowledged his guilt and also said that he has been working the last several years to do what he can to eradicate drugs from the sport. Lance could learn a lot from him.