Lance Armstrong drops this fight
The enduring image of Lance Armstrong, the cyclist, is not the guy in the yellow jersey on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées on any one of the glory rides in his seven Tour de France wins.
It’s Lance Armstrong, dripping sweat, grimacing, fighting with every ounce of his being as he conquered the Alpe d’Huez or some other grueling mountain test during those seven victories, the ones that made him not just an American icon but a legend known around the world for beating cancer and the rigors of the Tour, the guy who from 1999 through 2005 could and did do it all.
So why on Thursday did Lance Armstrong, a fighter known for fighting relentlessly, abruptly announce he was done fighting the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency?
The news means Armstrong will forfeit the seven Tour de France titles as well as all awards — his 2000 Olympic bronze medal — and money won since August 1998. It also means he will be barred from life from competing or having any official role with any Olympic sport or other sport that follows the World Anti-Doping Code.
This announcement was as big as it gets. It was a defining moment in our sports history.
In breaking the news, Armstrong — who has continued to deny ever doping — would release a statement that said, “There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me that time is now.”
He said in the statement, “I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours.”
He said USADA had been engaged in an “unconstitutional witch hunt,” said it had “played the role of a bully” and declared: “… I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair.”
Armstrong has long been one of the most polarizing figures in international sports.
There are those who believe he did, and those who believe he didn’t, and of course there is here the complex intersection of the compelling work Armstrong and Livestrong have done on behalf of cancer patients and their families.
But this is not about cancer.
This is about allegations of performance-enhancing drugs and the Tour de France.
For the true believers, Armstrong’s accusations about USADA are sure to play well.
But just pause for a moment.
If you were advising Lance Armstrong, what would you tell him?
– For starters, USADA has operated in the same manner for a dozen years now. Every athlete has been treated to the same process. You’re no different. Moreover, it’s the same arbitration process that huge commercial concerns use each and every day. And these would be three experts deciding the case, not a jury of 12 with some retired postal clerks tempted to snooze off after lunch.
Not only that — let’s say you lose the first round. If you want to appeal, to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, you get an entirely new trial. To repeat: an entirely new trial. That’s way better than a criminal defendant gets in any court in the United States of America. If you get convicted of, say, felony burglary in Rancho Cucamonga, you might get the pleasure of going to prison while some three-judge appeals court panel takes up your case, maybe. You don’t get a brand-new trial.
So the USADA process — it’s legitimate, and that’s what you’d be working with.
– USADA had made it abundantly clear that they were more than ready to present evidence against you at a hearing. They said they had 10-plus witnesses — the guys you rode with — lined up to testify against you.
Let’s be really clear again. This was not a criminal case. But any prosecutor with 10-plus witnesses, all more or less saying the same thing, would feel really comfortable about the odds of winning.
– It’s true you never failed a doping test. (You did test positive at the 1999 Tour for a corticosteroid and then produced a back-dated doctor’s prescription.) Those tests are only a starting point for the discussion. This is why the expert judges hearing the case would be so important. They know all about, say, Marion Jones, and how she passed 160 tests — and turned out to be a chronic doper.
As in the Jones case, as in the far-flung BALCO affair, USADA was basing its case not on positive tests but on other evidence.
What kind of supporting evidence would USADA have been able to produce?
Would there have been FedEx tracking numbers?
Pharmaceutical trial medicines?
Swiss bank account receipts?
What sort of corroboration — under oath — would your fellow riders have been able to produce?
This is the gut question, really.
If the case had gone to a hearing, and the parade of 10 or more witnesses had testified to what had gone on backstage at those seven Tours, and Lance Armstrong had been forced to sit there, day after day, week after week, and listen to it all — how much damage would that cause?
Not just PR-wise.
At issue is potential criminal exposure — just because the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles dropped its investigation earlier this year doesn’t mean another office somewhere couldn’t launch another inquiry — as well as possible civil liability.
Meanwhile, wouldn’t it also make sense that the U.S. Postal Service — Armstrong’s sponsor for many of those years — would still be wondering if its money was spent judiciously?
No one knows the answer to many of these issues just yet because we don’t know what we don’t know. That is, the public doesn’t even begin to know the full range of the evidence.
But USADA knows. And you can bet Armstrong and his lawyers know, too.
Perhaps it’s inevitable that what may or may not have happened behind the scenes at those Tours will make its way into the public space. But — absent another legal proceeding — it won’t be under oath, and won’t have the ring of cross-examination. By dropping the matter now, that’s a huge benefit to Armstrong.
It’s one thing to fight. Sometimes it’s best to drop the fight. The Armstrong way Thursday was to make it seem like he was going out fighting.
Travis Tygart, the chief executive of USADA, was asked in an interview with the cycling website Velonation if he was surprised by the turn of events.
“No,” Tygart said, “I think it was our expectation from the beginning. He knows all the evidence as well and he knows the truth, and so the smarter move on his part is to attempt to hide behind baseless accusations of process.”
Tygart also said, “We never would have brought a case if we were not extremely confident in the level of evidence. And the truth — at the end of the day, our job is to search for truth and justice, to expose the full truth and ensure, to the best of our ability, perfect justice.”
Related Posts
UCI’s belated preemptive strike →
Armstrong’s 2001 Swiss Tour: no cover-up, “suspicious” tests →
No surprise: Armstrong doesn’t talk with USADA →
Good reporting and analysis. But the whole thing leaves me feeling melancholy.
Great write-up, Alan – but then I’d expect nothing less from you!
It seems like testing for doping is pretty lame in its effectiveness. How many others feel thru the cracks for a long time? How about all of the money wasted on the testing organizations who had a job to due? How about a statute of limitations as an acknowledgement of responsibility?
Your article and many like it only give credence to why Armstrong may want to quit. you offhandedly state as fact a backdated prescription. That comes from an unsubstantiated claim by a former team soigneur.
You also ignore some of the more troubling aspects of USADA’s behavior, like ignoring their own 8 year statute of limitations in order to go after Armstrong and the deals struck to get cyclists to testify against him. Even the judge dismissing Armstrong’s case called into question the motives and behavior of the USADA investigation.
I think he likely was a doper, but get your facts straight. And what’s getting lost in all this is USADA allocating a massive amount of resources to take down one man instead of using them to clean up a sport that desperately needs it.
Clean up cycling, let the doper era be a thing of the past.
I still think this is the bigger bully winning. Tygart is using the corrosive power of prosecution to break Armstrong, he is wise to walk away and not play their game. USADA’s reaction to strip his titles is that of a spurned child.
Nothing was gained by this investigation except to wipe the smug off Armstrong’s face.
I don’t see this in your analysis or your video commentary on the “Today Show”. Once again the press has missed the actual story and sheepishly follows the company line.
Will the public ever know what physical evidence USADA had? Will we know what deals USADA gave the ten riders/ witnesses for doping? If the ten riders/witnesses were given deals how reliable/ credible are they? Since USADA declares they have physical evidence and testimony I would suspect a law enforcement based agency would utilize a court order to obtain the USADA records if a victim comes forward with probable cause that Armstrong committed a crime (such as fraud). I enjoy the sport as a weekend warrior and for fitness, I find myself asking the above questions because I want to know the facts and how they were gathered.
Well the other possibility is USADA has got so much invested in this that they can,t let go, they just “know” he did something wrong,the test won,t prove it, so the put the heat on other riders and they “confess” to his guilt. Why not skip the tests and just put every rider under oath after every race. That what the net effect of this is.
This is, as Alan said, a huge moment in sport history. One of the worlds most successful athletes brought down by his teammates desire to finally tell the truth. With LA’s immense popularity as a cancer fighter and athlete one might have thought his wealth and social contribution to the fight against cancer would hide his secrets while he still walked among us. In the end, this case may do more fight doping than all the thousands of tests done every year. For if you can achieve the level of global sports hero and dedicate your life to fighting cancer and still be scrubbed off the record-books by your teammates desire to tell the truth years later, then we final have found an anti-doping test the cheaters can never beat.
I’m struck too by the contrasting sentiments stirred by the magical Games in London and demise of a sports legend. Hard to imagine that all the athletes in London were clean and yet it is the first games I can remember when almost all the results seemed plausible. Let’s hope the teammates speak up sooner than 10 years from now.
Thanks Alan – excellent and thought provoking as ever!
It seems unlikely that all these people participating in the case against him would want to spend to much time and be put in such an awkward position – pointing fingers at someone nobody wants to hate – unless they had a very good reason and know something concrete. But at the same time, I can think of nothing worse than spending months and months and months facing accusations. And then if you lose, a re-trial? That doesn’t sound like a benefit, it makes the whole process sound even worse. No matter who you are, if you are involved in something like this it takes over your entire life, adds an incredible level of stress, and as it drags on it poisons your soul.
So no, I’m not surprised he didn’t want to go through that. Guilty or not. And if he’s guilty, I bet he wasn’t using anything that everyone else uses/used and gets away with all the time. Probably just leveled the playing field.
So the “witnesses” all are proven dopers that have nothing to lose- but I guess something to gain for saying Armstrong doped? Sounds too fishy to me personally. If there’s failed tests within the statutes of limitation for prosecuting – then YES they need to be pursued. But just hearsay from persons gaining something I can’t accept.
The district court proceedings made it clear that the district judge thought there were due process problems in USADA’s proceedings; the judge simply didn’t think he had jurisdiction to wade in. Would anyone expect a foreign litigant to fight “judicial” proceedings in Iran or North Korea? No. This is no different. Lance has proved himself innocent time and time again, including in a previous arbitration where his bonus was at stake. At some point, enough’s enough. This was it for Lance. Good for him.
Here is a news flash: NO ONE CARES! This is a waste of time and energy. Armstrong clearly took appropriate action and ended the circus (as much as possible). 10 fellow riders with an axe to grind (most of them dopers) desire a “get-even” moment in the news, and this is evidence? Preposterous!
he’s a cheat and he didn’t cure cancer
Lance rode in a mountain-bike race on the day that this was reported. He took second. Good for him.
The self satisfaction of Tygart is disrgraceful. There is no way teamates would ever line up to destroy one of their own without a “Gun to thier head”. Im sure that within the Tour there has been doping since the very begininng, That has been part of the culture and the sport is far cleaner now than ever before. This was a personal issue on Tygarts part. Period. If the USADA is so fair and unbiased why have they not moved on the next target and blackmailed his or her teamates into submission. Maybe they will …..Stay Tuned.
I think the question that should be asked is did LA know his teammates were doping? And if he did why didn’t he turn them in? I think this should be a central question because if he did know and he didn’t turn them in then as far as I’m concerned his integrity and everything he supposedly stands for is shot.
I think there is a still a question of USADA’s ability to strip LA of his TdF titles. I think CAS will settle this jurisdictional matter–that would be the lasting legacy.
GFox :
There is no way teamates would ever line up to destroy one of their own without a “Gun to thier (sic) head”.
You were aware that they are no longer his teammates, right?
Scientifically highly inaccurate.
Non sequitur
The last 30 years of sports have been riddled with drug usage (going all the way back to the East German athletes and Flo Jo) and I doubt we are done with the enhancement trend. Armstrong doped. He was still fun to watch and his work on behalf of cancer victims is laudable.
So how do we close the book on Armstrong? Greatest cyclist of all time or the most proficient cheater in modern athletics?
What will he tell his kids and when at the podium will he continue to pontificate about the “witch hunt” that deprived him of his place in history?
I would love for Armstrong to tell his story warts and all. I mean the guy is notified that he has testicular cancer which had spread to his brain and he elects to dope anyway. Wow. His thought process would be interesting to understand. He could write the greatest tell all book of all time and I would buy it in a heartbeat as a cancer survivor myself.
For any American to be forced to forfeit jury trial rights in order to participate in a profession is unconstitutional. Arbitration was developed as a voluntary alternative to litigation…not something to be jammed down the throats of people who don’t want it. For anyone who has ever been in an administrative hearing, you know it’s poor substitute for trial, and is full of hearsay, rumors and other junk evidence. These are the facts; this is the problem.
This is pretty sorry reasoning.
Who forced him? No one said he had to return to Pro cycling. He signed on the dotted line in exchange for appearance fees and other income.
In fact, Armstrong welcomed WADA anti-doping efforts at the time. His manager was one of the ones who created the administrative framework. Moreover, when the Floyd Landis allegations broke, Armstrong claimed to be fully supportive of a USADA investigation.
Finally, he has forfeited nothing. The district court judge made it clear to even me that Armstrong has opportunities to bring any problems with the very, very, very, very well tested arbitration process.
Witchhunt!: “Here is a news flash: NO ONE CARES! This is a waste of time and energy.”
Really? Then why was it front page news around the world? If you, yourself, don’t care, then why are you so determined to defend the reputation of a pathetic, fallen icon who clearly values his honor/reputation less than you do?
He can’t tell all. He’d go to jail. His business partners, the ones running USA Cycling, would probably go to jail too. Nevermind the deathblow to his lifestyle brand liveswrong.
He couldn’t even go to arbitration because he’d likely perjur (sp???) himself.
Finally, the guy just got first loser (AKA second place) in some po-dunk bike race without a USAC sanction. Hardly the stuff of a gifted athlete. The only thing that suggests is he’s a mere mortal when he’s off the PED’s.
It’s going to take a while for most of the faithful to come to grips with the fact he’s perpetrated one of the greatest frauds in sports history and now hiding behind the sick and recovered like a terrorist.
Think about this for a minute: He got beat by an amateur in every sense of the word.
He’s a mere mortal when he’s off the PED’s.
I loved watching your interview where you say the case is solid based on circumstantial evidence. “Never mind the fact that he passed hundreds if not thousands of drug tests.” What? The parade of guys they would put out there to tell you he did what the tests proved he DIDN’T do, are almost to a man people who FAILED those tests and are trying to get back in the agencies good graces. Show us 1 failed drug test and then they will have a leg to stand on.
thanks this post
Pingback: Lance Armstrong Falls Short of the Glory | InMidThought