Sports News – After all the years and all the tests Lance Armstrong is going to come clean. What is sad is that many people are ignoring all the money he has raised for cancer research and all the people he has inspired by overcoming cancer.
Lance Armstrong will admit to doping during his famed cycling career in an upcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey, according to USA Today Sports.
The newspaper cites a source who says that while Armstrong will confess, it is unlikely he will go into specific details about his doping.
The interview will tape Monday, but won’t air until Thursday.
According to Winfrey’s website on Tuesday, this will be a “no-holds-barred interview” with Armstrong, who was stripped of seven Tour de France titles in October.
It will be the first interview with Armstrong since his cycling career crumbled under the weight of a massive report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The report detailed accusations of drug use by Armstrong and teammates on his U.S. Postal Service teams. It caused him to lose most of his personal corporate sponsors, and he recently stepped down from the board of Livestrong, the cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported last week that Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41. Armstrong has been banned for life from competing in sporting events governed by the World Anti-Doping Agency code.
David Howman, director general of WADA, said earlier this month that USADA, not WADA, would have the authority to decide whether to reopen Armstrong’s case if Armstrong were to present new information.
“It’s (USADA’s) issue, although they could come to us to ask for guidance or advice,” he said.
Speaking in general terms and not specifically about the Armstrong case, Howman said new information that might merit revisiting a case could pertain to the individual defendant or shed light on others involved in doping offenses. He said there is precedent for cases to be reopened and it would be “nonsensical” to close off that possibility.
The WADA code provides for reduced penalties in instances in which athletes provide “substantial assistance” in resolving other doping cases.
Howman did not want to speculate on the effect of a potential Armstrong confession.
“This is such a significant case with so many issues, and it has had a considerable effect not only on the sport of cycling but the world sports scene itself,” Howman said.
Armstrong is facing other legal hurdles.
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering whether to join a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis. A Dallas-based promotions company also has said it wants to recover several million dollars paid to Armstrong in bonuses for winning the Tour de France. The British newspaper, The Sunday Times, has sued Armstrong to recover $500,000 paid to him to settle a libel lawsuit.
From ESPN news
