Posted on 08/23/2012 8:23:23 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he declared he was finished fighting the drug charges that threaten his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.
Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong would also be hit with a lifetime ban on Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Bingo. The French hate the fact that an American won their race 7 times, so they’re using their connections to get rid of that embarrassment to their uppity French egos. American liberals cannot help but play along, because they share the goal of making America subservient to everyone else.
Name one anti-doping test he has failed.
Just remember it has been the FRENCH after him all this time because he kept winning their race.
simple...
He was a strong Bush supporter.
that is why he is being persecuted.
What the USADA has is hearsay. The known witnesses are convicted dopers. If this were a real court of law, these charges would be dismissed. But this is more akin to an IRS investigation being brought in a tax court. Good luck defending that.
I don't know if Armstrong is innocent. Given the nature of the sport of cycling in recent years I'd say he's likely to have doped. But that should be beside the point. Show me physical proof.
LLS
Me too. But that's the problem with organizations like the USADA -- once you've been 'targeted' they don't let up. It's death by a thousand cuts. If they can't get you legally, they get you in the court of public opinion.
I think that it's 'likely' that Armstrong doped. But I also think that the entire sport of cycling is a cesspool for doping. It would be hard to imagine a 'clean' competitor dominating the toughest competition in the entire sport for as long as he did. This is the crux of the problem for Armstrong in defending against these charges.
Steroids? lol
Many here in his hometown of Austin have the same opinion of him. I haven't liked him since he treated his first wife so badly. Nothing physical that I've heard but just ugly. He has tested positive for drugs but in low enough numbers and supposedly from topical creams that he passed. If a high schooler can cheat on a pee test, then it's a cake walk for a pro.
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Really -
I did not see Barack “Maybe A Little Blow” Hussein Obama II get his “Nobel Peace Prize” award stripped after he “led from his behind” in Libya and started using “death from above” drones that are killing civilians (16%) instead of taking (inconvenient) live prisoners.....
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Their proof is allegations by some who knew Armstrong. Those people might have personal reasons for making the allegations.
I think what Armstrong said is that he’s tired of the enormous investment of time and money in defending what seems to be a never-ending prosecution. IIRC, he’s already beat this rap in at least 2 other investigations.
“I need to go re-read Les Miserable - there is something very Javert like about this pursuit.”
Good analogy except Jean Valjean was caught stealing, convicted and imprisoned. Armstrong was never caught and never tried.
“Time for all the roided folks ) , to organize their own leagues.”
The entire sport is likely tainted, at least at the highest levels. I agree with you, let folks use whatever they want - just make it a requirement that they document it so we can use the data as research.
Take away steroids and other artificial performance enhancement techniques, and you will impact most professional sports, I believe.
Only the French and the International Cycling Union have both refused to grant the USADA any authority in issuing punishments. The USADA can not strip anyone, anywhere, of a win in a race governed by the Cycling Union. They have made their recommendation, and it will be ignored.
Lance Armstong’s Statement of August 23, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas - August 23rd, 2012 - There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, “Enough is enough.” For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense.
I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA’s charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA’s motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene.
If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?
From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA’s improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA’s own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today.
The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It’s an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It’s just not right.
USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. 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. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart.
Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet.
Proves nothing. You tell me....why is he pleading “No contest” to the charges if he’s so innocent?
He knew he would lose in the next fight and crawled away, stained for life.
Face it.....he’s no hero.
(BTW Name one test Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire or Sammy Sosa failed.)
‘Roid rage...
This last paragraph is the operative one. Whether holding a license with USA Cycling binds one to USADA arbitration procedures. Unless the license holder has explicitly signed a binding agreement that binds to USADA’s arbitration, then there is nothing that USADA can do.
If as you say that a NY judge threw out his lawsuit, Armstrong can easily have that set aside or choose to set aside the arbitration default ruling and go through with the arbitration route.
In my view arbitration is defective as there is no control by the defendant over any discovery process and there is no recourse to a jury which is the best way to achieve fairness.
Arbitration is the way for a cheap suit, and you get what you pay for.
French whines are the very worst.
Armstrong has passed something like random and unannounced drug tests in his career. But because he’s decided to no longer spend the money to fight the doping charges the hole world decides that’s an admission of guilt.
Who did Armstrong piss off in this world, because seems to me he is really hated and everyone couldn’t wait to get him.
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