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USADA brought charges against Armstrong, who had the opportunity to go to an arbitration hearing before a three-person panel of arbitrators (one of whom Armstrong could select, the second USADA could select, and third who would have been chosen by agreement among the other two arbitrators). At this arbitration hearing, USADA would have put on its evidence (said to consist of as least as many as 10 witnesses (former Armstrong teammates, etc., as well as so-called "bio-passport" data derived from blood tests done on Armstrong during races, including the last Tours de France he rode, after he came out of retirement in 2009). Armstrong and/or his counsel could have cross-examined those witnesses, put on their own witnesses (including rebuttal experts, etc.)).

The panel of arbitrators would have heard the evidence and then given its verdict. If Armstrong had lost at that stage, he would have had an opportunity to appeal the adverse decision to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Armstrong chose not to pursue arbitration at all. What USADA is now prepared to do is akin to what happens when one gets sued in a civil action, and one chooses not to answer the complaint. One can have a "default judgment" rendered against him.

By the way, by virtue of holding a professional license from USA Cycling, which recognizes USADA's authority to enforce anti-doping rules to which cyclists are subject in the U.S., Armstrong acquiesced in the legitimacy of the aforementioned process. That is one reason a federal district court threw out Armstrong's own lawsuit the other day, in which Armstrong had challenged USADA's jurisdiction and authority over him.

IMO, Lance Armsrtong is a hero.

Survives cancer—which many of us don’t.
Continues to compete at the very highest levels.

Passes over 500 drug tests in over 12 years.

Gets accused of misbehavior by others who didn’t pass tests for doping.

Ruling body decides to strip him of his acheivments because of stories from others who didn’t pass tests???

Something is very wrong here.

I sincerely hope that France says he can keep his awards.

Meanwhile, getting punished & put thru the lawyer agitator because of some kind of vendetta from others incapable of pllishing your bike is a travesty.

I understand that he uis pulling the plug on spending more money on lawyers. I hope he can continue to enjoy life.

He doesn’t deserve this, IMO.

So now in America a person is guilty unless he can prove his innocence? What objective body of evidence do they have? How about his several hundred blood samples, each of which has never shown as positive.

As I said in the other thread, from what I've heard in Austin, the USADA had made it clear that they were going to continue hounding Armstrong for years, even decades to come, if necessary.

It sounded like they were angry they could never get the definitive proof and tests they wanted, but they had decided he was guilty and were going to make life miserable for him.