AUSTIN, Texas -- Lance Armstrong said Wednesday he is stepping down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity so the group can focus on its mission instead of its founder's problems.
The move came on the same day that Nike terminated its endorsement deal with the embattled cyclist, a source told ESPN's Darren Rovell. Nike had been one of Armstrong's biggest supporters and said it will still support Livestrong.
Armstrong's decision to leave Livestrong came a week after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a massive report detailing allegations of widespread doping by Armstrong and his teams when he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005.
USADA's documentation attempts to show why the organization has banned him from cycling for life and ordered 14 years of his career results erased -- including those Tour titles. It contains sworn statements from 26 witnesses, including 11 former teammates. Cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), received USADA's report last week and has 21 days to decide whether to formally ratify the decision to strip Armstrong of his Tour titles or appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Armstrong, who was not paid a salary as chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, will remain on its 15-member board. His duties leading the board will be turned over to vice chairman Jeff Garvey, who was founding chairman in 1997.
This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart, Armstrong said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship.
Full article
Truly now a man without a cause.
The move came on the same day that Nike terminated its endorsement deal with the embattled cyclist, a source told ESPN's Darren Rovell. Nike had been one of Armstrong's biggest supporters and said it will still support Livestrong.
Armstrong's decision to leave Livestrong came a week after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a massive report detailing allegations of widespread doping by Armstrong and his teams when he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005.
USADA's documentation attempts to show why the organization has banned him from cycling for life and ordered 14 years of his career results erased -- including those Tour titles. It contains sworn statements from 26 witnesses, including 11 former teammates. Cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), received USADA's report last week and has 21 days to decide whether to formally ratify the decision to strip Armstrong of his Tour titles or appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Armstrong, who was not paid a salary as chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, will remain on its 15-member board. His duties leading the board will be turned over to vice chairman Jeff Garvey, who was founding chairman in 1997.
This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart, Armstrong said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship.
Full article
Truly now a man without a cause.
