The USADA on Wednesday released its report on the case against the US Postal team and Armstrong, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France, describing the affair as a “tragedy”. The explosive document included sworn testimony from 26 people, including 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates on US Postal. The USADA said these teammates had admitted their own doping and say that Armstrong doped, encouraged doping and administered doping products on the team. The Agency added that the evidence showed that the team ran the “most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping program that sport has ever seen”.
Thursday saw USA Cycling hand six-month bans to the five American cyclists who testified against Armstrong after they confessed to using performance enhancing drugs. Tom Danielson, George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie all agreed to serve six-month suspensions as part of a plea bargain to provide sworn testimony to the USADA.
Nike, which has long sponsored Armstrong and his Livestrong charity, reissued the statement it released in August. That statement was released after Armstrong, who has repeatedly denied doping, was banned for life by the USADA after he announced he would end his fight against its doping charges. Nike said: “We are saddened that Lance Armstrong may no longer be able to participate in certain competitions and his titles appear to be impacted. Lance has stated his innocence and has been unwavering on this position. Nike plans to continue to support Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a foundation that Lance created to serve cancer survivors.”
Meanwhile, Major League Soccer (MLS) club Sporting Kansas City has said its stadium will continue to bear the name of the Livestrong foundation following the latest developments in the Armstrong case. Sporting KC’s 18,500-seat Livestrong Sporting Park has borne the name of the organisation under an innovative naming rights partnership struck in advance of its opening in June 2011. Livestrong does not pay for the right to associate its name with the venue in a deal that instead sees the club committed to donate US$7.5 million in stadium revenues to the organisation over six years. Livestrong is a branch of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which was formed in 1997 by the cancer survivor to support those affected by the disease.
Sporting KC chief executive Robb Heineman in August maintained that the deal would remain in place and repeated this statement at the Leaders in Football conference on Thursday. “The reason we created the partnership was for everyone affected by cancer and the 80 million members of Livestrong worldwide,” said Heineman. “That is how we think of the relationship with the brand. The Lance information is less relevant around our partnership. It is really about the 28 million cancer survivors worldwide and what we can do to support them. It is more around the mission with that brand and the relationship we have with the brand. It truly is about helping those afflicted with cancer and the lifestyle they live with every day.”
-Matt Cutler
Source: www.sportbusiness.com