Monday, October 22, 2012

Armstrong Arbitrations

Though the Lance Armstrong saga seems about over, arbitration of U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) charges continues for some, including the former team director, Johan Bruyneel, who is challenging the agency. Cycling’s governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today stripped Lance Armstrong of his 7 Tour de France titles and banned him for life, following a USADA report from accusing him of leading a doping program on his U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams. UCI's President announced that the federation accepted USADA’s report on Armstrong and would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Eleven former teammates testified against Armstrong, who denies doping based on his having passed hundreds of drug tests. Armstrong chose not to fight USADA in one of the agency’s arbitration hearings, arguing the process was biased against him. Sponsors Nike and Trek have since dropped him, and Armstrong also stepped down last week as chairman of Livestrong, the cancer awareness charity he founded. The cyclist could still face further sports sanctions and legal challenges, including civil lawsuits from ex-sponsors or even the U.S. government. Read more: http://bit.ly/T798LY