Lance Armstrong Faces Being Stripped of His Titles
Lance Armstrong
Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong has given up his fight against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
By surrendering against accusations that the he cheated, Armstrong now faces a lifetime ban and being stripped of every title he's earned since Aug. 1, 1998, including his seven Tour de France wins.
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"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough,'" Armstrong wrote in a statement. "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."
The latest cheating charges against Armstrong were levied this June when the USADA accused Armstrong of using, possessing, and trafficking performance-enhancing drugs. He was previously accused of doping by former teammates Flloyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton. Amstrong has always vehemently denied these charges, and he has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
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Armstrong explained his decision to forfeit the fight, by saying, "Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by [USADA Chief Executive] 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."
Of losing his titles, the cyclist states: "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... Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart."