Stripped!

(Originally published in the Sept. 2 to 8, 2012 issue of the Baguio Chronicle ---

a weekly newspaper based in Baguio City, Philippines ---

by Sly L. Quintos, Associate Editor.)

LIKE a hydrogen bomb 25,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated by U.S. over Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945, the decision of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) eventually came last week stripping Lance Armstrong all of his seven Tour de France titles.

The USADA --- the national anti-doping organization for the Olympic, the Pan-American and Paralympic sport in the United States --- maintains that Armstrong has used banned substances as far back as 1996, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids as well as blood transfusions --- all to boost his performance to gain a competitive edge. 

By doing so, the USADA puts lifetime ban on Armstrong, all of achievements eliminated from the record books.

Obviously tired and sick of the many years of doping accusations, Armstrong decided to forego arbitration while pointing to the hundreds of drug tests that he passed as proof of his innocence.

Calling the USADA investigation an “unconstitutional witch hunt” and a “one-sided and unfair” process, Armstrong told the press “there comes a point in every man's life when he has to say enough is enough”.

“That time is now,” he said, 

He could have easily pressed his innocence through an arbitration process, but said he believes most people have already made up their minds about whether he’s a fraud or a persecuted hero.

USADA retaliated by saying it will certainly treat Armstrong's decision (not to go for arbitration) as an admission of guilt.

Armstrong insisted that his decision is not an admission of drug use. He argued that a refusal to enter an arbitration process is improper and unfair to athletes facing charges.

Lisa Delpy Neirotti, a sports management professor at George Washington University opined that “from an economic standpoint, Armstrong made a wise choice”.

“Since then, he has built his goodwill around the work he has done in battling cancer,” Neirotti says. “We, as a society, have a short memory. It’s old news now, when he performed, if he used drugs. People want to believe in their heroes. Since there is no hard-core evidence, they are going to side with someone they’ve loved and have done something good off the cycle.”

“By not letting the case go to arbitration, particularly with USADA planning to call more than 10 witnesses, Armstrong prevents the possibility of new evidence that might cause sponsors to squirm,” she said. By using the moment to also declare he will give more time to his Livestrong Foundation for cancer patients, he promotes a more positive narrative.

“I bet there are more cancer victims than there are cycling fans; I don’t have those statistics, but I bet that’s the case, definitely in the U.S.,” Neirotti added.

“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,” Armstrong said, insisting that the USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip him of his seven Tour de France titles.

The USADA doesn't have the authority to vacate his Tour de France titles, he said. USADA said it can.

Included in USADA’s evidence are emails written by Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after a positive drug test. Landis' emails to a USA Cycling official detailed allegations of a complex doping program of the team.

USADA also said it had 10 former Armstrong teammates ready to testify against him, including Landis and Tyler Hamilton --- both of whom have admitted to doping offenses. USADA refused to say what they would say.

“There is zero physical evidence to support (the) outlandish and heinous claims,” Armstrong argued. “The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of (doping) controls I have passed with flying colors.”

Earlier, Armstrong sued USADA and was supported by the sport’s governing body Union Cycliste Internationale or UCI, the sport's governing body. But a judge’s heart is with the USADA.

“USADA's conduct raises serious questions about whether its real interest in charging Armstrong is to combat doping, or if it is acting according to less noble motives such as politics or media attention,” U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks wrote.

“Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities,” Armstrong said.*