Wednesday 17 October 2012

Armstrong Loses Nike and Livestrong


Lance Armstrong has had his contract with sportswear giant Nike terminated.

Nike stated that "due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Armstrong participated in doping... we have terminated his contract".

Armstrong, 41, has also stepped down as chairman of his charity Livestrong.

“To spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship”Lance Armstrong

The decisions come a week after the United States Anti-Doping Agency released a report containing accusations of widespread doping by Armstrong and his teams.

It contains sworn statements from 26 witnesses, including 11 former team-mates.

Usada ordered 14 years of Armstrong's career results, including his seven Tour de France titles, to be erased. The former cyclist has always denied doping, but gave up his fight against the charges in August.

Nike, which added that it was "misled" by the American for more than a decade, made a U-turn on a statement released last week when it said it would "continue to support Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation". Nike and Armstrong had been in partnership since 1996.

Armstrong also announced on Wednesday that he would be quitting his role as chairman of his cancer charity in order "to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career".

The Texan will remain on Livestrong's 15-member board, with vice-chairman Jeff Garvey, who was founding chairman in 1997, taking over Armstrong's role.

Armstrong added: "As my cancer treatment was drawing to an end, I created a foundation to serve people affected by cancer.

"It has been a great privilege to help it grow from a dream into an organisation that today has served 2.5 million people and helped spur a cultural shift in how the world views cancer survivors."


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