It is not uncommon for professional athletes to sometimes risk their jobs by using illegal drugs to enhance their performances. Some suffer the consequences for breaking the rules of their sport more than others.
During the past few months, Lance Armstrong has been accused of doping during the Tour de France and as a result, he has officially been stripped of his Tour de France winnings and banned from cycling for life professionally. In fact, during theTours, he used performance enhancers and blood injections.
Recently, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a report detailing the allegations of the doping done by Armstrong when he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005. These claims included team members of Armstrong as well.
The doping activities occurred mainly when Armstrong was apart of the US Postal Service Team.
The USADA presented a thousand page report of evidence. This evidence included sworn testimony from 26 people, and 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team and its participant’s doping activities. The facts also include direct documentary evidence as well as financial payments, emails, scientific data, and laboratory test results. This further proves the use and possession of the performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong.
In result of these allegations, Armstrong was banned from cycling for life by the USADA and the past fourteen years of his career have been erased. This included his seven Tour de France titles.
Throughout Armstrong’s whole career, he has denied his usage of drugs or enhancers in anyway to boost his performance. This includes blood injections.
“Everybody wants to know what I’m on. What am I on? I’m on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day. What are you on?” he said in a voiceover for an ad for Nike in 2001. The ad also shows Armstrong being tested for drugs.
Armstrong is also a cancer survivor. Soon after being diagnosed with testiclular cancer, he created the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Out of the Lance Armstrong foundation, came the brand LIVESTRONG. With its iconic yellow bracelets they have continually been able to serve people affected by cancer and empower them to take action against the world’s leading cause of death.
Nike quickly picked up the LIVESTRONG brand and began selling apparel for the brand. Armstrong soon became the chairman for this organization.
Unfortunately, because of Armstrong’s doping habits during the Tour de France, Nike dropped Armstrong as a chairman, but he will still continue to serve on the board.
“Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him,” said a Nike Spokesperson.
Aside from Nike, various companies are no longer sponsoring Armstrong. Beer maker Anheuser-Busch stated they too would end their relationship with Armstrong after his contract expires at the end of this year.
Trek Bicycles, which make the bikes Armstrong rides, chose to stop endorsing Armstrong. Even Giro, another bicycle company, the energy drink maker FRS, 24 Hour Fitness and Honey Stinger, an energy food maker, and Radio Shack are all ending their relationships with Armstrong.
Oakley Inc. also endorses Armstrong. They have not come to a conclusion if they are going to continue sponsoring him. In a statement, it was said that they were reviewing the reports into Armstrong’s conduct and awaiting a final decision from the sport’s international authorities.
Armstrong has not spoken out about the USADA report or his loss of endorsements. He did say in a statement announcing his decision to step down as the LIVESTRONG chairman. “My family and I have devoted our lives to the work of the foundation and that will not change. We plan to continue our service to the foundation and the cancer community. We will remain active advocates for cancer survivors and engaged supporters of the fight against cancer,” he said.