Oh, it was good to be Lance Armstrong a few years back. Young, athletic, and attractive, Armstrong won the Tour de France, the grueling, yet historic annual multiple stage bicycle race, seven years in a row. Seven. In a row. Heck, even cancer couldn’t beat him. After chemo proved successful, he formed the Lance Armstrong Foundation, now known as the Livestrong Foundation, to help others defeat cancer and live a healthier lifestyle. He dated a rock star (Sheryl Crow from 2003 until 2005) and has fathered five healthy, beautiful children.
Yes, it was good to be Lance Armstrong…until now.
Armstrong faced allegations of doping most of his career and after an investigation, which included U.S. federal prosecutors, Armstrong fell from grace. Fellow competitors, truthful or jealous, came out staying Armstrong had taken performance enhancing drugs. Suspicious urine samples reportedly belonging to Armstrong was found and finding other “overwhelming evidence,” earlier this year, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agencye (USADA) issued a lifetime ban from competition on Armstrong. Some were suspicious when Armstrong chose not to contest the ban.
That might have seemed anti-climactic since Armstrong had already retired in early 2011. But, the snowball just kept building and this past October, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing body of cycling, agreed with the USADA and stripped Armstrong of all his titles.
Now if you don’t know, Armstrong is from Texas and Texans aren’t ones to go down that easily. Earlier this week, he tweeted a picture of him, lounging on his sofa with his seven Tour de France winner’s jerseys framed and hanging in the background.
Still, today, Armstrong severed ties with Livestrong. His namesake foundation accepted his resignation, but issued a statement which read, “We are deeply grateful to Lance for creating a cause that has served millions of cancer survivors and their families. We are beholden to the Armstrong family for the nearly $7 million in contributions throughout the foundation’s history. Lance Armstrong was instrumental in changing the way the world views people affected by cancer.” Armstrong said he resigned to spare the organization any negativity due to the whole doping controversy.
Armstrong still faces a potential mound of debt as the UCI wants its $4 million in prize money back, some sponsors have reportedly wanted their money back, and some people who had raised money for Livestrong want their money back.