Looking Into Lance Armstrong
The feds launched an investigation into Armstrong and whether his alleged doping, while racing for the U.S. Postal Service, constituted fraud. Lance Armstrong \ has beaten cancer, conquered the Tour de France seven times, and consistently deflected doping charges in the past.
The first – and maybe hardest – task for investigators is proving that Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs. It’s a charge he adamantly denies. Only then can investigators make the case that Armstrong’s drug use constituted government fraud.
Huffington Post columnist Jonathan Littman has covered similar doping investigations in the past. Now, he’s writing extensively about Armstrong.
“It’s so easy to think this is a case about whether Lance Armstrong cheated. But, this is really a case about whether he committed a fraud,” said Littman. “And, it’s going to be interesting to see whether the government can deliver the goods on that crime.”
Littman said the government has no specific law against using performance enhancing drugs to cheat in sports. And, he said determining whether an athlete cheated should be up to a sport’s governing body – in the case of cycling, the UCI, or International Cycling Union.
“They can demand prize money back, they can take away trophies and victories, and I agree sports have that right. I think it’s a really slippery slope if we start to say that the federal government can suddenly decide the morality of things which aren’t within its statutory rule,” Littman said.
Armstrong has never been punished by the UCI, or the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency – USADA – simply because he’s never been proven to have violated their rules. Throughout his career, Armstrong’s faced many accusers, but none have provided definitive evidence. In May, after Floyd Landis accused him of doping, Armstrong made a statement calling his former teammate’s credibility into question.
“This is a man that’s been under oath several times and had a completely different version. This is a man that’s written a book for profit that had a very different version. This is a man that, some would say, took close to a million dollars from innocent people, for his defense under a different premise. And now, when it’s all run out, the story changes,” said Armstrong.
But if Landis’ admission proves anything, it’s that sporting organizations and anti-doping agencies often fail to catch cheaters. Landis says he used drugs for years before he actually tested positive. So, it’s not surprising that USADA is increasingly looking to federal investigators to help pursue athletes suspected of cheating. Federal investigators have much more power than USADA. It’s been reported that investigators have grilled Armstrong’s teammates under oath, and threat of jail time for perjury.
USADA won’t comment on specific cases. But the agency’s CEO confirmed they’ve successfully partnered with federal investigators to bring down big name athletes in the past. The Armstrong investigation appears to be a continuation of that tactic. Steven Ungerleider is a sports psychologist who’s worked closely with anti-doping authorities. He said these investigations further USADA’s immediate goal – to dismantle a pervasive, win at all costs sports culture.
“Absolutely, it’s painful to see our heroes go down. But, we really have to get to a level playing field and make sure that we’re protecting the well being of athletes, and making sure we’re sending the right message to young people, letting them know that using performance enhancing drugs and cheating is just not acceptable,” Ungerleider said.
Four of Armstrong’s former teammates, including Landis, and most of his closest competitors in the Tour de France, have already gone down. They’ve either been caught doping, or outright admitted to it. That guilt by association is enough for some people to convict Armstrong in the court of public opinion, if not a criminal trial. Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford said as much last August, in a commentary about fallen sports stars on NPR.
“Lance Armstrong is a fading Tinkerbell. Clap, boys and girls, if you’re sucker enough to believe him,” Deford said.
In an interview, Deford later defended his comment.
“I think circumstantial evidence against Lance Armstrong is so overwhelming that you’d have to believe in something like the tooth fairy, to convince yourself that everyone else is lying, except Lance Armstrong. That all the other guys that ride in the Tour de France take drugs. That he’s the only one who didn’t take drugs, yet he’s better than everybody else,” said Deford.
Others believe the accusations are just conjecture. Brian Walton is a former professional cyclist who competed against Armstrong during the 1990s. Now he runs a coaching company and retail outlet, in Philadelphia. Walton sayid just because an athlete wins, that doesn’t automatically implicate them as a cheater.
“His focus was on winning the Tour de France. Simple, I’m going to set up a team around me, I’ve got coaches, I’ve got everything. I’m going to focus my program on winning the Tour de France, because that’s what I want to do. Then he gets his team on board, gets his sponsors on board, they see all the benefits, and he crushes it,” Walton said.
As for whether, Armstrong did or did not use drugs, Walton says he doesn’t know, and he doesn’t really care.
The New York Times has reported Armstrong may be indicted as soon as next month. Armstrong’s already retained one of the nation’s top criminal defense attorneys, Bryan D. Daly. He’s also hired public relations consultant Mark Fabiani, nicknamed the master of disaster, to manage his public message. Just as he beat cancer and conquered the Tour, Armstrong appears to be taking the investigation head on. And, it just might be the fight of his life.
Ian Dille, KUT News
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