Sponsors Nike and Anheuser-Busch dumped endorsement deals with Lance Armstrong on Wednesday as the doping-disgraced US cyclist stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong anti-cancer charity he founded.
“Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him,” Nike’s statement said.
Brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev, who used Armstrong in beer advertisements, said they would not renew a sponsorship deal with Armstrong when their current three-year endorsement contract ends in December.
Photo: Reuters
“We have decided not to renew our relationship with Lance Armstrong when our current contract expires at the end of 2012,” Anheuser-Busch vice president of US marketing Paul Chibe said.
Both Nike and Anheuser-Busch said they would continue to support Livestrong, the charity Armstrong founded 15 years ago that has raised nearly US$500 million.
Armstrong stepped aside rather than see Livestrong impacted by the fallout from revelations that a doping scheme was at the heart of his Tour de France triumphs from 1999 to 2005 — the worst scandal in a sport tarred by cheating.
“To spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship,” Armstrong said in a statement posted on the Livestrong Web site.
Armstrong is set to attend a gala fundraiser today in Austin, Texas, to celebrate Livestrong’s 15th anniversary in what could prove to be an emotional moment in the public spotlight, his first since scandal details were revealed.
“It has been a great privilege to help grow it from a dream into an organization that today has served 2.5 million people and helped spur a cultural shift in how the world views cancer survivors,” Armstrong said.
More than 80 million of Livestrong’s iconic yellow wristbands, launched in 2004 in collaboration with Nike, have been sold, donations that were in part inspired by Armstrong’s now-tainted cancer comeback.
The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) banned Armstrong for life and stripped him of his Tour de France victories in August after incriminating testimony from 26 witnesses, 11 of them former teammates.
More than 1,000 pages of evidence contained expert medical findings and financial documents linking Armstrong and others to an elaborate doping scheme.
“The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen,” USADA chief executive Travis Tygart said.
Armstrong, who denies allegations of wrongdoing, chose not to fight the charges after losing a US federal court fight objecting to USADA’s appeal process, saying he was weary from battling years of similar accusations.
Armstrong had been an inspirational figure for millions after recovering from testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs, and then winning the world’s most celebrated cycling event seven times in a row.
USADA unveiled its evidence last week in a report to the International Cycling Union (UCI), which faces growing pressure to reveal how the 41-year-old American was able to escape detection for so long.
UCI is considering the sanctions imposed by USADA. Rejecting them would likely set up a fight with USADA in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, this year’s Tour de France winner, is among those trying to help healing cycling’s shattered reputation, with his Sky team saying it will require all team members to sign a pledge they have never doped or be dropped from the squad.
“We want a team in which riders are free of the risks of doping and in which fans — new and old — can believe without any doubt or hesitation,” a Sky statement said. “We have been shocked by recent revelations of systemic doping in cycling’s past. So we have taken steps to reaffirm our commitment to being a clean team.”
US federal agents looked into Armstrong for 18 months, but closed their probe earlier this year without filing charges. However, the unprecedented volume and detail of USADA’s findings could lead US prosecutors and companies to consider fresh criminal and civil actions against Armstrong.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Stade Rennais, four days after firing coach Habib Beye, stunned Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Friday, snapping the defending champions’ seven-match winning run in French Ligue 1. Second-placed RC Lens could leapfrog the champions and retake top spot last night after press time if they beat Paris FC in the capital. PSG started brightly, with Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue carving openings to no avail. Rennes fired Beye on Monday and promoted his assistant Sebastien Tambouret, and the same players who had lost four games on the bounce seemed transformed. Jordanian forward Mousa al-Tamari bagged the opener, unleashing a fierce strike
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Manchester City FC halved Arsenal FC’s lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home defeat of Fulham FC, and Aston Villa FC stayed in the frame with a late 1-0 victory at home to Brighton and Hove Albion FC on Wednesday. Nottingham Forest FC squandered a chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom three as they drew 0-0 at home to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Second-from-bottom Burnley FC pulled off a remarkable 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace FC to boost their slender survival hopes. City have little margin for error in their pursuit
RSS