The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has stripped cycling superstar Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him from ever competing in the sport again, after alleging that Armstrong had been involved with performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong, who vehemently denies these allegations, took the matter to federal court in his home state of Texas, but earlier this week his case was thrown out by the presiding judge. The judge ruled that the matters in issue at hand should be resolved internally between Armstrong and the USADA rather than by the edict of the Court.
In a public statement Armstrong said that "although the Court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in the USADA's motives, its conduct, and its process, the Court ultimately decided that it could not intervene."
Amongst the charges brought against Armstrong by the USADA are: use of prohibited substances, possession of prohibited substances, trafficking of EPO, testosterone and/or corticosteroids, administration of said substances, and assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up or other complicity involving one or more anti-doping violations.
"We are pleased that the federal court in Austin, TX has dismissed Lance Armstrong's lawsuit and upheld the established rules," Travis Tygart, USADA CEO said in a statement. "We look forward to a timely, public arbitration hearing in this case, should Mr. Armstrong choose, where the evidence can be presented, witness testimony will be given under oath and subject to cross examination, and an independent panel of arbitrators will determine the outcome of the case."
In response, Armstrong stated that "If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA's process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and - once and for all - put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair."
Armstrong went on to describe his opinion of the USADA, alleging that the organization has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade the organization to honor its obligations. He says that its own arbitrators have found USADA processes to be unfair. On top of that, he also claims that the organization has made deals with other riders in which their own non-compliance with the USADA rules would be overlooked as long as they would testify that Armstrong had cheated.
"USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart," Armstrong said.
That the 40-year-old retired cycling champion and philanthropist could be subject to the punishment being handed down by the USADA is an arguable travesty. Those familiar with Armstrong's history know that he was "born to ride" and began racing competitively in his early childhood. He worked at it day in and day out throughout his entire life and has gone above and beyond proving his worth to the world.
Armstrong knows this and has made it clear that he is moving on.
"Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstance," he said in a statement. "I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer."
October 2012 will mark 15 years of dedicated service by Armstrong's Foundation to fight cancer and assist cancer survivors. In this time the Foundation has raised $500 million and Armstrong says he is looking forward to directing all of his energy toward strengthening his foundation - a true inspiration.