Lance Armstrong was stripped of another perk today when his Livestrong Foundation, built on the fraud of his seven consecutive Tour de France victories, has ended its 9 year long relationship with show and apparel maker Nike.
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| Lance Armstrong |
Livestrong is a charity set up to raise money for cancer research. Nike helped raise $100 million for the foundation, and was its main corporate backer. Nike didn't just cut off its support for Armstrong's Livestrong. The company also announced it would stop making Livestrong brand shoes and clothing at the end of the year. Nike says its obligated to support the organization until 2014, but that there will be no new deals. Most of the money Nike raised for the foundation came through the $1 sale of Livestrong wrist bands. They sold 87 million. The wrist bands were symbols of the possibilities of the human spirit to overcome almost any obstacle. They were inspired by Armstrong's own struggle with and survival of testicular cancer.
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| Armstrong |
Last October the USADA, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, said the achievements of Armstrong, USPS Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team were accomplished through a massive doping conspiracy. The USADA said the scheme was more extensive than any other in professional sports history. The report issued by the USADA said that Armstrong not only used EPO, a blood oxygen boosting drug, he required that his teammates also them or be removed from the team.
The agency banned Armstrong from cycling for life.
Armstrong probably wishes the pounding is over now, but it might not be. Last month the US government sued Armstrong claiming he violated his contract with the US Postal Service. The government is seeking more than $100 million, and criminal prosecution has not been ruled out.
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