Lance Armstrong gave up.

[donner]

10 "witnesses" vs over 500 drug tests? Which one is more concrete?

I agree, especially since several of the witnesses were likely given immunity. I was just pointing out that the USADA does claim to have evidence against him.

As i said, i don't really care if he did or didn't dope.

 

[donner]

Well you do have a point there. Cycling is utterly irrelevant as a sport, at least outside the Olympics. The point is, no one can EVER prove he doped. It's over and done. They don't have any physical evidence and what his teammates or anyone else says doesn't amount to squat. How do you feel about millions of tax dollars being spent on the effort to prove the unprovable, which never had a single thing to do with governing our country? If you're upset about the USPS paying for him and his team, you should be furious with the USADA and their shenanigans.

Cycling may not be a mainstream sport in the US, but it does have a large base of support in parts of the US and is still big in Europe. In fact, there is a big race going on in Colorado right now. Check your NBC Sports Network listings.

I agree it's pointless to try to do anything with this issue at this point and is only a waste of money.

 

[ez bake]

So it doesn't matter to anyone that he was paid to dope using your tax dollars while a member of the US Postal team?

I agree, especially since several of the witnesses were likely given immunity. I was just pointing out that the USADA does claim to have evidence against him.

As i said, i don't really care if he did or didn't dope.

?????

First off, what does the USPS paying him anything have to do with the charges against him (charges from a tax-payer funded non-profit organization that has no formal due process, and no reason to continue pursuing him after the mountain of evidence pointing to his innocence). And secondly, the USADA has had more than enough time to "prosecute" him and instead felt the need to drag out the whole process until they drained him of resources. This has basically turned into a civil-court mockery with little to no limitations on what the USADA can do (a federal Judge has already questioned their motives in writing specifically about this case).

In short, the USADA did what testicular cancer couldn't. They beat Lance Armstrong into giving up a fight. I don't know what kind of cancer the USADA is, but it appears to be spreading into other tax-payer-funded areas, so maybe we should be more upset about our tax dollars going there.

 

[wsm929rr]

He said she said is exactly that, hearsay. People can SAY anything they want doesn't make it true. The many many drug tests he took are on file and administered by professional labs. Its a witch hunt.

 

[radarmonkey]

?????

First off, what does the USPS paying him anything have to do with the charges against him (charges from a tax-payer funded non-profit organization that has no formal due process, and no reason to continue pursuing him after the mountain of evidence pointing to his innocence). And secondly, the USADA has had more than enough time to "prosecute" him and instead felt the need to drag out the whole process until they drained him of resources. This has basically turned into a civil-court mockery with little to no limitations on what the USADA can do (a federal Judge has already questioned their motives in writing specifically about this case).

In short, the USADA did what testicular cancer couldn't. They beat Lance Armstrong into giving up a fight. I don't know what kind of cancer the USADA is, but it appears to be spreading into other tax-payer-funded areas, so maybe we should be more upset about our tax dollars going there.

Big Brother always knows best and he is here to look out for our best intrests, isn't he. As the "cancer" spreads, imagine what wonderful things Big Brother could do to a man of little means and little or no way to reach out for help. I personally think Armstrong is yet another person that will be used as an example to show the rest of us how hopeless it is to resist.

 

[WTJ]

So it doesn't matter to anyone that he was paid to dope using your tax dollars while a member of the US Postal team?

No, it does not. See a multitude of politicians for reference.

 

[doctorjj]

Not that we will ever know for sure, but I'm thorougly convinced that he was doping. That being said, who cares? And, please USADA just drop it. There's not been presented one shred of evidence that he did cheat. Until it can be proven, just shut up already.

 

[flatwins]

These are just some of the wonderful perks provided through big government.

 

[OkieMoe]

Lance is the MAN....

It's a WALL of text.... But condensed... It says he is tired of fighting the idiots.. He didnt cheat.. and FU USADA....

Lance Armstong's Statement of August 23, 2012

AUSTIN, Texas - August 23rd, 2012 - There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense.
I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA’s charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA’s motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene.
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. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?
From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA’s improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA’s own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers’ expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today.
The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It’s an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It’s just not right.
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.
Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. 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, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet.

 

[Garand]

So it doesn't matter to anyone that he was paid to dope using your tax dollars while a member of the US Postal team?

Everyone keeps overlooking the fact that the USPS is NOT tax payer supported!

"The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. We are required by law to cover our costs."

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consumerawareness/a/uspsabout.htm