The US Justice Department filed a case Tuesday against cyclist Lance Armstrong and his company Tailwind Sports, accusing Armstrong of defrauding the US Postal Service by taking millions of dollars in sponsorship money while doping during his professional cycling career.
“Defendants were unjustly enriched to the extent of the payments and other benefits they received from the USPS, either directly or indirectly,” the suit alleges.
BREAKING: US Department of Justice joins lawsuit against Lance Armstrong
(Photo: OWN via Getty Images)
Lance Armstrong faces a powerful new adversary — the United States government.
The Justice Department notified a federal court Friday that it has joined one of his former racing teammates in suing him for using performance enhancing drugs during the Tour de France.
On this week’s podcast, Steve Barrett, Frank Washkuch, and Lindsay Stein discuss Daniel J. Edelman; Lance Armstrong; Coca-Cola’s anti-obesity campaign; and Manti Te’o.
Lance Armstrong admitted to doping to Oprah Winfrey in a TV special that aired Thursday night, saying, “I viewed this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times.” He explained that taking performance enhancing drugs was “part of the job” during his era, saying it would be impossible to compete without them.
In a series of yes-or-no questions, Armstrong admitted to Winfrey that he doped during all seven of his victorious Tour de France runs and that he used substances like testosterone and human growth hormone. The International Olympic Committee called the ordeal “a dark episode” for the sport and urged Armstrong to present evidence of widespread doping.
![theatlantic:
Re-branding Lance Armstrong: Marketing Pros’ 6-Step Recovery Plan
What, if anything, can be done to help rebuild Armstrong’s image? Lance Armstrong, after all, isn’t just a man. He’s a marketable brand, too. Since it launched in 1997, his foundation Livestrong (formerly known as the Lance Armstrong Foundation) has raised more than $470 million for cancer awareness and research. So I asked four professionals in brand management, public relations, and consulting what advice they would give to Armstrong to help salvage what’s left of Brand Lance.
Read more. [Image: AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/a2efc7097821db71ddeaf727d8cbb5c7/tumblr_mgqearhtcO1qcokc4o1_500.jpg)
Re-branding Lance Armstrong: Marketing Pros’ 6-Step Recovery Plan
What, if anything, can be done to help rebuild Armstrong’s image? Lance Armstrong, after all, isn’t just a man. He’s a marketable brand, too. Since it launched in 1997, his foundation Livestrong (formerly known as the Lance Armstrong Foundation) has raised more than $470 million for cancer awareness and research. So I asked four professionals in brand management, public relations, and consulting what advice they would give to Armstrong to help salvage what’s left of Brand Lance.
Read more. [Image: AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez]
Oprah: Armstrong ‘forthcoming’ in interview about drug use
(Photo: Harpo Studios via Reuters)
Oprah Winfrey says Lance Armstrong was “forthcoming” in their 2.5 hour interview, a session during which the disgraced cyclist admitted using performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, NBC News has confirmed.
Some critics say Armstrong must face tougher questions than the Oprah interview.
(via nbcnews)
From USA TODAY Sports’ Brent Schrotenboer:
Lance Armstrong apologized to the staff of Livestrong Monday prior to an afternoon interview taping with Oprah Winfrey in which he planned to admit to doping during his cycling career.
Livestrong spokesman Katherine McLane said it was a “very sincere and heartfelt apology to the staff.”
Story: http://usat.ly/SzlNOM
— Lance Armstrong’s agent Bill Stapleton in The Austin American-Statesman in 1997. A New York Times article discusses how Armstrong’s career has been tied to the Livestrong brand and how it attempts to rebound from Armstrong’s doping scandal ahead of the cyclist’s interview with Oprah Winfrey today.
Lance Armstrong will give his first interview since being stripped of his Tour de France titles to Oprah Winfrey, her network OWN announced Tuesday.
Armstrong will address the US Anti-Doping Agency’s report regarding Armstrong’s alleged involvement in a sophisticated doping program and charges of lying about the use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout his cycling career in a “no-holds-barred” interview, which will air January 17 on a 90-minute special episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter.”
Do you think Armstrong will confess to the doping charges?
![On November 4, Lance Armstrong resigned from the board of directors for Livestrong, completely cutting ties with the cancer charity he founded in 1997. Armstrong was banned from competition and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last month. He stepped down as Livestrong’s chairman on Oct. 17.
Armstrong is trying to distance himself from the charity and “spare the organization any negative effects as a result of [the] controversy surrounding his cycling career,” according to a statement by Jeff Garvey, the foundation’s chairman.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mde59lOpKY1qe6jr8o1_500.jpg)
On November 4, Lance Armstrong resigned from the board of directors for Livestrong, completely cutting ties with the cancer charity he founded in 1997. Armstrong was banned from competition and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last month. He stepped down as Livestrong’s chairman on Oct. 17.
Armstrong is trying to distance himself from the charity and “spare the organization any negative effects as a result of [the] controversy surrounding his cycling career,” according to a statement by Jeff Garvey, the foundation’s chairman.
