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| Read Lance Armstrong Biography |
Lance Armstrong stepped down as chairman of the Livestrong cancer
support charity he founded, as Nike Inc dropped the disgraced cyclist
over the doping scandal that will likely cost him his seven Tour de
France titles.
Armstrong's Livestrong foundation is best known for the more than 70
million iconic yellow rubbery wrist bands that have been distributed
worldwide, but the scandal threatened to overshadow the group's wider
work with cancer patients. So far, donations have actually increased
despite the scandal.
"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 on Wednesday.
He will continue to serve on the board.
At around the same time
that the foundation announced Armstrong's resignation, Nike posted a
statement to its website saying the athletic apparel maker would still
back the charity but could no longer sponsor the man behind it.
"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," the
company said.
Beer maker Anheuser-Busch said it too would end its
relationship with Armstrong when his contract expires at the end of
this year, though it would also continue to back the foundation and its
athletic events.
Oakley Inc, the sunglasses brand also associated
with Armstrong, said in a statement it was reviewing the reports into
the cyclist's conduct and awaiting a final decision from the sport's
international authorities. A Radio Shack spokesman said the electronics
retailer remains a sponsor of Armstrong and Livestrong.
ESPN
reported two other sponsors, Trek Bicycles and the energy drink maker
FRS, were also ending their relationships with the cyclist.
Representatives of the two companies were not immediately available to
comment.
Armstrong, now retired, is set to lose his record seven
Tour de France titles after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency published a
1,000-page report last week that said the American took part in and
organized an elaborate, sophisticated doping scheme on his way to his
unrivalled success.
Cycling's world governing body, the
International Cycling Union, has yet to rule on the USADA report. They
can either confirm Armstrong's life ban and strip him of his seven Tour
titles or take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The
report accused Armstrong, as head of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling
Team, of running "the most sophisticated, professionalized and
successful doping program that sport has ever seen." It included sworn
testimony of 26 people, including 15 riders, who described years of
performance drug use.
'WHAT ARE YOU ON?'
Armstrong, 41,
has always denied he took banned substances during his glittering career
but decided not to challenge the USADA charges against him.
That
defiance was such a part of Armstrong's personal brand that Nike made a
commercial in the early 2000s featuring him being tested for drugs.
"Everybody
wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike, busting my ass
six hours a day. What are you on?" Armstrong said in a voice over to the
ad.
Before Armstrong, the most high profile athlete dropped by
Nike was probably the football player Michael Vick, cut loose in 2007
amid charges he bankrolled a dog-fighting ring.
One analyst who
follows the company dismissed the idea that separating from Armstrong
would have any impact on Nike or its sales of Livestrong products.
"I
am not sure the average Joe really cares. Nike and all sporting goods
companies have a history of standing by their sponsored athletes," said
Paul Swinand, a retail analyst at Morningstar. Read more
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