The losses are piling up for Lance Armstrong right now. Less than two months after the USADA stripped him of all seven of his Tour de France titles due to a doping scandal surrounding him—and exactly one week after one of his closest teammates came out and admitted to doping—Unlucky Lance just experienced two more major losses.
Early this morning, Armstrong officially stepped down as the chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, better known as Livestrong, because of the doping allegations. In a statement, he revealed that he did not want Livestrong's mission to be tarnished by all the negative hoopla surrounding his career.
"This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart," he said in the statement. "Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effect as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship."
But, the bad news didn't stop there. Nike also released a statement of its own, distancing themselves from Armstrong and announcing that they will no longer by riding for him.
"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 statement said. "Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner. Nike plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer."
Well, at least they'll still be supporting Livestrong, albeit from a distance. But, still: This is obviously all very, very bad for Armstrong and his legacy. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
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[via Fourth-Place Medal]
