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Will Lance Armstrong confess to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey?

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Will Lance Armstrong confess to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey?

Asked by: Super UserKentoine Johnson in Sports » Cycling
Settled on 01/15/2013 20:07 Settled by Super Userkruijs
Winning option:Yes After years of furious denials and a policy of omerta that kept the lid on a sophisticated cheating conspiracy for more than a decade, Lance Armstrong has finally admitted his doping past in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, according to the US presenter.

The cyclist, stripped of seven Tour de France titles after a United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) report placed him at the heart of the "most sophisticated, professional and successful doping programme sport has ever seen", apparently disarmed Winfrey with his candour and his willingness to confess.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/jan/15/lance-armstrong-admits-doping-winfrey

Predictions

Background

Lance Armstrong will make a limited confession to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Armstrong, who has long denied doping, will also offer an apology during the interview scheduled to be taped Monday at his home in Austin, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to speak publicly on the matter.

While not directly saying he would confess or apologize, Armstrong sent a text message to The Associated Press early Saturday that said: “I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I’ll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That’s all I can say.”

The 41-year-old Armstrong, who vehemently denied doping for years, has not spoken publicly about the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report last year that cast him as the leader of a sophisticated and brazen doping program on his U.S. Postal Service teams that included use of steroids, blood boosters and illegal blood transfusions.

The USADA report led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and given a lifetime ban from the sport.

Several outlets had reported that Armstrong was considering a confession. The interview will be broadcast Thursday on the Oprah Winfrey Network and oprah.com.

A confession would come at a time when Armstrong is still facing some legal troubles.

Armstrong faces a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former teammate Floyd Landis accusing him of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, but the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to announce if it will join the case. The British newspaper The Sunday Times is suing Armstrong to recover about $500,000 it paid him to settle a libel lawsuit.

A Dallas-based promotions company has threatened to sue Armstrong to recover more than $7.5 million it paid him as a bonus for winning the Tour de France.

But potential perjury charges stemming from his sworn testimony denying doping in a 2005 arbitration fight over the bonus payments have passed the statute of limitations.

Armstrong lost most of his personal sponsorship – worth tens of millions of dollars – after USADA issued its report and he left the board of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. He is still said to be worth an estimated $100 million.

Livestrong might be one reason to issue an apology or make a confession. The charity supports cancer patients and still faces an image problem because of its association with its famous founder.


Armstrong could also be hoping a confession would allow him to return to competition in elite triathlon or running events, but World Anti-Doping Code rules state his lifetime ban cannot be reduced to less than eight years. WADA and U.S. Anti-Doping officials could agree to reduce the ban further depending on what new information Armstrong provides and his level of cooperation.

Armstrong met with USADA officials recently to explore a “pathway to redemption,” according to a report by “60 Minutes Sports” aired Wednesday on Showtime.
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/12/ap_lance_armstrong_confesses_to_oprah/

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   Super Userkruijs

After a decade of denial, Lance Armstrong has finally come clean: He used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.

The disgraced cyclist made the confession to Oprah Winfrey during an interview taped Monday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the interview is to be broadcast Thursday on Winfrey’s network.

http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/01/14/ap-source-armstrong-tells-oprah-he-doped/

   Super Userkruijs

Lance Armstrong apologized to the staff of his Livestrong cancer foundation on Monday before sitting down for a confessional interview with Oprah Winfrey, according to the Associated Press.

The disgraced cyclist, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles amid overwhelming evidence that he was guilty of doping, addressed an emotional meeting of Livestrong staff on Monday and said "I'm sorry", an unnamed source told AP. Apologizing for disappointing them and putting the foundation at risk, Armstrong reportedly "choked up" during the meeting, and several other employees were in tears, too.

Armstrong told staffers he would try to restore Livestrong's reputation, and encouraged them to continue supporting the charity's mission to help cancer patients and their families.

After years making of denying any involvement in doping, and aggressively pursuing those who accused him of doing so, Armstrong is expected to admit to using performance-enchancing drugs in the interview with Winfrey. Although the interview is his first since the Usada report, it is not expected that he will discuss the findings, or the charges against him, in detail.

Armstrong texted the AP on Saturday and said: "I told her [Winfrey] to go wherever she wants, and that I'll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can say."

Winfrey's network OWN said Armstrong agreed to a "no-holds-barred" interview. "Amstrong will address the alleged doping scandal, years of accusations of cheating and charges of lying about the use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout his storied cycling career," the network said in a statement.

The interview is set to air Thursday at 9pm eastern time in the US on the Oprah Winfrey Network and will be streamed live internationally on Oprah.com.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/jan/14/lance-armstrong-livestrong-sorry-emotional-meeting

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