Armstrong's luck running out?

[DGuller]

The shit seems to finally be hitting the fan for Lance.  Will he manage to lawyer out of it again, or is this the end of the line for him and his reputation?

Personally, I find it hard to fault a guy for cheating in a sport where it's impossible to compete without cheating.  When everyone breaks the law, the problem is with the law, not with the lawbreaker.

Lance Armstrong case can move forward after review board says USADA can pursue doping charges

By Amy Shipley, Friday, June 29, 9:13 PM

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's independent anti-doping review board ruled there is sufficient evidence of doping violations for the agency to pursue charges against retired seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and five former team members, according to a letter sent to the accused from USADA and a statement from the agency.

The case will proceed to a hearing in front of the American Arbitration Association, unless Armstrong or the other accused attempt to take the matter to federal court. In a statement, Robert D. Luskin, Armstrong's Washington-based attorney, said Armstrong would consider all of his legal options.

Armstrong has until July 9 to request the arbitration hearing, which would take place before November, the letter said.

USADA said in a June 12 charging letter to Armstrong that it would seek as much as a lifetime competition ban. Though Armstrong is retired from cycling, he recently has competed in Ironman triathlons and masters swimming. USADA alleges Armstrong, cycling coach Johan Bruyneel, Italian doctor Michele Ferrari and three team associates participated in a massive doping conspiracy for more than a decade.

Armstrong's attorneys had argued in written submissions to the review board that USADA did not have jurisdiction in the matter and had provided no evidence of any doping violations by Armstrong.

"There is not one shred of credible evidence to support USADA's charges and an unbroken record of more than 500 to 600 clean tests over more than a decade and a half to refute it," Luskin said in a statement Friday. "In its zeal to punish Lance, USADA has sacrificed the very principles of fair play that it was created to safeguard. It has compiled a disgraceful record of arrogance, secrecy, disregard for its own protocols, shabby science, and contempt for due process."

Said USADA in a statement: "All respondents will have the opportunity to exercise their right to a full public arbitration hearing, should they so choose, where all evidence would be presented, witness testimony would be given under oath, and an independent group of arbitrators would ultimately decide the outcome of the case."

One of the three review board members, Minneapolis attorney Clark Griffith, played down the board's role in examining evidence of doping, saying "evaluation is too strong of a word."

"We don't evaluate the evidence in terms of how the evidence would be evaluated in a trial," Griffith said by cellphone. "Don't overstate this. This is nobody saying anybody is guilty of anything. The people who do the heavy lifting are the arbitration panel, if it's ever empaneled."

Earlier in the day, Armstrong used his Twitter account to mock the choice of Griffith for the review board. In June, Griffith, 70, entered an Alford plea to charges of indecent exposure involving a 24-year-old woman, which meant he asserted his innocence while acknowledging that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. Griffith told The Washington Post he was not guilty and the charges were "set for dismissal."

[mongers]

The shit seems to finally be hitting the fan for Lance.  Will he manage to lawyer out of it again, or is this the end of the line for him and his reputation?

Personally, I find it hard to fault a guy for cheating in a sport where it's impossible to compete without cheating.  When everyone breaks the law, the problem is with the law, not with the lawbreaker.

Lance Armstrong case can move forward after review board says USADA can pursue doping charges

By Amy Shipley, Friday, June 29, 9:13 PM

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's independent anti-doping review board ruled there is sufficient evidence of doping violations for the agency to pursue charges against retired seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and five former team members, according to a letter sent to the accused from USADA and a statement from the agency.
...l."

I dispute that, care to offer any evidence that everyone is cheating ?

[HVC]

The shit seems to finally be hitting the fan for Lance.  Will he manage to lawyer out of it again, or is this the end of the line for him and his reputation?

Personally, I find it hard to fault a guy for cheating in a sport where it's impossible to compete without cheating.  When everyone breaks the law, the problem is with the law, not with the lawbreaker.

Lance Armstrong case can move forward after review board says USADA can pursue doping charges

By Amy Shipley, Friday, June 29, 9:13 PM

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s independent anti-doping review board ruled there is sufficient evidence of doping violations for the agency to pursue charges against retired seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and five former team members, according to a letter sent to the accused from USADA and a statement from the agency.
...l.”

I dispute that, care to offer any evidence that everyone is cheating ?

you're a bike guy, in the last 10 years how many people have had to give up their... uhm, trophy? for winning or placing? All i ever hear about bike racing is the doping scandal.

[DGuller]

I dispute that, care to offer any evidence that everyone is cheating ?

Well, that would be kinda hard, wouldn't it?  The whole problem is because you can't catch the cheaters, unless they screw up or get unlucky.  All you can do is apply common sense and make inferences.

[Scipio]

I'm sorry, what is the jurisdictional basis for the USADA?  Who are these guys?  Are they fucking elected, or something?

For that matter, why should the state care if sporting contests are fair?  Are these state enterprises?

If they are, why are my tax dollars going for circuses?  Fuck that shit.

[Razgovory]

I thought your crazy libertarian leanings would prefer arbitration by private non-governmental actors.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I'm sorry, what is the jurisdictional basis for the USADA?  Who are these guys?  Are they fucking elected, or something?

For that matter, why should the state care if sporting contests are fair?  Are these state enterprises?

If they are, why are my tax dollars going for circuses?  Fuck that shit.

Its good for a few headlines??!

[CountDeMoney]

I bet if Mongers raced his lil' bike, he would cheat if he could afford it. 
Unfortunately, he can't afford HGH, so the best he can do is some dried monkey's testicles and an orange juice squeezer.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

I thought your crazy libertarian leanings would prefer arbitration by private non-governmental actors.

Except it isn't.  It has official standing from Congress and is partially funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

[Razgovory]

I thought your crazy libertarian leanings would prefer arbitration by private non-governmental actors.

Except it isn't.  It has official standing from Congress and is partially funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

It still isn't a government organization.  It has recognized by Congress gets some funding, but that's not unlike many privatized entities that do work for the US government.

[Eddie Teach]

It still isn't a government organization.  It has recognized by Congress gets some funding, but that's not unlike many privatized entities that do work for the US government.

I believe his concern is that insuring fairness in cycling shouldn't be part of the government's job at all, directly or through proxies.

[sbr]

It still isn't a government organization.  It has recognized by Congress gets some funding, but that's not unlike many privatized entities that do work for the US government.

I believe his concern is that insuring fairness in cycling shouldn't be part of the government's job at all, directly or through proxies.

Of course not, but Congress also insists on having hearing on steroids in baseball and the college football playoffs too.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

It still isn't a government organization.  It has recognized by Congress gets some funding, but that's not unlike many privatized entities that do work for the US government.

Most privatized entities that get funding from the government are not recognized by Congress as official representatives of the United States with international organizations, and any that have such recognition are also government actors.  An organization does not need to be part of the government to be a government actor.

[Admiral Yi]

It's starting to look as if all the Eurofags were right about Lance and all the pigdogs were wrong.

[Eddie Teach]

It's starting to look as if all the Eurofags were right about Lance and all the pigdogs were wrong.

Wait, you're saying cycling *is* interesting?