It was six years ago that former Murrieta resident and pro cyclist Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France title for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Now several media outlets are quoting an AP source that claims seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has confessed to Oprah that he did in fact take performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.
Landis testified against Armstrong as his fellow cyclist was also stripped of all his titles last year. Armstrong vehemently protested his innocence all the way through, tweeting the following statement just prior to losing his titles:
I have been notified that USADA, an organization largely funded by taxpayer dollars but governed only by self-written rules, intends to again dredge up discredited allegations dating back more than 16 years to prevent me from competing as a triathlete and try and strip me of the seven Tour de France victories I earned. These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation. These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity. Although USADA alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy extended over more than 16 years, I am the only athlete it has chosen to charge. USADA’s malice, its methods, its star-chamber practices, and its decision to punish first and adjudicate later all are at odds with our ideals of fairness and fair play.
I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one. That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence.
Armstrong enjoyed widespread public support prior to losing his titles, while Landis was shunned.
So if Armstrong has indeed now admitted that all that was a lie and he did in fact participate in doping, what do you think should happen to him? Should he face perjury charges and should he refund prize money and endorsement payments?
