After more than a decade of adamant denials of accusations that he used
performance-enhancing drugs and techniques, an emotional and contrite Lance
Armstrong on Monday began to recast his now-crushed international cycling
career.
While a half-dozen media satellite trucks were parked in front of his
expansive Austin home, Armstrong apologized to employees of his former
foundation at the Livestrong headquarters across town and then spent nearly
three hours being interviewed by talk show maven Oprah Winfrey at a downtown
luxury hotel.
The Associated Press, quoting an unnamed source, reported that Armstrong
confessed to doping during his interview with Winfrey.
Armstrong has not answered text messages sent to him by the
American-Statesman. He left town Monday night.
"He came ready," Winfrey posted to her Twitter account.
Winfrey will give interviews this week based on her long talk with
Armstrong, but it won't be aired until Thursday night, in a 90-minute
broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
CBS News, also quoting an unnamed source, said Armstrong is in talks to
repay the federal government to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by
Floyd Landis. The network also reported that Armstrong might agree to testify
against others involved in doping. Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's longtime team
director, still is fighting doping charges through arbitration.
Tim Herman, Armstrong's Austin-based lawyer, told the American-Statesman
that he knew nothing about the CBS report.
Before he met with Winfrey, Armstrong offered an apology, but few
details, to about 100 Livestrong employees during a 15-meeting meeting at
foundation headquarters in East Austin. Armstrong helped launch the foundation
in 1997, months after he finished chemotherapy treatment for advanced
testicular cancer. He gave up his foundation chairmanship in November, weeks
after he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from
cycling for life.
Rae Bazzarre, a Livestrong spokeswoman, said, "Lance came to the
Livestrong Foundation's headquarters today for a private conversation with our
staff and offered a sincere and heartfelt apology for the stress they've
endured because of him, and urged them to keep up their great work fighting
for people affected by cancer."
Chris Brewer, Livestrong's strategic partnership manager, said the
foundation's staff "embraced" Armstrong.
"He did say that he has been very used to being in charge and getting his
own way in most things in life, and realizes he has some things he needs to
apologize for," Brewer said. "The real reason he came to the staff was to say
he was sorry. The way I took it was more that he was apologizing for what
we've been through in the last few years and how that's reflected on the
foundation. You could tell he was very emotional about it."
It's unclear how much Armstrong told Winfrey, who beat out the news
program "60 Minutes" for the disgraced cyclist's first official interview
since most of his career results were wiped away by the International Cycling
Union. The UCI followed the recommendations of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency,
which in October released a 1,000-page report with testimony from 11 of
Armstrong's former teammates describing the cyclist's doping program dating
back to 1998.
Armstrong still is facing a lawsuit brought by the Times of London, which
is seeking to recover a $1.5 million libel settlement it agreed to pay
Armstrong eight years ago. A sportswriter for the Times took out an ad in the
Chicago Tribune on Monday to suggest 10 questions Winfrey should ask
Armstrong.
Landis, a former teammate who first opened the door to expose Armstrong's
doping program in 2010, has filed a federal whistle-blower lawsuit. Both
Armstrong and Landis rode for U.S. Postal, which invested $30 million to be
the title sponsor for Armstrong's team from 1999 to 2004. Landis charged that
Armstrong used federal money to buy and dispense performance-enhancing drugs.
After Armstrong finished his apology rounds, he flew to his home in
Hawaii to rejoin his family. TV news crews still were parked outside his
house. No one on his team will speak publicly until Winfrey's interview airs
Thursday night.
