AUSTIN, Texas — Lance Armstrong said Wednesday that he is stepping down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity so the group can focus on its mission instead of its founder’s problems.
The move came a week after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a report detailing allegations of widespread doping by Armstrong and his teams when he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005. The document’s purpose was to show why USADA has banned him from cycling for life and ordered 14 years of his career results erased — including those Tour titles. It contains sworn statements from 26 witnesses, including 11 former teammates.
Armstrong, who was not paid a salary as chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, will remain on its 15-member board. His duties leading the board will be turned over to vice chairman Jeff Garvey, who was founding chairman in 1997.
“This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart,” Armstrong said in a statement. “Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship.”
Meanwhile, Nike Inc. said it ended its contract with Armstrong.
Nike, based in Beaverton, Ore., announced the decision in a statement on its website. Nike said it would continue to support initiatives by Armstrong’s Livestrong charity to help people affected by cancer.
“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,” Nike said. “Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner.”
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
Information for this article was contributed by Bloomberg News.