"60 Minutes" Reports Lance Armstrong Encouraged Doping
Written by Bob Whalon, Monday May 23 2011
The CBS Television show "60 Minutes" reported on Sunday night that Lance Armstrong not only took part in a doping program, but also encouraged his teammates to do so as well.
"60 Minutes" interviewed former Armstrong teammate, Tyler Hamilton who said that he saw Armstrong take performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), EPO and testosterone and also saw him receive a banned blood transfusion.
Hamilton also said that doctors and managers on the U.S. Postal Team encouraged and supervised the doping. He said that the PEDs, including EPO and human growth hormone, were handed out to cyclists in white lunch bags. Hamilton said he provided the same testimony to a Los Angeles-based grand jury.
Armstrong's attorney, Mark Fabiani, released a statement denouncing the CBS report.
"We have already responded in great detail at www.facts4lance.com," Fabiani said. "Throughout this entire process, CBS has demonstrated a serious lack of journalistic fairness and has elevated sensationalism over responsibility. CBS chose to rely on dubious sources while completely ignoring Lance's nearly 500 clean tests and the hundreds of former teammates and competitors who would have spoken about his work ethic and talent."
"60 Minutes" used unidentified sources to report that another one of Armstrong's teammates, George Hincapie, testified to a grand jury that he and Armstrong supplied each other with EPO and discussed having used testosterone to prepare for races.
The Associated Press reported last month that federal investigators asked French authorities to turn over Armstong's urine samples from 1999, the same year that Hamilton claims he saw Armstrong use EPO during his first Tour de France win.
In 2005 the French sports daily L'Equipe reported that six of Armstrong's samples had tested positive for EPO when they were retested in 2004. An investigation by the International Cycling Union later concluded that the samples were mishandled and therefore could not be used.
Also, 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis admitted last year that he used PEDs along with Armstrong.
Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France each year from 1999-2005, but never officially failed any drug tests.
Armstrong's people claim that Hamilton is a liar who is simply seeking a book deal. Hamilton has a different view.
"I feel bad that I had to go here and do this," Hamilton said. "But I think at the end of the day, like I said, long-term, the sport's going to be better for it.
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