Armstrong now awaits response of public

By JIM LITKE
and JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writers
All the speculation is about to end. In a matter of hours, viewers can judge for themselves whether Lance Armstrong told the truth this time.
Armstrong’s confession to Oprah Winfrey about using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France a record seven times in a row will be televised at 9 p.m. Thursday, the first segment of a two-part special on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Since word of his confession during Monday’s taping in Austin, Texas, was first reported by The Associated Press, there has been no shortage of opinions or advice on what Armstrong should say.
“I left it all on the table with her and when it airs the people can decide,” Armstrong said Wednesday in a text sent to the AP. He dismissed a story earlier in the day that described him as “not contrite” when he acknowledged doping while dominating the cycling world.
For some, it’s not just what he said that matters. How he said it, whether angry, tearful or matter-of-fact, will be judged as well.
Livestrong, the cancer charity Armstrong founded in 1997 and was forced to walk away from last year, said in a statement it expected him to be “completely truthful and forthcoming.” A day earlier, World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman said nothing short of a confession under oath — “not talking to a talk-show host” — could prompt a reconsideration of Armstrong’s lifetime ban from sanctioned events. And Frankie Andreu, a former teammate that Armstrong turned on, said the disgraced cyclist had an obligation to tell all he knew and help clean up the sport.
“I have no idea what the future holds other than me holding my kids,” Armstrong said in the text.
Armstrong has held conversations with officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, including a reportedly contentious face-to-face meeting with USADA chief executive Travis Tygart near the Denver airport. It was USADA’s 1,000-page report last year, including testimony from nearly a dozen former teammates, that portrayed Armstrong as the leader of a sophisticated doping ring that propelled the U.S. Postal Service team to title after title at the Tour de France. In addition to the lifetime ban, Armstrong was stripped of all seven wins, lost nearly all of his endorsements and was forced to cut ties with Livestrong.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Armstrong has information that might lead to his ban being reduced to eight years.

Published in The Messenger 1.17.13

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