what bullshit ;0 ..but hey if U want 2 keep suckling on the "elite?insider" tit hehehe ..u just watch how uncomfortable he's gonna B ......NOT fessin UP .....but how He has 2 go in front of "these" douche bags hahahahahhahaa !!!! & do it :) poor guy ;0
He also has to be careful.
Armstrong will answer 'honestly' during Oprah talk
By | Associated Press – 11 hrs ago
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong said he will answer questions "directly, honestly and candidly" during an interview with Oprah Winfrey
next week. He will also apologize and make a limited confession to
using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a person with knowledge
of the situation.
Armstrong has spent more than a decade denying that he doped to win the Tour de France
seven times. Without saying whether he would confess or apologize
during the taping, Armstrong told The Associated Press in a text message
early Saturday, "I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll
answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can
say."
A confession
would be a stunning reversal for Armstrong after years of public
statements, interviews and court battles from Austin to Europe in which
he denied doping and zealously protected his reputation.
Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for
life last year after the U.S. Anti-Doping agency issued a detailed
report accusing him of leading a sophisticated and brazen drug program
on his U.S. Postal Service teams that included steroids, blood boosters
and a range of performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong's interview with
Winfrey is not expected to go into great detail about specific
allegations levied in the more than 1,000-page USADA
report. But Armstrong will make a general confession and apologize,
according to the person, who requested anonymity because there was no
authorization to speak publicly. Several outlets had also reported that
Armstrong was considering a confession.
Armstrong hasn't responded to the
USADA report or being stripped of his Tour de France titles. But
shortly afterward, he tweeted a picture of himself on a couch at home
with all seven of the yellow leader's jerseys on display in a room at
his home in Austin. He also agreed to be interviewed there, in what the Oprah Winfrey Network announced would be a "no-holds barred" session. That's scheduled to be taped Monday and broadcast Thursday night.
"His reputation is in crisis," said crisis management expert Mike
Paul, president of New York-based, MGP & Associates PR. "Most people
don't trust what comes out of his mouth. He has to be truly repentant
and humble."He also has to be careful.
Armstrong is facing legal
challenges on several fronts, including a federal whistle-blower lawsuit
brought by former teammate Floyd Landis, who himself was stripped of
the 2006 Tour de France title, accusing him of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service. The U.S. Justice Department has yet to announce whether it will join the case.
The London-based Sunday Times is
also suing Armstrong to recover about $500,000 it paid him to settle a
libel lawsuit, and Dallas-based SCA Promotions has threatened to bring
yet another lawsuit against Armstrong to recover more than $7.5 million
an arbitration panel awarded him as a bonus for winning the Tour de
France.
The only lawsuit potentially
impacted by a confession might be the Sunday Times case. Potential
perjury charges stemming from his sworn testimony in the 2005
arbitration fight would not apply because of the statute of limitations.
Armstrong was not deposed during a federal investigation that was
closed last year without charges being brought.
However, he lost most of his
personal endorsements — worth tens of millions of dollars — after USADA
issued its report and he left the board of the Livestrong
cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. He is still said to be worth
an estimated $100 million.
Livestrong might be one reason to
issue an apology or make a confession. The charity supports cancer
patients and still faces an image problem because of its association
with Armstrong.
He may also be hoping a
confession would allow him to return to competition in the elite
triathlon or running events he participated in after his cycling career.
But World Anti-Doping Code rules state his lifetime ban cannot be
reduced to less than eight years. WADA and U.S. Anti-Doping officials
could agree to reduce the ban further depending on what new information
Armstrong provides and his level of cooperation. USADA chief Travis
Tygart did not return a call Saturday from the AP.
Armstrong met with USADA
officials recently to explore a "pathway to redemption," according to a
report by "60 Minutes Sports" aired Wednesday on Showtime.
___
AP Sports Columnist Jim Litke and AP Radio correspondent Julie Walker contributed to this report.
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