Lance cuts ties with his charity
Armstrong’s Twitter photo draws criticism
AUSTIN, TEXAS— Lance Armstrong has cut formal ties with his cancerfighting charity to avoid further damage brought by doping charges and being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
Armstrong resigned from the board of directors for Livestrong on Nov. 4. He had previously resigned as chairman from the charity he founded Oct. 17 but had kept a seat on the board.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ordered Armstrong banned from the sport for life and stripped of his titles. The International Cycling Union, which had originally supported Armstrong’s fight, later agreed to wipe out Armstrong’s record seven victories.
Livestrong spokeswoman Katherine McLane said Monday that Armstrong “remains the inspiration,” and is still its largest donor with nearly $7 million over the years.
In a statement, new board chairman Jeff Garvey said Armstrong resigned from the board to spare the organization any negative effects resulting from the controversy surrounding his cycling career. “Lance Armstrong was instrumental in changing the way the world views people affected by cancer. His devotion to serving survivors is unparalleled and for15 years, he committed himself to that cause with all his heart,” Garvey said. Garvey said the foundation would continue to expand free services to cancer survivors and advocate on their behalf. Armstrong has not comment publicly on the USADA report and recently returned to Austin from Hawaii. Over the weekend, he posted a photograph on Twitter of him lying on a couch at his home with seven yellow Tour de France jerseys mounted on the wall. In the post, he said, “Back in Aus- tin and just layin’ around.” Nearly 300,000 people had viewed his photo as of Monday morning, with many posting negative comments on the page.
“Lance, you have no moral conscious and it’s obvious many of your followers don’t either,” said one person who went by the Twitter handle “irobot” who also posted that Armstrong needed “professional help.”