Does Armstrong's Personal Life Overshadow Charitable Initiatives?

Some Feel Armstrong's Personal Life Could Hamper His Charitable Initiatives

Cancer research advocates said that LANCE ARMSTRONG's impact since retiring from cycling in '05 has been "nothing short of remarkable," but "increasingly, it is not what he is becoming known for," according to the N.Y. TIMES' Allen Salkin, who wrote under the header, "It's Not About The Bike. Will A Life In The Tabloids Undermine The Livestrong Message?" Nike Livestrong GM Scott MacEachern said that "gossip coverage does Mr. Armstrong and society 'a disservice.'" MacEachern: "It would be nice if the media would pay as much attention to him in the cancer wards of hospitals as it does to him in Cannes, France." MacEachern "hastened to point out that Nike remains supportive" of Armstrong and said that Armstrong's personal life "has not affected the popularity of Livestrong products, whose sales have already raised $2.5[M] for the foundation." However, some philanthropy experts said that Armstrong "risks detracting from his heroic image, and damaging his effectiveness as an anticancer advocate." Armstrong's memoir, "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life," co-author Sally Jenkins said, "The bike guy was this gaunt, driven fighter. Off the bike, he's this flip-flop-wearing, beer-drinking, serial-dating marquee idol." Salkin wrote, "Even the continuing speculation in the cycling world that Mr. Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs seems to roll off him to some degree." But as headlines about Armstrong's personal life "piled up, he hired Mara Buxbaum, a powerful Hollywood publicist whose clients have included Winona Ryder and Sean Penn." Buxbaum said that "one of her focuses is to keep clients out of gossip columns." Armstrong originally agreed to be interviewed for the N.Y. Times article, but Buxbaum "canceled the interview shortly before it was to take place" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/22).