USADA Brings Charges Against Lance Armstrong, Putting Victories In Danger

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency filed formal doping charges against former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong, "a move that could cost him some or all of his seven Tour de France titles," according to Albergotti & O'Connell of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The charges, "which had been expected," were received Friday by Armstrong's attorney following a unanimous recommendation from an independent review board. USADA said that it planned to pursue allegations that Armstrong, his former team director, three physicians connected to the team and a staff member had "operated an organized conspiracy to cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs and methods that violated the rules of the sport" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/29). One of Armstrong's attorneys Robert Luskin said, "USADA's decision to charge Lance Armstrong with doping violations is wrong, and it is baseless. There is not one shred of credible evidence to support USADA's charges and an unbroken record of more than 500 clean tests over more than a decade and a half to refute it" (BLOOMBERG, 6/30).