Lance Armstrong: Admission of guilt, for the pursuit of gains?

The New York Times has set the wires on fire by bringing to light the possibility of an admission of guilt by the fallen cyclist Lance Armstrong. In an article published on Saturday, the NYT reported that the former US Postal cyclist was considering publicly admitting that he used banned, performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions during his cycling career, according to several people with direct knowledge of the situation. Considering that the report is true, it just underlines the American’s self-centred approach towards life and sport.

On the surface of this sudden sprouting of guilt is the stated desire of Armstrong to return to his pursuit of sporting glory. It is more likely that several underlying factors could have hastened any thoughts in this direction. For one, the Livestrong foundation and its powerful pilots would like Armstrong to bite the humble bullet in order to peddle their icon back on the pedal and on the road to raise funds and regain credibility. It would mark a remarkable reversal of position for the tainted athlete who has denied involvement in doping on countless occasions. Even after the stinging indictment from USADA in October last year, Armstrong merely stated that he was throwing in the towel since he wanted to put an end to a mindless witch hunt so that he may get on with his life outside the limelight.

But if Armstrong were to indeed confess, that would open up the possibility of him being subject to perjury proceedings, since he has sworn under affidavit for multiple sponsors that he was clean from doping. Whether his past sponsors might pursue his case however, is another story. Be that as it may, even the team contract at the US Postal clearly stated that any doping would constitute a default. Despite all the legal hassles in the way of a confession, unsubstantiated reports suggest that Armstrong has made contact or is in the process of doing so with Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA and David Howman, the Director General of WADA. While it is too early to speculate on the intent behind these meetings, it is likely that Armstrong might wish to discuss the road to his rehabilitation in return for a confession.

Just to clear the air, Howman, who is on holiday in New Zealand has taken a moment to deny any such move. “Wada hasn’t, and I haven’t, had any approach from Armstrong or his legal team,” he said. Meanwhile, the cyclist’s lawyer, Tim Herman, has gone on record to state that “Lance has to speak for himself on that,” leaving the situation open to interpretation. A great deal would probably depend on the ability of his legal team to discuss terms with the Department of Justice, the Postal Service besides the USADA and WADA about guarantees, at least to a degree, that their client will not be pursued for previous commissions and omissions.

And even if they play ball, to help revive what has been a huge money spinning enterprise, under existing rules the WADA might reduce the life ban at best to four years. Considering the juiced athlete’s recent interest in marathons and triathlons, it is anybody’s guess what a man drunk on winning could achieve at the prospective age of 45 or older. Armstrong, who turned 41 last September, will be forced to sit out much of this decade even if the authorities factor his confession to relieve part of the lifetime ban that is in force since October 2012. For now though, it is only Armstrong and his coterie of motivated people that know the truth behind the story and the dubious direction it might take in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned, we have certainly not heard the last of this tale. At least not yet.