After years of speculation as to the US's response to Lance Armstrong's doping scandal, the American authorities have finally decided to press formal charges against the ex-seven time winner of the Tour the France.
A lot of people had been critical of the fact that the US government had not followed up its involvement in the doping investigation and positive finding of the ex-champion and his team. Many thought that the US wanted to avoid further embarassment by letting the international Cycling Federation take the appropriate steps to censor him and strip him of his most coveted medals.
The causal motive for US government action now is the 'ill-gotten' compensation received by Armstrong during his racing days with the Us Postal Service Team. The complaint in fact chiefly accuses Armstrong of defrauding the USPS of sponsorship money by his doping activity.
Armstrong received more than 17 million dollars from direct USPS sponsorship. The USPS spent a total of 40 million dollars on the Armstrong team.
If Armstrong sought to appease the demons of future legal actions by admitting to doping earlier in the year, this new action might make him wish he never made those statements.
To make matters worse, the US government in its role as a funder for the USPS is asking for treble damages from Armstrong, which would amount to a total of almost 150 million dollars.
At stake here is more than the mere monetary value of the suit. In fact, Armstrong's deeds have fouled almost any chance at credibility for an American Tour de France run in the future, after not one but two, Armstrong and Landis, were found consecutively to have doped after winning a Tour de France.
In fact, to most Europeans, Armstrong's victories were always suspicious. Past champions such as Merckx, Anquetil and Indurain, knew that the feat of seven wins must have been shadowed by drug use. No one before Armstrong could achieve such a feat, and the consensus was that it was impossible for any champion to continue winning for such a long time.
More greviously, Armstrong did not just take illegal substances, but forced his team mates to do so, in order to help him gain the necessary points to achieve his victories.
Armstrong's defence team already has responded with accusations of opportunism, saying that the USPS has gained tremendously from the notoriety afforded them by the Armstrong wins.
In fact studies do confirm that the USPS gained 100 million dollars in brand awareness and exposure from the cycling team's efforts.
The question then remains for the USPS legal team to quantify the so called 'tarnishment value' that would warrant the treble damages requested.
Source: France 24/ 4.24.13
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