Lance Armstrong Fights Back, Accuses Anti-Doping Agency Member of Sexual Misconduct
Anti-Doping Agency member says Armstrong also hired detectives to tail them.
June 29, 2012 — -- Lance Armstrong isn't just fighting the doping charges that have been filed against him, he's now questioning the methods and funding of the nation's top cop for doping in sport.
"The independent three-person Anti-Doping Review Board (ADRB) has ... made a unanimous recommendation to move forward with the adjudication process," said a statement by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency today.
Armstrong was ready with a response:
"USADA continues to sacrifice the values of fair play which is what, ironically, they claim to be attempting to protect," wrote Armstrong in an email to ABC News. "They have played dirty from the beginning and continue to let Tygart [USADA CEO Travis Tygart] carry out his own personal vendetta. The American taxpayer continues to fund this kangaroo court yet there's no oversight or adult supervision. It's a complete sham."
And this is where it gets even uglier. Armstrong and his team also fired off claims that one of the USADA review board members has a questionable background that includes an allegation of sexual misconduct with a law school student.
The review board member in question was previously anonymous — the three have never been named. Armstrong put his name and background out there in what appears to be a further attempt to discredit USADA.
Not to be outdone, sources tell ABC News that USADA officials have reason to believe that Armstrong and his team have hired private investigators to follow them. Armstrong's team has not responded to a request for comment on the allegation.
The same official points to the smearing of the board member as an example of the sort of intimidation they fear Armstrong will use against witnesses and investigators. USADA officials say this is the very reason their list of witnesses against Armstrong has not been made public.
And things are just getting started.
"In its zeal to punish Lance, USADA has sacrificed the very principles of fair play that it was created to safeguard. It has compiled a disgraceful record of arrogance, secrecy, disregard for its own protocols, shabby science, and contempt for due process," wrote Armstrong's attorney Robert Luskin in a statement. "Over the next few days, Lance will consider all of his options for preserving his record and his good name."
Armstrong, the seven-time winner of cycling's Tour de France, could be banned for life from competition by the Anti-Doping Agency, and he could lose the titles he won in all those races.
Armstrong's next move is unclear, but his team has certainly positioned itself for a fight — not about doping — but about the integrity of the case against the Tour de France champion.
As this year's Tour gets under way this weekend, it's clear that an even nastier battle in the world of cycling is already going strong -- the case of the U.S. Anti Doping agency vs. Lance Armstrong.