Breaking News
Lance Armstrong steps down as chairman of Livestrong but will remain on board
Early Tuesday morning, news broke that Lance Armstrong is stepping down from his position as chairman of Livestrong, the Austin-based cancer-fighting foundation that bears his name. (The Lance Armstrong Foundation was founded in the mid-'90s.)
The news comes after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's recent move to ban Armstrong from cycling for life and erase 14 years of his career wins, including his seven Tour de France medals.
Though Armstrong will not remain chairman of Livestrong, he will remain on the 15-person board. Armstrong released a statement on the Livestrong website to announce the decision:
“In 1996, as my cancer treatment was drawing to an end, I created a foundation to serve people affected by cancer. It has been a great privilege to help grow it from a dream into an organization that today has served 2.5 million people and helped spur a cultural shift in how the world views cancer survivors. This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart.
“I am deeply grateful to the people of the foundation who have done such hard and excellent work over the last 15 years, building tangible and effective ways to improve the lives of cancer survivors. And I am deeply humbled by the support our foundation has received from so many people throughout the world – survivors, world leaders, business leaders and of course, the cancer community itself. We turn to this community frequently for guidance and collaboration to achieve our shared goals. They are unfailingly generous with their wisdom and counsel and I can never thank them enough.
“I have had the great honor of serving as this foundation’s chairman for the last five years and its mission and success are my top priorities. Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship.
“My duties will transfer to Vice Chairman Jeff Garvey who will serve as chairman. Jeff’s guidance and wisdom have been critical to shaping the foundation’s work since its earliest days. Jeff was this organization’s founding chairman and I have full confidence that under his leadership, the foundation will continue expanding its ability to serve cancer survivors.
“My family and I have devoted our lives to the work of the foundation and that will not change. We plan to continue our service to the foundation and the cancer community. We will remain active advocates for cancer survivors and engaged supporters of the fight against cancer. And we look forward to an exciting weekend of activities marking the 15th anniversary of the foundation’s creation.”
In addition to stepping down from his position as chairman of Livestrong, today Armstrong was also met with the news that Nike is dropping him from its roster of athletes. Nike said it a statement that Armstrong had “misled” the company for a decade about doping. The company said it would continue to support Armstrong’s foundation, the Associated Press reports.
