Hell Has Frozen Over: Lance "Considering" Admitting Guilt

[trailrunner]

But it will be pointed out he had the UCI in his pocket amongst other unfair advantages, hardly a level field.

The non-cycling public doesn't know or care who the UCI is. Those are the people he will try to win back.

 

[cineteq]

Tim Herman has denied it.

Is Tim still Lance's lawyer?

 

[sartain]

A confession would be redundant, wouldn't it? He's already been found guilty. He is guilty. Convicted criminals confess to their crimes all the time, but it doesn't change the verdict or the punishment.

But he could be prosecuted for perjury, reignite criminal proceedings against a number of individuals (including himself), spur a circus of civil suits, and possibly bring down the UCI once and for all, which would all be very entertaining.

He is the gift that keeps on giving, isn't he?

Just like HIV, Herpes, etc. . . .

 

[Page Mill Masochist]

The noted U.S. media critic, Howard Kurtz:

"He's an accomplished liar."

 

[Page Mill Masochist]

Washington Post:

Disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong has authorized overtures to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency about the possibility of coming forward to acknowledge his use of performance-enhancing drugs during his career, according to a source who confirmed a report that initially appeared in the New York Times.

 

[Darryl Webster]

IF this story is genuine I think it might be best seen as a threat to to confess. Not to diminish any of actions of Armstrong but it seems to me there are many, including possibly high ranking political figures and some extremely wealthy business men who have much to lose from Lance doing a Tyler Hamilton.
The last thing those who havnt established plausible deniability want is him telling everything.
Ergo....Taken as a threat those same people who have, most likely , in the main, kept some distance might start pulling some strings to get the heat of Armstrong . It's very possible he has info that makes Tylers book look like a side dish.
I really don't seen this as about a return to any competition.

 

[Fortyninefourteen]

Speaking of Tim Herman, do any of Lance's paid liars have problems if Lance makes a full confession? Could Herman get disbarred if it was obvious he knew Lance had doped? Could he be sued for defamation?

Yes, but difficult.

It has to be proven that he knew, not just suspected, but knew he was aiding and abetting the fraud.

Another layer of shlt that might be exposed....

 

[Race Radio]

If he is hopping for a reduced ban so he can run in a Speedo the bar is high. He has to give "Significant" evidence. Given that he impeded the investigation for years and smeared the key participants the only thing he could do to achieve this is to deliver the heads of Verburggen and McQuaid

The other push is to reduce his exposure in the Qui Tam case. Testifying against Weisel is an option that could save him millions.

Funny that the NYT piece says Armstrong has talked with Travis and reached out to Howman......but Bonnie Ford talked to Howman, he has heard nothing.

one big trial balloon.......made of lead

 

[BroDeal]

Washington Post:

I LOLed when I read this:

Disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong has authorized overtures...

I remember how newspapers seemed to think that Landis' first name was Disgraced Cyclist.

If negotiations ended I assume that Armstrong ran into the eight year minimum ban and decided it was not worth it.

 

[BroDeal]

IF this story is genuine I think it might be best seen as a threat to to confess. Not to diminish any of actions of Armstrong but it seems to me there are many, including possibly high ranking political figures and some extremely wealthy business men who have much to lose from Lance doing a Tyler Hamilton.
The last thing those who havnt established plausible deniability want is him telling everything.
Ergo....Taken as a threat those same people who have, most likely , in the main, kept some distance might start pulling some strings to get the heat of Armstrong . It's very possible he has info that makes Tylers book look like a side dish.
I really don't seen this as about a return to any competition.

I am not sure how he can do a full confession. A self-serving mea culpa, yeah, but a full confession that would toss the last allies he has under the bus, nope. It is likely they have as much damaging information about him as he does about them. I don't see how he can risk people talking about him hacking people's e-mail accounts, bugging phones, suborning perjury, evading taxes, etc.

I think he will eventually do a confession just for public consumption with a lot of self-serving justification but no details. It will just be rhetoric.

 

[richwagmn]

ESPN'S reporting Wonderboy is "considering" admitting to the whole enchilada, so he can get back to.competition. Donkeys have flown, the tooth fairy really DOES exist, blah blah blah. He's only doing this now because of the hit he's taken. The guy is just unbelieveable. Just when we all thought we've seen it all with this a$$hole, he tops it. This oughta be good.

I'll believe it when I see it. I can't understand how it improve's LA's situation over where's he at today. The only way this would make sense is if LA simply wants peace of mind (and a hell of lot less money to worry about).

 

[Oldman]

I LOLed when I read this:

Disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong has authorized overtures...

I remember how newspapers seemed to think that Landis' first name was Disgraced Cyclist.

If negotiations ended I assume that Armstrong ran into the eight year minimum ban and decided it was not worth it.

It's a shame Floyd didn't have the foresight to copyright the nickname "Disgraced Cyclist". He had to have known he could eventually sue Armstrong for copyright infringement at some point.
But as RR noted, Lance's threat of divulging involvement by Weisel could be behind his current mea culpa overtures. Johan is in a same position and maybe it's time for both to ca$h in. They may not actually say anything if there is a deposit left on some Caribbean isle. I still think they'll both confine their disclosures to vague references of a bullying UCI to avoid details as Bro says and I agree. If cash is paid to Johan look to him to withdraw his appeal, accept his ban/retirement (which will come anyway) and then confirm Lance's feeble admission of momentary weakness in the controlled environment of press releases.
Thom, Lance and Johan all win that way, at least as much as they could hope for.

 

[richwagmn]

I am not sure how he can do a full confession. A self-serving mea culpa, yeah, but a full confession that would toss the last allies he has under the bus, nope. It is likely they have as damaging information about him as he does about them. I don't see how he can risk people talking about him hacking people's e-mail accounts, bugging phones, suborning perjury, evading taxes, etc.

I think he will eventually do a confession just for public consumption with a lot of self-serving justification but no details. It will just be rhetoric.

I agree with this. If all he did was dope, denied for it years, and suddenly makes a confession, I think it could work for him. Hey, he's another cycling doper who wants to clean up the sport.

But it wasn't just about doping with LA. It was also about trying to destroy the careers of those who opposed him. And I don't believe he'll apologize for any of that ever.

 

[Freddythefrog]

Correct

IF this story is genuine I think it might be best seen as a threat to to confess. Not to diminish any of actions of Armstrong but it seems to me there are many, including possibly high ranking political figures and some extremely wealthy business men who have much to lose from Lance doing a Tyler Hamilton.
The last thing those who havnt established plausible deniability want is him telling everything.
Ergo....Taken as a threat those same people who have, most likely , in the main, kept some distance might start pulling some strings to get the heat of Armstrong . It's very possible he has info that makes Tylers book look like a side dish.
I really don't seen this as about a return to any competition.

This is right on the money. You thought Floyd was creating a wasteland ! This is a unveiled threat to get people to focus on where the chain of fallen dominoes has got to. Not allowing Floyd a ride at the ToC was a dumb decision. Lance is thinking quite straight now and wants a few other people to think that way as well.

 

[D-Queued]

If Floyd is a big fat liar with very weak credibility (and indeed he is), then Lance is one of the biggest fattest liars that ever walked the face of the earth. Any human being would be a complete moron to trust a single sound that is emitted from the lie projector Armstrong calls a mouth.

Anything, and I mean anything, coming from Armstrong's mouth would have to be corroborated by really good evidence that is free of the Armstrong taint. Otherwise no lawyer would dare bring Armstrong's testimony into court.

No current riders are at risk from Lance's testimony unless there is already substantial corroborative evidence of their doping. That would only apply to USPS Conspiracy dopers, I reckon.

^^This

Is Tim still Lance's lawyer?

Doesn't Herman's denial confirm that?

Herman's disclaimer confirms the overture was true. The game is on.

Dave.

 

[Berzin]

A confession will bury him. I don't see SCA or the Sunday Times of London settling their lawsuits for less than the appropriate amounts, especially after the monumental arrogance and hubris he displayed towards both entities.

Regardless of what happens he's going to have have to pay up the full total amounts.

As for the Qui Tam case, I don't know. But full reimbursement is on the horizon for both SCA and the Times. He's not going to be able to weasel out of those commitments.

 

[thehog]

He didn't last very long in the dessert. Floyd, and Tyler walked for years. Lance can't even not confess for lomger that a month!

He's not very strong is he? Useless.

And Pat gets fatter Lance can't take the heat.

He needs more time in ostracised island.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Originally Posted by Carols
"I think this is a back door 'float a balloon' to see the reaction and whether it might be worthwhile for him to attempt.

So far the public reaction is decidedly adverse; he is being hosed over here and laughed at!"

I agree with this also, Carols. Especially it was obvious how the soft soap started with Sally and Watson putting their stupid groveling spew out there...

Armstrong hosed over so many folks... I hope his 'forgive me' plea gains no traction from those who don't understand what he did.

It looks like he will be forced to explain himself under oath at some date in the near future though...

 

[ustabe]

ESPN'S reporting Wonderboy is "considering" admitting to the whole enchilada, so he can get back to.competition.

It's a bit late for this, eh?

 

[compete_clean]

just an idle threat.

No way he confesses.

Right now he is despised and quickly going broke. If he confesses, he's still broke, despised and then possibly going to prison. This is a leaked story for the purpose of threatening people with more to lose who Armstrong is relying on for future financial support.

Could you imagine the sh!t storm if it came out that Weisel and Phil Knight were involved in organizing the doping?

 

[Zweistein]

It's a bit late for this, eh?

Eh, if he cleans out the entire barn is that so bad?

 

[D-Queued]

Is Tim still Lance's lawyer?

Doesn't Herman's denial confirm that?

Herman's disclaimer confirms the overture was true. The game is on.

Dave.

Just a further note - a little birdie reminded me that:

Herman also denied that Lance had ever offered SCA anything to settle. Which we know to be quite false.

Dave.

 

[thehog]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/s...ong-and-usada-gain-with-confession.html?_r=1&

By JULIET MACUR
Published: January 5, 2013


Yet within the last month, Armstrong’s representatives reached out to Tygart to arrange a meeting between Armstrong and the agency. The goal of that meeting was to find out if a confession could mitigate Armstrong’s lifetime ban from Olympic sports, according to several people with knowledge of the situation. Those people did not want their names published because it would jeopardize their access to sensitive information on the matter.

Tygart welcomed the invitation, and that meeting occurred last month, said one person familiar with the situation. In the end, no matter how much Tygart and Armstrong had fought each other, they still need each other.

But Tim Herman, Armstrong’s Austin-based lawyer, said that talks with Tygart and the antidoping agency are not on the table. Armstrong has not met with Tygart, Herman said.

Armstrong, 41, would like to resume competing in triathlons and running events that are sanctioned by organizations that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. Tygart wants to know how Armstrong so skillfully eluded testing positive for banned drugs for nearly a decade.

Tygart, who declined to comment, has said in the past that he is interested in hearing from athletes who doped because they could lead him to the coaches, agents, doctors, team owners or other sports personnel who organized or encouraged doping.

“Mr. Armstrong did not act alone,” the antidoping agency wrote in its report on Armstrong. “He acted with a small army of enablers, including doping doctors, drug smugglers and others within the sport and on his team.”

If Tygart is able to gather incriminating information about those people and build cases against them that could bar them from sports, he could deal a serious blow to the doping that has been enmeshed in the culture of cycling for more than 100 years. Though 11 of Armstrong’s former teammates provided some information about those enablers, it is very likely that Armstrong, who kept much of the doping secretive, according to some of his teammates, knows much more.

“I think it’s very valuable to them to know exactly how Lance avoided getting caught and how tests were evaded,” said Jonathan Vaughters, a former Armstrong teammate, a vocal antidoping proponent and a current co-owner of the Garmin-Sharp professional cycling team. “They need someone on the inside to tell them how it was done, and not just anyone on the inside, someone on the inside who was very influential. Someone like Lance.”

Vaughters said that a confession by Armstrong might encourage other riders to say what they know and encourage a “truth and reconciliation” effort, in which riders would not be penalized for confessing to doping if they detailed how they got away with it. That effort could educate authorities, so those entities could bolster drug testing and close any loopholes, Vaughters said.

“I feel like Lance’s confession could push that effort forward dramatically,” he said. “Right now, we almost have to destroy the sport in order to save it.”

 

[Neworld]

Hey, despite being a lying, cheating, vindictive a-hole, even his biggest detractors in the peloton will agree that no matter how you slice it the guy was/is a great athlete. He'll of course never repair his legacy but in my eyes he could earn back a degree of respect IF he did the following:

1. Provided a complete confession going back to his junior days.
2. Testified to reveal the full depth of corruption within the UCI to bring down McQuaid, Verbruggen and any other conspirators within the UCI.
3. Testified against Ferrarri.
4. Revealed the sources of the drugs and how they were transported.
5. Issued full apologies to Betsy, Greg, Floyd, Emma, Bassons, Simeoni, Livestrong supporters, et al.
6. Began a sincere campaign against PEDs in the sport, including the amateur levels.

Of course none of this will do anything toward restoring faith in our sport in the eyes of the general public. And of course if he were to do all of this there could be numerous complications caused by all of the winged swine flapping overhead.

Excellent list.

I would love Travis to select option A and offer up some lame, unilateral, perplexing explanation/excuse like..."Mr. Birotte told at least one investigator that his decision was final and that there would be no discussion of the matter"

A. No the USADA, and thus WADA, do not accept a plea bargain confession from the greatest cheat in sports history.

but if that is not acceptable, use option B (Fausto's list) and add:

i) to have LA submit all of his biochemistry values, doping records and documented biometric values for research purposes.
ii) once LA is allowed to return to USADA sanctioned racing, but not cycling, he must provide all his blood values, training/racing power and biometric records for research purposes.
iii) that he must submit all of his potential prize money and sponsership money to USADA to improve testing and infrastructure devo.
iv) that LA is NOT allowed to speak to young athletes in formal settings of any kind.

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[thehog]

Jonathan *barf* *vomit* "clean team" *fell sick* "anti-doping crusader" *cough* *barf* Vaughters