Lance Armstrong Refuses USADA Interview Again
Lance Armstrong has declined interviewing with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency yet again this week, but will "cooperate fully" with other anti-doping authorities in its place.
Armstrong's refusal to cooperate with the USADA may have been the last opportunity to reduce his lifetime ban from cycling.
The disgraced cyclist refused to reveal his story to the USADA for the second time in two weeks "for several reasons," according to a statement released Wednesday by his attorney Tim Herman.
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While Armstrong admitted to doping during his interview with Oprah Winfrey, the famed cyclist has rejected the USADA's attempt to gain a full debriefing of how he cheated at the sport for years.
Herman explained that his client is seeking "an international tribunal" where he can testify at full disclosure, according to USA Today.
"Lance is willing to cooperate fully," added the attorney. However, since professional cycling is "almost exclusively a European sport," Armstrong demands that an international effort be made.
"In the meantime, for several reasons, Lance will not participate in USADA's efforts to selectively conduct American prosecutions that only demonize selected individuals while failing to address the 95% of the sport over which the USADA has no jurisdiction," concluded Herman.
As of today, an "international tribunal" which Armstrong desires does not exist. Nevertheless, the UCI, cycling's governing body, has considered forming a "truth and reconciliation" commission, but the World Anti-Doping Agency opposed the idea, noting trepidations about the UCI.
Meanwhile, funding for bicycling has greatly increased over the past decade in the U.S., with the sport becoming more and more popular each year.
Many American cyclists, including friends and admirers of Armstrong, were gravely disappointed in Armstrong's admission of using performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career.
Actor Matthew McConaughey was among those who expressed disappointment in Armstrong, who had earned an impressive seven Tour de France titles as a cyclist.
"My first reaction was I was pissed off. I was mad, and I then got kind of sad for him," started the "Lincoln Lawyer" star of his friend Armstrong, according to MTV News.
"First off, I had a part of me that took it kind of personally, which I think a lot of people have," McConaughey continued. "What I mean by this is, what was he supposed to do? Call me to the side and go, 'Hey man, I did it but don't tell anybody.' Then I would have really had a reason to be pissed off at him, going, 'You want me to walk around holding this?'"
