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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Just days after reiterating their original supportive stance on disgraced former cyclist Lance Armstrong, sportwear giant Nike have terminated his contract. Armstrong is also relinquishing his role of chairman at his Livestrong charity.

"Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him. Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner. Nike plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer."

The full press release is available here.
In addition to his loss of sponsorship, Armstrong is stepping down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer charity in a damage limitation exercise, disassociating himself from the wildly successful brand. 

"To spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship," said the former Tour de France American champion.

"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 organisation that today has served 2.5 million people and helped spur a cultural shift in how the world views cancer survivors," Armstrong said.

According to the Telegraph:

As chairman, Armstrong did not run the foundation's day-to-day operations, which are handled by Livestrong president and chief executive Doug Ulman. 
 Ulman had said last week that Armstrong's leadership role would not change. Armstrong's statement said he will remain a visible advocate for cancer issues, and he is expected to speak at Friday night's 15th anniversary gala for Livestrong in Austin. 
 "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," Armstrong said.

It seems the downfall of one of sport's great icons is at last complete, as branding and marketing chiefs could no longer be seen to publicly back such a controversial figure. To protect the Nike-backed Livestrong cause, which has raised millions to fight cancer, the former cyclist and drug cheat had to inevitably distance himself from subsequent negative press.

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