Lance steps down from Livestrong, dropped by Nike

[jonovision_man]

Please don't use this thread to settle old beefs! And don't create new beefs, either.

Nike finally does the right thing. And so does Lance... the charity can move forward without being under the doping cloud.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/cycling/story/ ... trong.html

Lance Armstrong stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity and Nike severed ties with him as fallout from the doping scandal swirling around the famed cyclist escalated Wednesday.

Armstrong announced his move at the charity in an early-morning statement. Within minutes, Nike said that it would end its relationship with him "due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade."

jono

[La]

Wow. I'm not sure which is more surprising: Nike dropping Lance, or Lance stepping down from Livestrong.

I read something in Cyclingnews on-line about how some of Lance's former Postal team-mates were going to stage a protest outside Nike headquarters in Oregon regarding their continued sponsorship of Lance and Livestrong.

All of Lance's sponsors have been very loyal to him over the years, even during the time he was unable to compete due to undergoing cancer treatments. I guess Nike was just pushed over the edge with the latest issues.

[jonovision_man]

Nike stuck with him as recently as last week... surprised to see them flipflop now. Maybe the pressure got to them.

[Jwolf]

Nike stuck with him as recently as last week... surprised to see them flipflop now. Maybe the pressure got to them.

In a situation like this I say "follow the money"....

[HCcD]

Glad to hear that Nike is keeping their commitment to the Livestrong line of products, as I do have quite a bit of it ...

Also, was surprised with Nike's affiliation with cycling, as I do not recall them doing much in this market until Livestrong was created ...

[drghfx]

There was an article out yesterday about a possible investigation into Nike over whether they paid the UCI to suppress Armstrong's positive test. Maybe Nike feels they better break all ties or this could turn into a nightmare for them.

I note Armstrong resigned as Chairman but did not resign from the Board.

[eme]

Lance is damaged goods now, no wonder that Nike is distancing themselves from him.

As for the charity, I don't think that he had much of a choice. As the article stated, "People, though, do need to trust a charity to be able to support it."

Hard to trust a charity if the guy in charge is a cheat...

[drghfx]

This could go in the Kona thread or a new one but I'm puttting it in here.

There ia an article on CNN that talks about Postal Services doping before Armstrong. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/16/sport ... index.html

The part of the article that I found interesting (posted below), and Armstrong is mentioned in it, is how much doping can increase performance. To knock 10 minutes off of a 48 minute climb is amazing to me - Amazing that even someone doping can knock off that much time.

"The Tour de France's L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the most storied ascents in cycling and in 1986, five-time general classification winner Bernard Hinault completed the climb in 48 minutes. Marco Pantani now holds the record for the climb. His time, set in 1997, is 10 minutes and 25 seconds faster than that of Hinault. Armstrong clocked a time of 37 minutes and 36 seconds, just one second slower than Pantani, in 2004.

Pantani, who was ejected from the 1999 Giro d'Italia following an abnormal blood reading, died of a cocaine overdose in 2004."

[jonovision_man]

Well there's also 1986 bike technology....

[Dstew]

This could go in the Kona thread or a new one but I'm puttting it in here.

There ia an article on CNN that talks about Postal Services doping before Armstrong. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/16/sport ... index.html

The part of the article that I found interesting (posted below), and Armstrong is mentioned in it, is how much doping can increase performance. To knock 10 minutes off of a 48 minute climb is amazing to me - Amazing that even someone doping can knock off that much time.

"The Tour de France's L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the most storied ascents in cycling and in 1986, five-time general classification winner Bernard Hinault completed the climb in 48 minutes. Marco Pantani now holds the record for the climb. His time, set in 1997, is 10 minutes and 25 seconds faster than that of Hinault. Armstrong clocked a time of 37 minutes and 36 seconds, just one second slower than Pantani, in 2004.

Pantani, who was ejected from the 1999 Giro d'Italia following an abnormal blood reading, died of a cocaine overdose in 2004."

Hence the doping. Improved training and equipment was resulting in steady improvements and it then become obvious when the doping hit hard.

As a side note, the Canadian rider was interviewed and he stated at this time he thought maybe 12 guys were not doping and I was surprised about that. "Everyone was doing it" I thought was more a figure of speech to capture the the top riders and top helpers doing it but as it turns out, it almost literally meant everyone was doing it. Potential high rewards with little chance of getting caught. Then again, there is the story of that guy using EPO in order to make around $40,000 in prize money per year traveling to small races across the United States.

[turd ferguson]

Glad to hear that Nike is keeping their commitment to the Livestrong line of products, as I do have quite a bit of it ...

Unlikely. IMO its a irretrievably damaged brand. Stock up if you want to sell it on ebay someday.

[Engmomma]

Glad to hear that Nike is keeping their commitment to the Livestrong line of products, as I do have quite a bit of it ...

Unlikely. IMO its a irretrievably damaged brand. Stock up if you want to sell it on ebay someday.

There were a number of Livestrong jersey's for sale at the TO bike show on Saturday. I did not buy one.

[jonovision_man]

Glad to hear that Nike is keeping their commitment to the Livestrong line of products, as I do have quite a bit of it ...

Unlikely. IMO its a irretrievably damaged brand. Stock up if you want to sell it on ebay someday.

There were a number of Livestrong jersey's for sale at the TO bike show on Saturday. I did not buy one.

Sigh... my most comfortable jersey is a full zip RadioShack one I picked up for a song! At least I got a couple of years out of it. Maybe I can still use it for riding in the dark.

jono

[HCcD]

Glad to hear that Nike is keeping their commitment to the Livestrong line of products, as I do have quite a bit of it ...

Unlikely. IMO its a irretrievably damaged brand. Stock up if you want to sell it on ebay someday.

There were a number of Livestrong jersey's for sale at the TO bike show on Saturday. I did not buy one.

Sigh... my most comfortable jersey is a full zip RadioShack one I picked up for a song! At least I got a couple of years out of it. Maybe I can still use it for riding in the dark.

jono

Still have an usused Radioshack bibjohn that I purchased last year on sale ... could find the matching top for it, unfortunately, and may end up just wearing it indoors now ..

Anyone wanna buy a nib Giro Livestrong bicycle helmet? Or, should I just hoard it and sell it on ebay in a decade or two ???

[Mark.AU]

All parties doing the right thing.

I suspect however that while LA may no longer be the Chairman, he'll still be a controlling factor in the foundation's activities for years to come.

I'll still be wearing my Livestrong gear - 95% of people out there either won't recognize it or won't care; I'm not that fussed about the other 5% anyway .

This is just my humble opinion, no beef products whatsoever were used in the production of this post.

[HCcD]

All parties doing the right thing.

I suspect however that while LA may no longer be the Chairman, he'll still be a controlling factor in the foundation's activities for years to come.

I'll still be wearing my Livestrong gear - 95% of people out there either won't recognize it or won't care; I'm not that fussed about the other 5% anyway .

This is just my humble opinion, no beef products whatsoever were used in the production of this post.

I am also still a supporter of Livestrong, as well ... and, at least none of the schwag actually has his name/face smothered all over it ...

It will be interesting to see what will happen with the other corporations that he has a vested sponsorship / financial investment in .... like Stinger Nutrition, SRAM, Trek, etc., to name a few ???

[turd ferguson]

I am also still a supporter of Livestrong, as well ... and, at least none of the schwag actually has his name/face smothered all over it ...

I'm still going to disagree. IMO the brand is irretrievably tainted by its association with him even if his face isn't on it. By tainted, I mean people look at it and their first thought is "cheater". His downfall has been far, far too public. Nobody is going to buy this brand. Its done as a brand.

I could be wrong, I've been wrong lots of times before. Tiger Woods has somehow managed to save his brand, I just don't see it happening here. Just my opinion as someone who follows brands and branding.

[RobAllen]

Tiger has recovered his brand again because he is winning. Americans love a winner. Unfortunately Lance cannot compete anymore so these are the last thoughts on his career.

Radio Shack and Michelob have dropped as sponsors as well. Nissan is expected to make an announcement next.

If he decides to make an announcement, his lawyers will have to have some sort of plea bargain with the DA in Texas regarding potential perjury charges in his 2006 defense of the SCA Promotions litigation.

[jonovision_man]

Tiger has recovered his brand again because he is winning. Americans love a winner. Unfortunately Lance cannot compete anymore so these are the last thoughts on his career.

Radio Shack and Michelob have dropped as sponsors as well. Nissan is expected to make an announcement next.

If he decides to make an announcement, his lawyers will have to have some sort of plea bargain with the DA in Texas regarding potential perjury charges in his 2006 defense of the SCA Promotions litigation.

Tiger also admitted his wrongdoing and appeared to make changes.

Lance... not yet.

jono

[Doonst]

They sold a lot of Nixon masks after he was gone....

[HCcD]

I am also still a supporter of Livestrong, as well ... and, at least none of the schwag actually has his name/face smothered all over it ...

I'm still going to disagree. IMO the brand is irretrievably tainted by its association with him even if his face isn't on it. By tainted, I mean people look at it and their first thought is "cheater". His downfall has been far, far too public. Nobody is going to buy this brand. Its done as a brand.

I could be wrong, I've been wrong lots of times before. Tiger Woods has somehow managed to save his brand, I just don't see it happening here. Just my opinion as someone who follows brands and branding.

I see your point, re: the big picture ... time will tell, in regards to the effect on the impact of the decrease/increase in the funds that the Livestrong Foundation receives ....

As for me, I like the Nike Brand, and supported the Livestrong philosophy ... and, not likely to change anytime soon ... as for Lance Armstrong ... never really had any definite views on the guy, one way or another ... was in awe in his TdF achievements, even if he may have doped along with the other top contenders, from what we have been hearing about now ... no different than the Seoul Olympics 100m Finals, the MBL Steroid Scandal era, etc ... At least Vince McMahon and the WWE have marketed themselves as Sports Entertainment ....

eta: On the other hand, wonder if there will be a huge sell-off on Livestrong schwag in the near future ??

[Dstew]

I am also still a supporter of Livestrong, as well ... and, at least none of the schwag actually has his name/face smothered all over it ...

I'm still going to disagree. IMO the brand is irretrievably tainted by its association with him even if his face isn't on it. By tainted, I mean people look at it and their first thought is "cheater". His downfall has been far, far too public. Nobody is going to buy this brand. Its done as a brand.

I could be wrong, I've been wrong lots of times before. Tiger Woods has somehow managed to save his brand, I just don't see it happening here. Just my opinion as someone who follows brands and branding.

With the attention span of the typical consumer and that his name although associated is not in the title, provide a good product at a reasonable price and no one is going to remember in a short period of time.

I remember talking to a real estate agent after a condo fire across from my place burnt 3/4 of that project down. Everyone will associate that complex with the fire he said. They rebuilt it, added some sprinklers in the attics and the rebuilt complex sold out quicker and for more money than before the fire. Most people are going to remember the brand Livestrong but in no time at all remember why they remember that.

I busy and could not get to a place that sold gels and tried one of Lance's European energy waffle things. His picture on the package. Does that hurt sales or does one on some subconscious level wonder if it will provide you with an extra bonus.

[dgrant]

Since Lance Armstrong isn't even his real name, he should be forced to return one of the all-time best porn stage names to the pool of available names for up-and-coming stars. Or he should license the name (for charity of course) for the production of a porn parody shoot. "100% performance enhanced!!!" "It'll raise your awareness!!!"

I DEMAND this happen in time for my next home alone weekend.

[Wu wei]

Hard to see how a celebrity based charity can continue to thrive without it's celebrity.

How about supporting a Canadian cancer charity?
http://www.cancer.ca/

[jonovision_man]

Hard to see how a celebrity based charity can continue to thrive without it's celebrity.

How about supporting a Canadian cancer charity?
http://www.cancer.ca/

You mean one that spends money on (gasp!) actual research? And supports Canadians with cancer?

It'll never work.

jono