Lance Armstrong: Has Drug Probe Gone Too Far?

[huge285]

Lance Armstrong: Has Drug Probe Gone Too Far?

By Sean Gregory Thursday, Jul. 22, 2010




Lance Armstrong of team RadioShack crosses the finish line of the 196km Stage 13 of the Tour de France on July 17, 2010 in Revel, France.


Jeff Novitzky, an investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has been called the Eliot Ness of the steroid era. In 2002, when he was an Internal Revenue Service special agent, he spearheaded the landmark probe into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), which was supplying performance-enhancing drugs to several high-profile athletes, including, allegedly, home run king Barry Bonds. The BALCO case (which also involved money-laundering, which is where IRS comes in) thrust steroids and sports into the spotlight. The relentless Novitzky, who dove into dumpsters to collect evidence, earned a slice of fame, too.
Novitzky contributed to the 2007 Mitchell Report, baseball's independent investigation into steroid use among its players, by convincing former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kurt Radomski, a supplier of steroids to major league players, to become an informant. He's also investigating whether Roger Clemens perjured himself before Congress by denying under oath that he used performance-enhancing drugs. It's serious business: Former track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty to making false statements to Novitzky about her own steroid use and went to prison for it. "He's kind of amazing phenomenon," says Peter Keane, professor and dean emeritus at the Golden State University School of Law, who has closely followed Novitzky's work. "He's kind of a bloodhound. No matter what swamp or tree you hide in, he's going to find you." (See the top 10 sporting cheats.)

Novitzky moved over to the FDA in 2008, where another alleged steroid connection provided his biggest target yet. That target is not hiding in a tree, but riding his bike through the Pyrenees: seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who has been accused by disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis of doping.

Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test, has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career — following a somewhat pathetic campaign to prove that he didn't cheat on the Tour. He has sensationally accused Armstrong of doping while they both rode for the team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service earlier in the decade. Among Landis' allegations: the team sold some of its bikes to fund the doping program. If the team did in fact use sponsorship funds from the Postal Service to buy drugs, the government could prosecute Armstrong and his team for fraud. Cue Novitzky. (Comment on this story.)

Novitzky has reportedly contacted several of Armstrong's former USPS teammates, and the New York Daily News reported that the government subpoenaed three-time Tour de France champ Greg LeMond to testify. LeMond loathes Armstrong, and for years has accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong has long denied taking any performance enhancing substances, and has never failed a drug test. He's dismissed Landis as a proven liar and LeMond as a guy with a big chip on his shoulder. Armstrong says he has not been subpoenaed, and has yet to meet with Novitzky — but will do so as long as the case doesn't become "a witch hunt." (See the top 10 sports moments of 2009.)

In building any case against Armstrong, Novitzky isn't just taking on another big-name athlete. He's chasing down an icon, an inspirational figure whose high-profile battle against cancer, and heroic fundraising efforts to fund research and support for cancer patients has transcended sports. "Does the public care about drugs in sports anymore? I don't think so," says Don Catlin, a pharmacologist and drug-testing pioneer who founded the UCLA Olympic Analytical Lab. "The public is pretty ho-hum. But people aren't exactly ho-hum when Lance Armstrong is involved."

Novitzky is picking the biggest fight of his life. "I think we're possibly looking at BALCO Part 2," says Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO, who pled guilty to steroid distribution in 2005. Novitzky, the bald, lanky, mysterious man who only emerges from the shadows to attend steroid hearings in Congress or the federal courtroom, actually grew up just a few miles from Conte's BALCO offices. The son of a high-school baseball coach, Novitzky excelled in sports, even clearing seven feet as a high-school high jumper. He played college basketball at San Jose State.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...#ixzz0uSkjY4fp

[huge285]

Thank God someone said it!

[robert da strongman]

this might be the end of Novitzsky

[Kevin]

It is a horrendous waste of resources that could and should be spent on real problems. Armstrong is a name so he is worth pursuing? I wonder'if all the other Tour winners will be under the microscope, likely not as we can't spell much less pronounce their names. Doping has been a problem in cycling for ages. Let's move forward not backwards no good will come from this!

[toddbz]

Is it worth the cost?
Frequently we hear about murders getting shorter sentences due to bugetary reasons. Yet the federal goverment has their panties in a knot over a dude who rides a bicycle for a living.

God bless America

[rcp1936]

I wish the hell drugs had never been invented
Ruining every segment of sports

With that said are borders are being over run daily and the fed is wasting resources with this BS and that includes the other INSANE WOD

[BuffGuy]

Is it worth the cost?
Frequently we hear about murders getting shorter sentences due to bugetary reasons. Yet the federal goverment has their panties in a knot over a dude who rides a bicycle for a living.

God bless America

i know right? We need a revolution!!

[x100696]

Is this crap ever gonna end? Makes me happy to pay my taxes!
I love how California is having to drop state employess pay to minimum wage, but the good ol US can find tens of millions of dollars to go after freakin athletes that are minding there own business! I'm so pissed after hearingthis I'm taking a couple of shots and going to bed. Peace OUT

[mrusa85]

How many more border patrols could the federal gov't send to AZ for the price of this outrageous investigation? People are being killed from illegal aliens and drug cartels. Who cares if Lance Armstrong used PEDs to win a bike race? Send Novitsky to investigate the countless murders in AZ. Maybe he can do something worthwhile.

[n8te]

Why don't people ever ask questions about how much money these dickheads waste going after people for using. I don't care! I care about the gov. approving bail outs that only hurt the chances that me and TONS of other graduates have of finding a job b/c now no companies want to spend money. Well at least in my field (health care). Its fucked up. Why don't people bring these questions up when these stories are talked about on TV/Radio.

Fuck the current status of the US! I love this country but so help me God this place is going to hell in gasoline pants if something doesn't change quick!

/Rant

This guy is no better than Lance. So Lance used PED's and bought them with money given through the postal service. Novitsky is flushing my hard earner tax money down the shitter going after him.

Novitsky: You are never going to be an icon, get over it. Just because you might bring some high profile athletes down doesn't mean the people of this country will feel like praising you for doing us some service. Fuck you sir.

/Rant for real this time.