The seven time Tour de France title winner, Lance Armstrong, announced that he was stepping down as chairman of his LiveStrong Cancer Foundation as a result of the recent doping scandal.
The 41-year-old released a statement stating, "To spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship," but will maintain a position on the board according to Reuters.
No sooner did Armstrong release the statement than Nike Inc. announced "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," as reported by Reuters.
In August, the celebrated cyclists Lance Armstrong will be stripped of all his medals and titles as a result of doping charges according to Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Armstrong refused to go ahead with arbitration in the charges pitted against him in the doping scandal, "There comes a point in a man's life when he has to say Enough is Enough!," as he told the Las Angeles Times.
Armstrong, who was fighting against allegation of using enhancement drugs for over year, will now lose all his Tour titles, the 2000 Olympic Bronze medal and will also be banned from the competition for the rest of his life.
Armstrong never tested positive for any drugs during his career span of over ten years.
The USDA had alleged that the Olympic medalist was involved in using as well as trafficking and distributing performance enhancements. The USDA says that it possess evidence from Armstrong's teammates and other close sources who confirm that Armstrong was on steroids. The agency said it will not disclose the names of those that provided evidence.
USDA's Tygart told CNN, "It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes...This is a heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all-costs culture of sport, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition. For clean athletes, it is a reassuring reminder that there is hope for future generations to compete on a level playing field without the use of performance-enhancing drugs."
Armstrong won the Tour de France for seven consecutive times between 1999-2005. The athlete, who has survivor of testicular cancer, has a foundation dedicated to the cause called The Lance Armstrong Foundation, Living Strong.
