Lance files lawsuit to stop USADA charges

I'm no lawyer (and I'm sure Lance has some of the best working for him) but this argument may hold water, its going to be an interesting week.

ALLEZ LANCE!

What exactly does Cycling gain from this? Offering limited sanctions to active riders to try to prosecute a retired one? At a time when I would think cycling would like to improve its image in the public domain, raking up old charges on an old champion cannot be good for the sport.

If cycling truly wants to become more respected - all the entities should agree to bury the past and try to start a new era and prove that the achievements of today's great athletes are drug free ( we can hope!)

Regardless of what Malcolm McClaren said - bad publicity is NOT always better than no publicity at all.

With the media age upon us, positive press for cycling and the greater coverage should be the focus - not old news...regardless of guilt or innocence..

He is not arguing the rules - that doping is not allowed - he is argueing the USADA ability to strip him of his past titals and keep him from racing now by simply alleging he doped and that they have testimony to back it up. by that logic, any cyclist could allege that another US cyclist has used and, regardless of how many dozens or hundreds of drug tests they passed, the cyclist would not be allowed to race again until it was cleared up. Because the USADA is an official US organization to monitor doping in olympic and other athletes, they should be held to the same constitutional standards of guilty until proven innocent. Why should he be banned from racing now because of what someone said?

Personally I believe that he did not dope after so many negative tests and such close monitoring but even if he did, until it is proven and he has his chance at rebuttal/justification etc, I do not think it should keep him from going forward with his chosen sport.

DP

Think you got that backwards

Seriously, you really thought you had to explain that to me?

Like it or not, USADA is following their rules, or at least their interpretation of them. They feel they have the evidence and will present. When they present at such predetermined time, they expect the arbitration board to agree with them. This is agreed upon by every professional athlete who's governmening body uses USADA as their doping control organization. They are following the rules of their procedures.

Lance agreed to these rules in order to race, and now that they do not work for him anymore... or at least his interpretation of them... he does not like it. It's pretty simple. And that has nothing to do what one want's to believe about the merit of USADA's case, or Lance's side of it. That's just what is happening. No different that WTC not allowing Lance to race tris for the same rules they had in place that Lance agreed to.. the same rules that kept another proffessional from racing last year for the very same thing... hard to argue after the fact that you don't like the rule.

Here is my problem with it.  He won before the USADA was ever established and the USADA was only established for the purpose of the USOC.  So how could he have agreed to THOSE rules?