| Armstrong sues US anti-doping agency to end charges |
AUSTIN Retired cycling champ Lance Armstrong filed a federal lawsuit on Monday seeking to stop the US Anti-Doping Agency from proceeding with a case that charges him
with taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong faces a Saturday deadline to either challenge the charges or accept sanctions that could strip him of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him from the sport for life if he is found guilty. His attorneys also sought a temporary restraining order to halt the process.
The USADA is a quasi-governmental agency created by Congress in 2000 and charges would be considered by its own arbitration process. Any penalties would be binding within the sport, but federal courts have the power to overrule the agency.
Lawyers for Armstrong contend that the USADA gathered evidence by threatening to ruin the careers of fellow cyclists who have agreed to testify against him. Lawyers for Armstrong also argue that the agency’s rules violate Armstrong’s right to a fair trial and that it lacks proper jurisdiction to charge him.
The legal action, filed in Armstrong’s Austin, Texas, hometown, claims the agency’s investigation is causing “irreparable” damage to the champion cyclist, who won seven straight Tour de France championships between 1999 and 2005.
In a statement issued Monday, the USADA said Armstrong’s lawsuit is “without merit” and that USADA rules “provide full constitutional due process designed to protect the rights of clean athletes and the integrity of the sport.”
Accusations of doping have dogged Armstrong since he ascended to the top of the cycling world after overcoming cancer. In February, the US Justice Department dropped an investigation centered on whether Armstrong and his teammates cheated the sponsor of their bike racing team, the US Postal Service, with a secret doping programme.
Reuters
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