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Lance Armstrong spoke with Oprah Winfrey this week and he finally came clean after denying rumors for at least a decade that he was using performance-enhancing drugs during his Tour de France wins, according to the Associated Press.
Armstrong spoke with employees of Livestrong prior to meeting with Winfrey, apologizing to the employees of the charity he founded. He then met with Winfrey on Monday, admitting to the steroid use.
Armstrong’s interview with Winfrey will air on her network this Thursday and she even tweeted the following after the interview was complete: “Just wrapped with (at)lancearmstrong More than 2 1/2 hours. He came READY!”
Armstrong issued countless public statements over the past decade stating that he never used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. He also fought the issue in court to deny the allegations and protect his reputation. Prior to the Winfrey interview, Armstrong promised that he would answer all of her questions “directly, honestly and candidly.”
Armstrong had his Tour de France titles stripped, lost almost all of his endorsement deals, and was forced to exit the foundation he founded last year following a 1,000-page report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The report said that Armstrong was behind a doping scheme.
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Armstrong founded the charity back in 1997 and he spoke in front of 100 staffers in a conference room to say “I’m sorry.” It was reported that Armstrong spoke for roughly 20 minutes, choking up during most of it. He allegedly expressed regret for the controversy caused by the performance-enhancing drugs, but did not admit to the staffers if he actually used them.
Armstrong urged the staffers, some of whom were crying by the time his speech was done, to continue the work of the charity. Katherine McLane, a spokesperson for Livestrong, said that Armstrong’s speech was “Heartfelt and sincere.” Armstrong then met with a group of people including his agent and his lawyer, but no one spoke to the media about their conversation.
