Summary: Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong settled with SCA Promotions over Tour de France’s prize money.
It’s settled. We don’t know for how much, but the fighting’s over.
On September 4, the $10 million battle between disgraced sports hero Lance Armstrong and prize insurance company SCA Promotions was cancelled because both parties had settled, according to The Dallas Morning News. The hearing was supposed to take place in Dallas at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building. Judge Tonya Parker was to preside.
On Sunday, Armstrong issued a statement that was published in USA Today.
“While the terms of the settlement are confidential, I can say that the settlement was mutually acceptable to all parties,” Lance said. “I am pleased to have this matter behind me and I look forward to moving on.”
Lance continued by apologizing to the group and its CEO.
“I do wish to personally apologize to SCA and its CEO, Bob Hamman, for any past misconduct on my part in connection with our dispute and the resulting arbitration,” Lance said.
SCA Promotions was the group that paid Lance’s bonuses for winning the Tour de France in 2002, 2003, and 2004. The group was represented by Dallas’ Jeff Tillotson.
“While the terms of the settlement are confidential, SCA can say that the agreement was mutually acceptable to both parties,” Jeff said in an email to The Dallas Morning News. “SCA is pleased to have this matter finally resolved and beyond this statement, SCA has no further comment.”
In his lifetime, Lance won seven Tour de France competitions and one Olympic bronze medal.
Lance was viewed as an inspirational athlete who survived testicular cancer, but his image and career plummeted in 2010 when U.S. federal prosecutors began to pursue allegations that he was doping. Lance originally denied the allegations of performance-enhancing drugs, but in 2013, he gave an interview with Oprah Winfrey where he admitted to using EPO, testosterone, human growth hormone, blood transfusions, and doping.
After the scandal, he was stripped of all his Tour de France titles and the Olympic medal.
This is not the first settlement between Lance and SCA. In 2004, SCA tried to withhold its bonus after doping allegations against Lance emerged in the book L.A. Confidentiel: Les secrets de Lance Armstrong. According to The Dallas Morning News, Lance’s masseuse Emma O’Reilly revealed that he used performance enhancers. Jeff questioned Lance about the allegations, and Lance denied them under oath. In 2006, the two parties settled.
It was not until after the Oprah interview that SCA filed another lawsuit, the one that was finally settled this month. SCA said that Lance needed to repay the money because, “Perjury must never be profitable.”
See Lance Armstrong’s Former Teammate Files Papers on Williams & Connolly