Cycling: Nike deny $500,000 Lance Armstrong cover-up payment

 

Nike issued a denial last night to the extraordinary claim that it paid $500,000 (£300,000) for a failed drugs test from Lance Armstrong to be covered up.

Amid a growing backlash against the sportswear giant over its refusal to cut its ties with Armstrong, testimony that it had the money placed into a Swiss bank account belonging to former UCI president Hein Verbruggen re-emerged in a 2006 deposition from Kathy Lemond, the wife of Armstrong's compatriot cyclist Greg Lemond. The claim, which Lemond stood by in an interview with the New York Daily News, is that the cash was paid to cover up a positive test in 1999 for corticosteroids, which Armstrong had used to treat saddle sores.

Nike would not engage in discussion on the claim last night – instead issuing a 42-word statement. "In response to the offensive allegations in today's New York Daily News, Nike vehemently denies that it paid former UCI president Hein Verbruggen $500,000 to cover up a positive drug test," the statement read. "Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs."

Lemond's claim surfaced during the legal case in which Armstrong and Tailwind Sports – the company which runs his cycling team – filed a lawsuit against SCA, a Dallas firm that indemnifies sponsors who offer prizes based on athletic achievements. SCA refused to pay Armstrong a $5m bonus that Tailwind had promised the cyclist for winning the 2004 Tour de France after allegations of doping reported in the book by Sunday Times journalist David Walsh and Pierre Ballester – LA Confidential – the Secrets of Lance Armstrong. It was in a 2006 deposition over the suit, that Lemond testified that Julian Devries, who worked as a mechanic for Armstrong's team, told her that Nike and Thom Weisel, a banker who sponsored Armstrong's team, paid the money into Verbruggen's account.

Lemond told the Daily News that she stood by her testimony. She said: "I'm sure Julian was telling the truth."

Armstrong's lawyer Mark Fabiani responded with a strong personal attack on Lemond. "We have absolutely no idea what Mrs Lemond, a long-time Lance-hater, was talking about when she gave her deposition. And to this day we have no idea what she was talking about," he said.

Armstrong's years of drug-taking was revealed last week in the United States Anti-Doping Agency's report into his alleged doping in the US Postal team. Nike have shown no signs of hardening their stance on Armstrong and, amid protests in the US, have only reissued a statement from August relating to the seven-times Tour de France winner. "We are saddened that Lance Armstrong may no longer be able to participate in certain competitions and his titles appear to be impacted," that statement read. "Lance has stated his innocence and has been unwavering on this position. Nike plans to continue to support Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation."

Lemond's Twitter account yesterday revealed her attempts to generate support for a protest against Nike's stance, planned for the company's corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

American rider Levi Leipheimer has been sacked by Omega Pharma-QuickStep after admitting to doping while a team-mate of Armstrong.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

iBet: Mercedes and Hamilton to roar in Monaco

Monaco is a street circuit where driver ability is more important than anywhere else and if we take ...

by Gareth Purnell

On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: It sounds sadistic, but the team live for the mountain stages

Three weeks ago as I drove off the Eurostar, I remember thinking what a very long time it was until ...

by Martin Ayres

iBet: Rose has the ammunition for Wentworth

McDowell did brilliantly to land the World Match Play title in Bulgaria last week, but it’s a format...

by Gareth Purnell

       
Independent Dating
and  

By clicking 'Search' you
are agreeing to our
Terms of Use.

Career Services

Day In a Page

James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again