Lance Armstrong to finally admit doping charges on Oprah's show

Lance Armstrong will make a limited confession to doping during his
televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, according to a
person with knowledge of thesituation.


Lance Armstrong's career highlights may be tainted, but they're still
worth remembering .
Armstrong, who has long denied doping, will also offer an apology
during the interview scheduled to be taped Monday at his home
inAustin, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity
because there was no authorization to speak publicly on the matter.


While not directly saying he would confess or apologize, Armstrong
sent a text message to The Associated Press early Saturday that
said:"I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer
the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can say."


The 41-year-old Armstrong, who vehemently denied doping for years, has
not spoken publicly about the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report last year
that cast him as the leader of a sophisticated and brazen doping
program on his U.S. Postal Service teams that included use of
steroids, blood boosters and illegal blood transfusions.


The USADA report led to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de
France titles and given a lifetime ban from the sport.


Several outlets had reported that Armstrong was considering a
confession. The interview will be broadcast Thursday on the Oprah
Winfrey Network and oprah.com.


He no longer has Nike's support.
A confession would come at a time when Armstrong is still facing some
legal troubles.
Armstrong faces a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former
teammate Floyd Landis accusing him of defrauding the U.S. Postal
Service, but the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to announce if it
will join the case. The British newspaper The Sunday Times is suing
Armstrong to recover about$500,000 it paid him to settle a libel
lawsuit.


A Dallas-based promotions company has threatened to sue Armstrong to
recover morethan $7.5 million it paid him as a bonus for winning the
Tour de France.
But potential perjury charges stemming from his sworn testimony
denying doping in a 2005 arbitration fight over the bonus payments
have passed the statute of limitations.


Armstrong lost most of his personal sponsorship – worth tens of
millions of dollars – after USADA issued its report and he left the
board of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. He
is stillsaid to be worth an estimated $100 million.


Livestrong might be one reason to issue an apology or make a
confession. The charity supports cancer patients and still faces an
image problem because of its association with its famous founder.


Armstrong could also be hoping a confessionwould allow him to return
to competition in elite triathlon or running events, but World
Anti-Doping Code rules state his lifetime ban cannot be reduced to
less than eight years. WADA and U.S. Anti-Doping officials could agree
to reduce the ban further depending on what new information Armstrong
provides and his level of cooperation.


Armstrong met with USADA officials recently to explore a "pathway to
redemption," according to a report by "60 Minutes Sports" aired
Wednesday on Showtime.