The government of South Australia state says it will seek damages or compensation from Lance Armstrong after his reported confession to Oprah Winfrey that he doped during his career.
- Armstrong admits to doping during Winfrey interview
According to AP, South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said on Tuesday that the state would seek the repayment of several million dollars in appearance fees paid to Armstrong for competing in the Tour Down Under cycle race in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Weatherill said that reports which indicated Armstrong admitted doping during a recorded interview with Winfrey, due to be broadcast in the United States on Thursday, changed the government's view on its entitlement to compensation.
He said Armstrong "has deceived the cycling community around the world" by repeatedly denying he used performance-enhancing drugs during a career in which he won the Tour de France seven times.
Armstrong to return Postal Service money?
Lance Armstrong's may return sponsorship money paid by the United States Postal Service, according to a source.
The cyclist, who has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, is in negotiations to return some portion of the agency's sponsorship money, the source said.
USPS was one of Armstrong's biggest financial supporters, and millions of dollars were paid to finance the team's operations.
USPS had paid approximately more than $30 million to sponsor the cycling team between 2001 and 2004, according to ESPN and the Wall Street Journal.
The agency's sponsorship of the cycling team, even when Armstrong was regularly winning tour titles, was controversial. In 2003, the USPS Inspector General issued a report that was critical of the agency's practices, saying it was unable to verify the financial performance of sponsorships, and that the arrangements were "not effectively managed."
In October, Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned from cycling after an exhaustive report from the United States Anti-Doping Agency put him at the center of a team-wide USPS doping conspiracy. Weeks later, Armstrong stepped down from the board of his foundation, Livestrong.
Patricia Licata, a spokeswoman for USPS, said in a statement that the agency is "well aware" of developments surrounding Armstrong and is "following the situation closely."
"We are not in a position now to discuss any of the legal issues associated with these developments and the prior relationship between the U.S. Postal Service and Mr. Armstrong," Licata said. "But we will do so at an appropriate time."
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