Memo to the US Anti-Doping Agency: You do not ask someone who has just won the Tour de France to rat out a former teammate who has won it 7 times and whose reputation is up there somewhere next to Mother Theresa.
But, according to Floyd Landis, the USADA lead attorney Travis Tygart approached Landis' attorney Howard Jacobs with such an offer last year.
Short suspension
Landis said Thursday that Tygart had told Jacobs that Landis could walk away from these doping allegations with “the shortest suspension they've ever given an athlete” if Landis could provide information on Lance Armstrong. Said Landis:
“It was offensive at best. It speaks to the character of the prosecution.”
Tygart responded that he couldn't comment, because of USADA restrictions regarding ongoing cases. He did characterize it as “nonsense,” though, according to the AP.
Landis made the disclosure in a press conference Thursday in preparation for his hearing that is scheduled to begin next Monday. Landis has won the right to make public the hearing at Pepperdine University in Malibu. Defense team members Arnie Baker and Floyd Fairness Fund exec Michael Henson were also present.
Reaction
According to the Trust but Verify blog, which covers every nuance of this case, Landis was surprised by the reaction of the press to these allegations. He wanted to talk about the science of his case but reporters kept going back to this topic.
Later on, Armstrong spoke at a teleconference concerning the issue. According to a Trust but Verify blog contributor who listened in, Armstrong asked the USADA to go on record and explain themselves.
Armstrong, a supporter of Landis through his ordeal, said it was the first he'd heard of such a deal.
Results
From how the case against Landis is shaping up, it doesn't look like he has much of a chance. Sure he has lots of scientific arguments on his side, but consider the three-member administrative board that will hear his case beginning Monday. Two members recently excluded the member favorable to Landis while considering a motion against Landis in the case.
So Landis might be going down, but he's dragging down the USADA with him.
In the past few months, Landis has raised plenty of questions about the lab results and prosecution of his case. He has exposed problems with the drug-testing systems and the unfairness of public comments by Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Sure, follow-up tests revealed synthetic testosterone was present in Landis' other blood test during the Tour, but the lab that conducted the tests is the same one that the Landis defense team has criticized all along. Not a slam dunk.
Now there's the disclosure USADA would really like to nail Lance Armstrong.
Who is going to have the most credibility when all is said and done, the USADA or Landis?
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