Media Monster

Lance Armstrong Says 60 Minutes “Basically Reneged” On Promises For Upcoming Segment

On Sunday, 60 Minutes will air a report on Lance Armstrong – specifically, an allegation from former cycling teammate Tyler Hamilton that he saw Armstrong inject banned substances. Armstrong, as you might expect, denies this, and points to the fact he’s never failed a drug test as proof he’s clean, and Team Armstrong is calling Hamilton “a confessed liar” in an
effort to undermine his credibility in advance of the segment.

And Armstrong’s not just taking shots at fellow cyclists now – he’s firing back at 60 Minutes itself. In an interview with The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz, Armstrong said the show “basically reneged” on promises to him, and said of the producer, “I would not call him a straight shooter.” He said he was “certainly willing to participate,” but for one thing:

“[E]arly on, they said we have some guys saying X, Y, and Z and they would share that with us.” Those assurances soon evaporated, [Armstrong] said.

Robert Luskin, one of Armstrong’s lawyers, echoed that sentiment, saying he didn’t want to “set [Armstrong] up for an ambush” without knowing exactly who the witnesses in the story would be. He also accused CBS of “disgraceful journalism” for not sharing the information. Unsurprisingly, CBS News chairman Jeff Fager has a different opinion:

“We have been so thorough and fair to Lance Armstrong. We have shared with them every single allegation in our story… This is a PR game. Our reporters have done a first-class job.”

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The Armstrong team provided the program’s staff with “all kinds of negative things” about the suspected witnesses, including their “dark motivation,” Fager said. “They ratcheted it up. We’ve bent over backward to share this information with them.”

Alas, none of that was enough to get Armstrong to consent to an interview with the program – which can’t exactly help Armstrong in the public eye when the segment airs. We don’t doubt that Hamilton and his ilk might have some motives in mind besides a noble quest to reveal the truth, but the fact is: cycling’s a dirty sport, perhaps the dirtiest one there is.

Armstrong’s done admirable things in overcoming cancer, reaching the pinnacle of his sport, and inspiring others with the disease, but…it’s cycling. Armstrong’s just as much a part of the sport as the Hamiltons and Floyd Landises of the world, and the fact is he’ll be nowhere to be found to say he’s better than them when 60 Minutes‘ report airs. If Armstrong’s as innocent as he says he is, and Hamilton is as much of a liar as Armstrong says, the program would have made for a nice opportunity to say so, and we don’t see how it’s good for Armstrong that he passed on that opportunity.