Nike cuts ties with Livestrong

LOS ANGELES, United States — Nike has ended its partnership with disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong’s anti-cancer charity Livestrong, the campaign group said Tuesday, May 28.

The Austin, Texas-based Livestrong Foundation thanked the global sportswear giant Nike — which broke all ties with Armstrong himself last October — saying it had helped raise over $100 million for it since 2004.

The Foundation “is deeply grateful to Nike not only for the time and resources it invested in helping us improve the lives of people affected by cancer.. but also the creative drive it brought to our nine-year partnership.

“While the Foundation created and owns the Livestrong brand, Nike shone a spotlight on the spirit of courage and resilience it represents,” it said in a statement.

Moving forward

The charity played down the potential impact on Livestrong, saying: “This news will prompt some to jump to negative conclusions about the Foundation’s future.

“We see things quite differently. We expected and planned for changes like this and are therefore in a good position to adjust swiftly and move forward with our patient-focused work.

“Because of our sound fiscal health, the Foundation is well-positioned to continue to grow our free services for cancer patients and survivors that improve quality of life and access to care.”

It added: “Because 14 million Americans face the daily challenges of living with cancer, our mission has never been more critical and for some, it will mean the difference between life and death.”

Armstrong was an inspirational figure for millions after recovering from testicular cancer and then winning the world’s most celebrated cycling event, the Tour de France, seven times in a row.

But the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) banned Armstrong and took away his titles last year after he chose not to fight the doping accusations. He admitted taking banned performance enhancing substances in an interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey in January. – Rappler.com