Following a Story Over Time: The Lance Armstrong Doping Scandal

CNL News Lesson

January 25, 2013 Added by Michael A. Spikes

Lesson Outline

January 25, 2013 -- Lance Armstrong was positioned to be one of the most revered and celebrated athletes of modern time. With a sporting career that started at the age of 16, Armstrong trained, and competed as a triathelete, one of the most trying competitions for any athlete. He later began training as a long-range cyclist, and began his professional career as part of the Motorola team, competing in the 1993 World Championship, the Tour DuPont, and the Clásica de San Sebastián between 1993 and 1996.

Armstrong was best known for his 7 consecutive wins of the Tour de France, which made for an amazing story, not only for breaking the record of overall wins of the Tour de France, but also for doing so after being treated for Testicular Cancer.

Despite his achievements, Armstrong was dogged with accusations of using performance-enhancing drugs, of which he vehemently denied for years. However, in June of 2012, the US Anti-Doping Agency charged Armstrong with having used the substances, and subsequently banned him for life from cycling and other sports. Armstrong chose not to defend the charges, and was stripped of all of his Tour de France titles.

In January 2013, Armstrong finally admitted to using performance-enhancing substances while competing in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey.

 

News Literacy Lesson Connections

  • News Literacy Lesson 8: Truth and Verification - Truth is provisional--and may change based on evidence presented at the time of the report.

 

Lesson Guiding Questions:

    • In what cases where the charges against Lance Armstrong backed by verifiable evidence?
    • Where did verification break down in these stories?

 

Media:

This page includes a number of articles centered around a 2004 lawsuit, and ultimate settlement between the Sunday Times and Armstrong, in which the Times published parts of a book written by a French journalism which purported to have proof of Armstrong's doping. Armstrong sued the Sunday Times, and the French newspaper L'Express for reprinting portions of the book "LA Confidential".

Other media in this resource include video clips of Armstrong's denials of doping, and his interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Print: 

 

Video: