The backlash will not stop for cyclist Lance Armstrong. Since admitting to being guilty of doping allegations, the cancer survivor has lost every endorsement deal and now he will lose his charity. Armstrong helped build Livestrong into a global charity organization with the help of Nike. Now, the retail company is cutting ties with the foundation, ending a nine-year relationship.
There was a time when almost everyone was wearing the yellow wrist band made famous by Armstrong. What was once a symbol for the fight against cancer now is a symbol of a cheating scandal. Nike assisted Livestrong in raising over $100 million dollars towards cancer research and will now remove what is left from the tarnished relationship.
Nike first dropped its endorsement deal with Armstrong after the cyclist was exposed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for illegal use of performance enhancing drugs. The seven-time Tour de France winner was spotlighted as the ringleader of a team doping program. He first denied all allegations of illegal doping, but then later admitted to using during a television special with Oprah.
Livestrong representatives announced the split from Nike on Tuesday. They stressed that the foundation remains as strong as ever and is fully committed to fighting cancer and helping raise awareness and money towards research. Armstrong started the charity in 1997, but was pushed off the board in October. Once named as the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the charity dropped his name and is now known simply as Livestrong.
Livestrong released a statement saying they remain extremely grateful to Nike for their contributions.
"Together, we created new, revolutionary ways of thinking about how non-profits fuel their mission and we're proud of that. 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," the foundation's statement read.
Livestrong remains in good financial standings after they cut their budget nearly 11 percent in 2013. Working with $38.4 million, the foundation said the revenue created is already up 2.5 percent. They also receiver a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for remaining transparent and accountable.
