Another charity has cut ties with Lance Armstrong.
After the disgraced cyclist admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey to doping, Athletes for Hope decided to drop Armstrong -- one of the organization’s founders, the Wall Street Journal reports. The nonprofit, which gets sports stars involved with existing charities instead of forming their own costly ones, removed Armstrong’s name and picture from its site two months after Livestrong formally separated from him.
Before Athletes for Hope decided to part ways with Armstrong, two of its supporters -- tennis pro Andrea Jaeger and baseball’s Cal Ripkin Jr. -- left the charity as the scandal unfolded.
"I could no longer be part of Athletes for Hope because the direction was different from the values and messaging that are important for me to relay to youth and to the people that support my work," Jaeger told the Journal.
Athletes for Hope didn’t speak of Armstrong’s impact on the organization to the Journal, but Livestrong –- the nonprofit the cyclist founded after overcoming testicular cancer –- has remained reservedly supportive of him.
The charity, which provides support for people battling cancer, dropped Armstrong’s name from the organization in November and is now simply known as the “Livestrong Foundation.” This decision came one month after Armstrong stepped down as chairman.
But even after Armstrong came clean to Oprah about using banned substances and blood dope throughout his career, Livestrong still expressed its appreciation for its founder.
"We at the LIVESTRONG Foundation are disappointed by the news that Lance Armstrong misled people during and after his cycling career, including us," the charity said in a statement earlier this month. “Even in the wake of our disappointment, we also express our gratitude to Lance as a survivor for the drive, devotion and spirit he brought to serving cancer patients and the entire cancer community."
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