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May 22, 2011 6:55 PM

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Pelley on reporting the Lance Armstrong story

By: Overtime Staff
Topics: Correspondent Candids

This week on "60 Minutes," Scott Pelley reports on one of the greatest athletes of all time: Lance Armstrong. The seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor has recently become the focus of a federal investigation into performance-enhancing drugs. As we learned in Pelley's report, a grand jury in Los Angeles has been hearing secret testimony from Armstrong's former teammates on the U.S. Postal Service team, and one of the prime witnesses is Tyler Hamilton.

Hamilton sat down with Pelley to tell his story in public for the first time, and it was a painful three hours for both men. In this video, Pelley tells "60 Minutes Overtime" editor Ann Silvio about the most difficult and surprising moments during the Tyler Hamilton interview. He also fills us in on the reporting behind the "60 Minutes" story, comments on the Armstrong legacy, and responds to critics of his report.

Watch part one and part two of Scott Pelley's report.

Did you watch Pelley's two-part report on Armstrong? What's your reaction?

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by J7V June 15, 2011 12:22 AM EDT: I don't know if Lance doped. He may have and he might not have done so. There are many reasons why people falsely implicate others in wrongdoing. Federal prosecutors are bullies and they use the power and prestige of the United States Government to intimidate, corner and color the testimony of those that have done wrong and lack the testicular fortitude to walk the long road of shame alone. Misery loves company. This has been the case since the beginning of recorded time. Why do you think that the 9th Commandment found in the book of Exodus 20:16 reads: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." That said, I also take issue with the fact that the Justice department would invest so much money and time investigating Armstrong and so little time investigating the institutions that have practically bankrupted this county, caused the mortgage crisis, and looted tax payer coffers to replenish their squandered wealth& Goldman Sachs comes to mind among the many. I'm also troubled by the fact that 60 Minutes would take such an interest in Armstrong when there is so much fertile terrain to be covered elsewhere. As American's we should take precautions and resist being distracted by meaningless BS when the focus needs to be firmly fixed on the crimes and corruptions that threaten the health and future of our nation.; Reply to this comment


by messalina2 May 25, 2011 12:19 PM EDT: @ironkriz What does Tyler's possible marketting of a book or any money gains have to do with his telling the truth? Has the truth in America become a lost art? Sir the good old USA is all about making money. Always was, always will be.

I think some people may have missed the start of that interview where it was mentioned that Tyler Hamilton's grand jury testimony was a brokered deal for immunity from prosecution; however, if it was found that he lied about any of it, all deals were off and he would go to prison. Now, why on earth would the man lie. Don't you know how easy it would be for the justice dept to uncover a lie.

lance has all his good ole buddies lying for him. That Russian Ekimov, so willing to take the medal Tyler gave up. As if Russia isn't infamous for doping in sport yet along cycling.
And the then head of UCI Verburggen(sp) another good ole la friend claiming Tyler is lying about the tests. That he as head of UCI he never heard anything of such cover-up. Why would he? The deal was brokered under him. Seldom do such things reach all the way up the ladder. However, as Greg868990 pointed out, he did know about the tests at some point.

About the 7 wins even on drugs bettering the field. Ahmm... maybe I misheard, but Tyler said, not only did team US Postal do blood doping, but that lance himself administered something from a vial directly into their mouths. I think he said it was testosterone. Isn't there a law against that? Hmmm...; Reply to this comment


by messalina2 May 25, 2011 1:12 AM EDT: @Greg868990 I wanted to tell you about this tool for shortening site addresses, it - http://******/?m=404 - and it makes that yay long address you linked in your comment look like. well the link you gave above is below.

http://******/kyXghm

Greg, UCI had to know armstrong doped. And he's so smug because he thinks they'll continue to cover for him. lance said that Tyler lied, but has he said the George lied also? I don't recall. armsstrong lied and cheated but we must consider something else in this. The monies donated for his "Livestrong Foundation". Who's to say that he didn't use some of that money to buy drugs, pay Drs. and pay officials to keep their mouths shut about his positive tests. I mean, he is just to smug thinking he can keep saying "he lied, I never failed a test"

All judges are quick to say, if you lie about one thing none of your testimony can be considered as truthful. We know lance doped, but what about the "Livestrong" money.; Reply to this comment

by ironkriz May 25, 2011 12:38 AM EDT

Hmmm? Writing a book and then giving a sensationalized interview to 60 Minutes? I think Tyler is on a marketing campaign for the book and CBS is cashing in on Lance's story. Let's not forget that this is the same network responsible for Rathergate, the Killian Documents Controversy.

The article also tries to guess at what Hincapie (mispronounced several times) said. They have no idea if he confirmed or denied the accusations but the way Mr. Pelley reported that piece of the story it was as if he heard the actual testimony.

I'm not a Lance apologist. But he is the subject of a witch hunt that I and the rest of America is paying for. I love what his story was and is and certainly respect his cancer work.

Here is an overly practical thought. Let's say Tyler is correct and Lance and the rest of the Peloton are guilty. Then it was an even playing field and he still beat everyone 7 times. Let it go Mr. Ness.

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by fondu192 May 30, 2011 12:54 AM EDT: Lance has cashed in tremendously under the pretense of being a clean rider. Accusing Tyler of marketing his future book is absurd. My hopes are that it may accomplish some of the things that a rider with the entire World's attention and admiration-Mr 'Tour de Lance'- might have himself done, if he wasn't such an egomaniacal jerk.

Armstrong didn't invent or introduce doping, epo or any of the dirty regular truths which have LONG been part of the elite peloton, yet he was just like Tyler when his chance to get the white lunchbag came along.
I remember the days when young PDM riders were dropping dead from heart attacks after training rides. Those were the early days of attempts by riders and their team doctors to dial the dope. Contracts come with strict submissive and confidential clauses for all that jazz...

The notion that a dirty peloton is a 'level playing field' is facile and leaky. Lance was truly a specimen of raw power and talent AND a good day, when at 21 yrs old he won the World's Road race. THAT was what made cycling exciting and powerful. THAT was what garnered his place in line for the white lunchbag, too. EPO and other enhancement has taken away much of the beauty of this amazing sport.
It's been toooo long since a lesser or little known rider has taken a stage or soloed into in his hometown in a major tour or classic. Maybe Tyler's own sacrifices-subpoenaed or not- will bring some of the guts, glory and beauty back to this gorgeous sport.


by swmrdave June 1, 2011 12:59 PM EDT: Just because everyone else is doing it does not make it right. This whole doping thing in endurance sports was totally pervasive. From the top down. Tyler said he couldn't say he was guilty because it would cost 50 people their jobs. When Floyd Landis was caught the entire Phonac Team disbanded. All Floyds teammates lost their jobs and the bonus's they earned for winning the tour de France. Albiet they did not win it according to the rules, so....no symapthy?
Now think of Lance Armstrongs situation. That guy has built an empire. And the foundation (himself) is faulty and cracking. He is up to his eyeballs in lies! He will either deny it till the day he dies, or he is going to have one enormous cathartic event.


by tomt256 May 24, 2011 7:51 PM EDT: I have not watched 60 Minutes for some time now but as an avid cyclist and big fan of the sport I decided to watch the Tyler Hamilton interview and further claims of doping against Lance Armstrong. What a HATCHET JOB ,,, you guys and especially Pelley screwed up big time... I had just finished watching the Tour of California and was excited for all the riders involved only to have you guys come on with some allegations about events that happened over 10 years ago and throw a DARK CLOUD over the whole sport of cycling... BAD TIMING and IN BAD TASTE ,,, If CBS Sports had the viewing rights for the upcoming Tour de France,,, this story would never have seen the light of day ,,,; Reply to this comment

by paulnrhe May 24, 2011 11:59 AM EDT

I find it incredibly ironic that this web broadcast about drug use by American cyclists was sponsored by VIAGRA, of all things. It is part of our culture to turn to pharmaceuticals when our own natural ability doesn't quite "measure up" to what we expect or want it to be. When you know you won't be caught, when you know you haven't got a chance of winning if you don't take the drugs, and when you are part of a culture that turns to drugs to cure everything, why wouldn't you dope? I understand the appeal of going after the high profile athletes, but it seems to me the real menace here is sports - the trainers, the managers, and the governing bodies of bicycling, baseball, football and all major league sports whose headlines have never addressed drug use (Golf? Boxing? Nascar?). Why don't you do that story, 60 Minutes?

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by Atremin May 24, 2011 2:33 PM EDT: We are a culture of drug enhancement and yet we all act shocked like it is something horrific. Cycling like all pro sports is big money and big business for all affiliated and all at the expense of the athlete. The more super human the athlete is, the more intrigued we are, the more we watch the more we spend. I blame all this on greed. Greed on all sides is why these guys do what they do. Integrity is gone in all aspects of competitive athletics. Any time sponsorship is involved, any time money is made off of an athlete or any time an athlete makes money off of a sponsor, corruption and greed are the driving force. I think the real story is why the sport or why sports in general have created athletes who are doping. What has changed through the years, the availability and technology of enhancement drugs, the need to win at any cost, or the big money corporate sponsors have brought to athletics and the need for all to get rich?

by Greg868990 May 24, 2011 11:01 AM EDT

In 1999 Armstrong was doped, the documentation provided by the French newspaper "L'Equipe" has been validated by the UCI.
Armstrong has never been suspended because his doping was discovered too late in 2005, the limitation period was 3 years old, but it was doped with EPO (6 samples), it is the truth.

Here's the link UCI:

http://www.uci.ch/Modules/ENews/ENewsDetails.asp?source=SiteSearch&id=NDU4Mg&MenuId=15217&CharValList=628%253B611%253B&CharTextList=&CharFromList=&CharToList=&txtSiteSearch=&SelChar214=628&SelChar208=611&LangId=1

All the cheaters have been suspended, Vinokourov, Basso, Valverde, and others, except Armstrong. In my opinion, the most dishonest that cycling has ever known.

Here's a link of the website "L'Equipe" which describes the investigation that was published in the newspaper "L'Equipe" of Thursday, August 23, 2005.

http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme/DOPAGE_ARMSTRONG_2.html

Don't mix LiveStrong and LieStrong (Armstrong), LiveStrong should not be an alibi of LieStrong

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by jackhammer111 May 25, 2011 12:47 PM EDT: True or not, the "L'Equipe" was not a provable case. They lied to get access to blood samples that had no longer term storage protocol, and no chain of custody. Let's hope no one ever uses such "proof" against any one of us.

The "get Lance at all costs" hysteria has been around for years among a small but persistent and vocal group of so called "purists" who mainly populate internet forums. They are a joke, and it just almost backfired on them and ruined the career of Alberto Contador, who they let off the hook when it's clear as hell in the same situation they'd have been parading Lances head around on a pike. You should see the hoops their jumping through to justify that one. BTW, I think Conatdor was not guilty, but it points out the hysteria when you almost sanction someone over, i think they called it picograms of a chemical. A picogram is a trillionth of a gram.

The notion that getting Lance, who Hamilton make clear wasn't doing anything every single one of the contenders was doing, will make the sport better now is a silly argument. Continuing improvement of testing and monitoring blood values will make things better, not vilifying one man from an era where, if you didn't do what your competitors where doing, you're only job on a team would be ferrying water bottles for those that do. The science has to make the risk of getting caught too high. And keep in mind, surprise testing and whereabouts rules mean someone can show up any time and take you blood and urine and UCI has to know where you are year around. It's the most sophisticated, and intrusive, program program in the world. No other sport comes even close. Cycling is doing far more to try and catch performance enhancement than any other sport, which guarantees that those sports are not as clean as cycling is now. Anyone think the NFL is serious about keeping steroids out of the sport? Do they have a random testing program with whereabouts rules?

These same hypocritical "get Lance at all costs" holier than though "purist" don't want to talk about drug use being part of the entire history of the Tour de France. The is no pure era of stage race cycling. Ever. It's simple. A pro thinks he's as good as anybody and if he's getting beat he wants to find out why. When he finds out why he can either do what his competitors are doing or go home an cry to his mother about it.

Grand Tour cycle racing is the most physically demanding thing any athlete anywhere does, especially where you win by getting a gap on others on the cruel finishing climbs in high mountain finishes. People will do all they can to give their bodies an advantage above what they get in training. Everybody trains. Biochemistry wins. That will never change, and certainly bring down Lance won't change it.

by levicchiscbs May 24, 2011 7:37 AM EDT

Hamiltons body language and TOTAL LACK of conviction in his speech shows he's not remotely confident in what he is saying. A lot of his answers are slurred and NOT enunciated, a trait that is associated with someone who is making things up as he goes along. Is it possible that doping may have occurred....sure. But not to the extent that he is claiming. There is only one test that came back positive that was brushed under the rug. The other 500 came back clean

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by nmccloy May 24, 2011 8:31 AM EDT: I have always felt that Lance Armstrong has doped. I started watching the Tour de France in 1998, the year Marco Pantani won the Tour, (he was subsequently banned for doping). In 1999, I wondered, 'Lance'who? Subsequent investigation over the years showed me that before 1999 he had failed to even complete the Tour de France. His duals with Jan Ulrich were legendary but Jan ended up being found out for doping. I remember a doctor associated with a team in the TDF saying that it is not possible that a rider could ride faster at the end stage of a mountain than at the start of an ascent, like Lance, without some 'help'. He was a noted sprinter before 1999 and yes winning a stage is hard but not difficult in the TDF, with the right breakaway etc. Doping was rife in cycling between 1995 and 2005, they claim they have fixed it but Contador's reprieve based on contaminated meat shows that the sport has a credibility problem. If there is one sport that would benefit from EPO and other hematocrit doping activities then it is cycling. The shear endurance tolerated by the human body in cycling ensures that doping will always be common place.

My theory on Lance:
Get's cancer - a shocking thing for a human being to go through, no doubt.
Testicular cancer: A high survivability rate - fact.
Contrives to return to cycling, doped to the eye balls and use the winning of the TDF along with the fight against cancer as a legitimate source to financial wealth.

Think about it. Why do athletes dope? To win thus increasing financial wealth. Lance uses his cancer foundation as a front.

Sad but true.

by believeallyouread May 24, 2011 2:03 AM EDT

So yea, I love all of the people who have no connection with this sport who go out and read what is on the internet and believe everything they come across.

As for Tyler Hamilton, he is and has always been someone who likes attention, good or bad. 60 Minutes doesn't seem to have done any research on him either, or they would have known he isn't really a believable witness to anything. He was banned for 2 years, then EIGHT years from the sport for doping. Basically he lies, for money, for sport for whatever suits him. He is now on national tv, promoting himself, his book, etc... sad.

As for Lance Armstrong, I've been in our around the cycling industry for a long time, know people who went to high school with him, etc., and yes this is on the internet, so take it with a grain of salt. He is basically a freak of nature. At age 14 he was competing with the best triathletes in the world at the time, and triathlon was the sport he hoped to make a career of at an early age. There are not many people with his type of talent. At 20-21 he won a stage in the Tour De France before he was diagnosed with cancer. That is extremely hard to to do, and I don't expect anyone who hasn't competed even at an amateur level in cycling to understand fully. I don't know Lance personally, but the people I do know who have known him since he was a kid just feel he isn't the type of person to cheat, and that he is one of the most focused competitors they have ever met.

I'm really disappointed in the unprofessional way 60 Minutes has handled this interview and the whole situation. Its clear they are just jumping on the 'drug use in sport' bandwagon. Credibility is important in news, since most of us are normal viewers, who don't have insight into most subjects, and we trust 60 Minutes to give us a straight story. So when I see a story like this, that is very misleading, and I know since this is a subject I know something about, it makes me wonder about the rest of the stories I don't have any insight on.

I would be quite surprised to find that Lance Armstrong has been lying, but anything is possible. Not so surprised about morons like Barry Bonds who gained like 35lbs in one season, going from a skinny guy who was never known for hitting homers to a record setter.... and lying about it all along. On top of that, he was a horrible role model, in general, had a horrible attitude and was conceited beyond belief.

One last thing for the guy/gal who thinks the Postal Service is still pouring money into cycling sponsorship, don't comment if you have no clue. They pulled out of sponsorship 5 or more years ago now... and on top of that, they (like any normal company) have to spend money on advertising to survive, and what they spent on cycling pales in comparison to what they spend on television and print ads today.

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by joebagger May 24, 2011 3:40 AM EDT: believeallyouread,

who says freaks of nature don't have reason to dope? at the top level, all of these tour contenders are freaks of nature. in a long stage race, all it takes is one freak of nature to dope and everyone else can't win on pure natural gifts.


by dtambeaux May 24, 2011 4:43 PM EDT: Tyler Hamilton is someone who has always liked attention, good or bad? Are you out of your mind? The guy is one of the most quiet, humble athletes in any sport. You can choose to leave your head in the sand. Having followed pro cycling all of my adult life, I can say without a doubt you know nothing about what you are talking about here. Now that George Hincapie has apparently rolled over the myth of Lance Armstrong has been revealed as not quite the way it has been portrayed for the better part of 12 years.


by redknight881 May 23, 2011 11:04 PM EDT: How can anyone say that investigating ILLEGAL drug use is a waste of time?...would it be a waste of your time to find out your son or daughter was using illegal and probably harmful drugs?...you see this is why we investigate these things...so that we can do our best to make sure that our children don't ever have to make the choice to take or not to take...

Since when is it OK to be a liar and mislead millions of people?...all those people who wore the LIVESTRONG bracelets and believed that Armstrong was a hero were probably all deceived...this isn't worth finding out?...come on, give your head a shake...; Reply to this comment

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