Armstrong may return millions to the Postal Service
But even if the disgraced cyclist gives back his sponsorship money, the USPS won't get much of a boost.
Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is reportedly in talks to return some sponsorship money paid by the U.S. Postal Service.
The discussions, as reported by CNN, are part of Armstrong's path toward rehabilitating his public image. It's not clear how much Armstrong might return, or even how much the USPS paid Armstrong and his team during its years of support.
During the team's peak years of 2001 to 2004, the postal service likely spent at least $30 million to underwrite the cycling group. The USPS has sought secrecy about its spending on the team -- which wore the stylized postal service eagle on its jerseys -- prompting the agency's Office of Inspector General to criticize the deal in 2003.
As the U.S. Postal Service struggles with massive losses, a potential $30 million influx from Armstrong will likely do more good for the cyclist's image than for the agency's bottom line.
The USPS lost a record $15.9 billion in its last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. Just this week, the agency's Board of Governors told the postal service to cut costs and boost sales, with some estimates warning that the USPS could run out of money by October.
With the USPS losing an estimated $42 million per day, that means a complete reimbursement of Armstrong's sponsorship wouldn't even keep the service open for one full day.
In any event, Armstrong's talks with the USPS are clearly geared to burnishing his image rather than helping out the cash-strapped agency.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that will air on Thursday night, Armstrong is said to confess that he used performance-enhancing drugs while winning his titles, the New York Times reports.
Armstrong is facing a steep climb in reclaiming his good reputation: His Q Score, a measure of a celebrity's appeal, has suffered. About 27% of people now view Armstrong negatively, compared with just 11% after winning his seventh Tour de France in 2005. The average sports star, by comparison, has a negative score of 24%.
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What about all the people and companies who profited from Armstrong? Even in disgrace people still profit from him. Look at how Oprah is shilling this interview. He raced a bicycle in an European dominated
pro race. These weren't innocent angels, these are hard core gritty racers. And he beat them at their own game with their own rules. Both official and unofficial rules.
First of all, it was dumb, and needless, and a poor choice, for the USPS to sponsor the team to begin with. It's not like people decided to use USPS instead of FedEx or UPS just because of the cycling team. USPS has poor customer service, cranky employees, and a horrible entitlement attitude that permeates the entire organization. I, and most people I know, use the other companies whenever possible.
Next, while Lance is guilty as hell of doping and then adamantly lying for years about it, there were others involved on the team, including managers and trainiers and other riders, who profitted from the team, and from Lance's success, even if they themselves didn't dope. At a minimum, they knew it was going on and said nothing at the time. Of course they came out later, and "confessed". In many ways they are no better than Armstrong, except that they didn't hide behind a large charitibale foundation while unethically extolling their innocence. Shouldn't they all give back their money too?
Personnally, I hope Armstrong confesses, and it backfires on him, and all athletic sanctioning organizations everywhere ban him from competing in anything and everything, and public opinion of him falls faster than ever. I'm not sure if a bigger cheater ever existed. Then just let poor little Lance slither away to the Hill Country in Texas and live out his miserable existence in silence. Please.
What's even more pathetic, is that they'll be book deals and movie deals for Lance, because our sick society can't wait to read about, and watch on TV, the trainwreck that is Lance Armstrong.
There's probably a reality TV show in the worls right now - Lance would be a great choice for another trashy TV show.
And I can hear his "confession" now - "I only cheated because everyone else was doing it!"
Whhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
To all of the bad things that he admitted to he is still one of the best cyclist in the World, I as an ex cyclist admire him for his abilities . Did any of the other people making comments ever try racing on a bicycle for 2800 miles in 28 days averaging 40 miles an hour on the flats and 20 MPH. in the mountains??
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