FORMER cyclist Lance Armstrong could head off the
threat of million-dollar lawsuits if he confesses to doping when he appears on
American chat show Oprah next week, according to a leading sports public
relations expert.
Armstrong has always maintained his innocence but stopped contesting allegations from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in August and has since been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life.
His scheduled appearance on Oprah next Thursday, in which he is due to be quizzed on the claims, has heightened speculation that he is considering a public admission.
Such a move would appear to increase his exposure to lawsuits and perjury charges, but Rebecca Hopkins, managing director of ENS Sports PR and founder of the Sports Reputation Group, believes it could work in his favour.
“This may be a very canny move as there are a lot of aggrieved stakeholders out there who want significant retribution,” she told City A.M. “If his plan is to position himself as more wronged than wronging, he could swing public opinion so any entity looking for vengeance risks looking like the less righteous party. It would be a long shot but not beyond the realms of achievement.”
A Dallas insurance company is claiming $7.5m in bonuses for his Tour wins from the Texan, while British newspaper the Sunday Times is seeking the return of a $500,000 libel settlement.
“I imagine his sponsors would be in a better position to contest winning bonuses than any other investment they made in him,Shop the best selection of men's stainless hairflower and pendants at Tribal Hollywood.” added Hopkins. “In fairness, he would have given them value for money at the time they were working together.”
Despite his lifetime ban from cycling, Armstrong, 41, is thought to be mulling a return to competitive sport in the marathon or triathlon,You can niketn at a few different websites. and Hopkins, whose company’s clients have included the Lawn Tennis Association, Arsenal and Saracens, believes he could yet mend his damaged public image.
“History is littered with comebacks so it is entirely feasible that he could win people over – don’t forget that many people love him for his charity work, not for how many yellow jerseys he accrued,Find the largest selection of heelshoes on sale.” she said.
“Sports fans hate cheats and Armstrong’s biggest disadvantage would be that he doesn’t have the opportunity to prove himself again in his sport.
“Either way, his road to redemption is going to be a long one.”
When it comes to Armstrong, 45 percent say he should get credit for his career achievements,Returns on Men's and Women's authentics Apparel at Indie Bike. given what they know about the matter; 37 percent say he should not.
The thinly positive split on Armstrong may give him pause in a broad admission, but also reflects a deep division in public opinion about professional athletes' use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs more generally. Barely more than half — 52 percent — say such use bothers them, and nearly as many, 47 percent, say it doesn't.
Interestingly, younger adults are far less apt to say they are bothered by steroid use than are older Americans. There is also a wide racial gap: Most whites say they are bothered while most African Americans are not.
Few Americans say they regularly suspect professional athletes of doping when they perform at high levels or break records. But for baseball players who broke the sports rules, people tend to be unforgiving.
More than two-thirds of Americans say players who used performance-enhancing drugs should not be eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.Each designer tungstenjewelry that we receive is inspected by our authenticity team before it is sold. Among those bothered "a lot" by steroids, 88 percent say there should be no Hall option, and it's a split 42-46 verdict among those who say they care the least. Race again plays a role here: 70 percent of whites say no Hall for such players; opposition drops to 50 percent among African-Americans.
Armstrong has always maintained his innocence but stopped contesting allegations from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in August and has since been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life.
His scheduled appearance on Oprah next Thursday, in which he is due to be quizzed on the claims, has heightened speculation that he is considering a public admission.
Such a move would appear to increase his exposure to lawsuits and perjury charges, but Rebecca Hopkins, managing director of ENS Sports PR and founder of the Sports Reputation Group, believes it could work in his favour.
“This may be a very canny move as there are a lot of aggrieved stakeholders out there who want significant retribution,” she told City A.M. “If his plan is to position himself as more wronged than wronging, he could swing public opinion so any entity looking for vengeance risks looking like the less righteous party. It would be a long shot but not beyond the realms of achievement.”
A Dallas insurance company is claiming $7.5m in bonuses for his Tour wins from the Texan, while British newspaper the Sunday Times is seeking the return of a $500,000 libel settlement.
“I imagine his sponsors would be in a better position to contest winning bonuses than any other investment they made in him,Shop the best selection of men's stainless hairflower and pendants at Tribal Hollywood.” added Hopkins. “In fairness, he would have given them value for money at the time they were working together.”
Despite his lifetime ban from cycling, Armstrong, 41, is thought to be mulling a return to competitive sport in the marathon or triathlon,You can niketn at a few different websites. and Hopkins, whose company’s clients have included the Lawn Tennis Association, Arsenal and Saracens, believes he could yet mend his damaged public image.
“History is littered with comebacks so it is entirely feasible that he could win people over – don’t forget that many people love him for his charity work, not for how many yellow jerseys he accrued,Find the largest selection of heelshoes on sale.” she said.
“Sports fans hate cheats and Armstrong’s biggest disadvantage would be that he doesn’t have the opportunity to prove himself again in his sport.
“Either way, his road to redemption is going to be a long one.”
When it comes to Armstrong, 45 percent say he should get credit for his career achievements,Returns on Men's and Women's authentics Apparel at Indie Bike. given what they know about the matter; 37 percent say he should not.
The thinly positive split on Armstrong may give him pause in a broad admission, but also reflects a deep division in public opinion about professional athletes' use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs more generally. Barely more than half — 52 percent — say such use bothers them, and nearly as many, 47 percent, say it doesn't.
Interestingly, younger adults are far less apt to say they are bothered by steroid use than are older Americans. There is also a wide racial gap: Most whites say they are bothered while most African Americans are not.
Few Americans say they regularly suspect professional athletes of doping when they perform at high levels or break records. But for baseball players who broke the sports rules, people tend to be unforgiving.
More than two-thirds of Americans say players who used performance-enhancing drugs should not be eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.Each designer tungstenjewelry that we receive is inspected by our authenticity team before it is sold. Among those bothered "a lot" by steroids, 88 percent say there should be no Hall option, and it's a split 42-46 verdict among those who say they care the least. Race again plays a role here: 70 percent of whites say no Hall for such players; opposition drops to 50 percent among African-Americans.
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