Cancer charity affected by Armstrong doping scandal
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Lance Armstrong happiest when surrounded by his adoring fans and pushing his Livestrong foundation.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Oprah Winfrey's interview with Lance Armstrong will air this week(Image credit: AFP Photo)
The consequences of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal continue, as the Livestrong Foundation, the cancer charity he founded, is suffering from the case.
“It's been a difficult year,” Livestrong president Andy Miller told the group's annual convention last week, according to the Reuters news agency. The scandal has created “headwinds that were not only stiff but heartbreaking,” although he also said that the foundation is “bigger than its founder.”
“We were deeply disappointed when we learned along with the rest of the world that we had been misled," Miller admitted.
Armstrong established the Livestrong Foundation in 1997 after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He resigned from the Board of Directors last fall, after the details of his doping usage had been made public and he had received a lifetime ban from cycling.
Miller remained optimistic, though. “Will the Livestrong Foundation survive? Yes. Absolutely yes. Hell yes. Our work is too meaningful, our role too unique, the need too great to stand for any other answer."
The affair has also not financially hurt the group. “We ended 2012 with an impressive revenue number, exactly in line with our peers in the philanthropic community despite a tough economic environment," Miller said.
