2008 Woodie Awards
Possible Conflict of Interest in Lance Armstrong Tour Doping Scandel
Armstrong accuses ASO and L'Equipe Tour de France of conflict of interest.
Philip Hersh/chicago tribune
Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: Sports
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"My question is how ASO can own the paper and the race,'' said Armstrong, referring to Amaury Sport Organization. It owns the newspaper in question, L'Equipe, and the Societe du Tour de France, which manages the race.
The possibility of conflict of interest, of course, is implied, even if that apparently never bothered Armstrong until the Aug. 23 L'Equipe stories alleging six of his urine samples at the '99 Tour had been found to contain erythropoietin (EPO) after being thawed and retested.
Any perception of conflict involving the French entities pales in comparison to the appearances of conflict of interest involving Armstrong and three of the USA Cycling officials who have rushed to his defense. In both cases, though, perception does not necessarily mean reality.
First, the ASO-L'Equipe-Tour de France issue. It is no different from the relationship among Tribune Co., the Chicago Tribune and the Cubs.
Certainly, all of us who write for the Tribune about the Cubs or Wrigley Field or the ownership of other teams wish the Cubs and their ballpark were not owned by our parent, Tribune Co. But there is no changing reality, which is disclosed frequently in these pages. It becomes an issue only if Tribune Co. appears to be trying to influence the writing.
Former Chicago Tribune Editor Jim Squires claimed that had happened. In his 1993 book "Read All About it! The Corporate Takeover of America's Newspapers,'' Squires said former Tribune Co. top management complained weekly about the "tone'' of coverage, though Squires said he paid no heed to the complaints.
Anyone who read my Tribune colleague Rick Morrissey's verbal bulldozing of Wrigley Field during the falling-concrete controversy last season_a column that began, "Wrigley Field is a dump'' _ would find it unlikely such attempts at influence were having an impact, if any still are being made.
The nexus of overlapping interests in the U.S. cycling federation related to Armstrong , which are outlined in the Sept. 7 issue of a San Francisco publication, SF Weekly, seem equally troubling on their face.