PARIS, March 2, 2013 – Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who has
already had his record seven Tour de France victories wiped from the record
books, could now be stripped of the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest honor.
Armstrong was awarded the title Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2005 in
recognition of his seventh Tour win, but moves are now afoot to have the
honour rescinded, according to a spokesman for the order.
In January, Armstrong, 41, admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used
performance-enhancing drugs during his record seven Tour de France
championships from 1999-2005.
He was stripped of all seven Tour titles last year after a devastating
report by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which accused the cyclist of
taking part in one of the biggest cheating operations in sports history.
An investigator from the council of the Legion d’Honneur is preparing a
report on whether to deprive Armstrong of the title in the wake of revelations
about his drug-tainted career, and he will have three months to present his
defense.
According to the order’s code, French citizens who are awarded the Legion
d’Honneur can be suspended or expelled after a conviction or “acts contrary to
the code of honor”.
And since 2010, foreign nationals, who do not officially become members of
the order, can also be stripped of the honor.
British couturier John Galliano, who was convicted and fined in 2011 for
racist insults, was stripped of his honor in August last year, having been
awarded the Legion d’Honneur in 2009.
Last month, the US government decided to join a doping lawsuit filed by one
of Armstrong’s former teammates alleging that the disgraced cycling champion
defrauded government sponsors.