Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong issued a letter Tuesday to CBS News Chairman Jeffrey Fager demanding an on-air apology that admits the media organization erred in airing a “60 Minutes” program that characterized Armstrong as a drug cheat who had covered up failed drug tests. The “60 Minutes” report, which aired on May 22, relied heavily on the testimony of former Armstrong cycling teammate Tyler Hamilton, who said Armstrong told him he’d failed a drug test at the 2001 Tour de Suisse and that it was covered up by Armstrong and officials with the International Cycling Union. Hamilton, who has twice been suspended from cycling for using banned substances, also said he saw Armstrong use and receive performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong did not participate in the “60 Minutes” segment, and yesterday his representatives called the report a “demonstrable falsehood that you recklessly presented, and then bolstered with other untrue assertions and facts taken out of context.”