We wouldn’t like to be in Lance Armstrong’s shoes right now.
Lance Armstrong isn’t having a very good time of it at the moment.
Sure it’s been a couple of years since his world caved in around him when it was revealed that he orchestrated the most sophisticated doping programme in the history of sport, but it hasn’t gotten any easier since.
Today, Armstrong was ordered to pay the eye-watering sum of $10 million to SCA Promotions. That’s right, $10 million.
SCA sought compensation for bonuses worth in the region of $12million paid to Armstrong in the peak years of his career when he won seven Tour de France titles and was successful enough to earn such lucrative bonuses.
When the level of Armstrong’s doping was exposed, SCA Promotions went about getting their money back and today’s settlement brings to an end a legal battle that has lasted for over a decade.
It began when Armstrong took action against SCA for withholding a bonus due for his Tour de France win in 2004, which they did so because of a suspicion that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs.
A three-man arbitration panel in Texas ruled 2-1 in favour of SCA today and ordered Armstrong to pay the company $10 million, which is believed to be the largest award of sanctions assessed against an individual in American judicial history.
That’s gotta hurt.
