Lance Armstrong Sued for Fraud Over His Memoirs

Two California men have filed a class-action lawsuit against Lance Armstrong and his book publishers, claiming they were deceived by the cyclist’s memoirs, which were billed as non-fiction but recently revealed to be filled with lies, Yahoo! News reported. 

In the books, Armstrong denied doping accusations, but during a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, the cyclist admitted to using banned performance-enhancing drugs to win a record seven Tour de France titles, which he has since been stripped of, LA Times reported. 

Patch recently asked readers Does Lance Armstrong’s Doping Confession Change Your Opinion of Him?

Bad Role Model

The majority of readers said Armstrong’s confession didn’t change their opinions of him because they already knew he was a liar. 

Faleen Fedol wrote on Facebook, "Did it change my opinion of him? No, I realized he was a lying sleaze long ago." 

“I’ve known Armstrong was a doper for many years. When the top riders Armstrong was beating were exposed as dopers, it was clear way back then he was better at doping than all the rest,” Patch reader Peter Lucas wrote. “He was also a bully. He used his legal team to intimidate whoever dared accuse him of doping and his publicist to smear his accusers as low lives, he owes them all a huge apology.”  

One reader says Armstrong is a bad role model for children. 

"Arrogant, greedy, selfish, dishonest, a terrible role model for our youth who looked up to him and wore his rubber bracelet! He lied and cheated to get what he wanted. No he does not have my forgiveness for destroying the beliefs so many had of him," Elena Zaremski wrote on Facebook. 

Livestrong's Legacy

Armstrong established the Livestrong Foundation to help cancer survivors and fund cancer research but has since been forced to resign from it. 

One reader says regardless of Armstrong’s actions, Livestrong has done amazing work for the cancer community. 

“The bracelets are representative of a global charity that has done amazing things for millions of people. I chose to look at that legacy,” Patch reader Matthew Newman wrote. “Regardless of what you think of the man, his positive impact on the broader cancer community in undeniable. To my recollection Berry Bonds, and Tiger didn't start and run global charities.” 

For one reader, Armstrong’s charity work also felt like a lie. “Yes, the Livestrong foundation has done great things, but as a person Armstrong used his story of not just beating cancer, but going on to become the best cyclist ever to inspire cancer patients and their families to fight through the adversity of the disease, a disease that is relentless BTW. My spouse and I were two of those people,” Patch reader Peter Lucas wrote. “As the survivor, I feel cheated by Armstrong's lie.”