When was livestrong made

Armstrong declined through a manager to comment. In the spirit of that noble decision, the foundation has to make appropriate changes as well. The retired cyclist has always denied he took banned substances during his career but decided not to challenge the USADA charges against him. She soon found the twice-weekly class doubled as a cancer support group.

The foundation is smaller, but the programs at the core of its mission continue, he said. The nonprofit group continues to fund its nationwide YMCA program, the Livestrong Cancer Navigation program, to help patients like Myers grapple with practical, physical and emotional concerns after their diagnoses. They can ride it out. It's the risk of being so closely associated with an individual. But on the good side, it never would have been such a big charity if it had not been for Lance's celebrity," he said.

Founded in by Armstrong, a Dallas area native and survivor of testicular cancer, the foundation followed the cyclist's ascent as he won seven consecutive Tour de France titles. Its staff has dropped over the past five years from to about In , the U. The list includes navigating the health insurance maze, financial aid, preserving fertility and getting counseling for children.

Kinney went to Livestrong to help him get counseling for his year-old son and 8-year-old daughter. I see it as two distinct things. Aaron and Lee said they admired what Armstrong did for the foundation but added there had been no discussions or plans to bring him back. Aaron, the chairwoman, said the foundation turned to Lee to run the foundation because he was a known quantity with its stakeholders and because, she said, the foundation needed somebody who could get things done.

Citing subpar sales, Nike, the global sportswear giant, ended its Livestrong merchandise line in Despite having to downsize, the foundation has scored several significant victories in the post-Armstrong era. Equipment branded Livestrong, the charity Armstrong founded, makes up more than 50 percent of its treadmill and elliptical sales. And that's how one man — even one of the great cancer survival stories in American celebrity history — can put olive oil in his veins for personal gain, deny the whole thing, come clean, and ruin one of the most inspiring charity-retail partnerships on the planet.

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