Lance Armstrong Still Willing To "Cooperate Fully" With Just About Any Governing Body But The USADA, Including One That Does Not Even Exist Yet

The deadline imposed by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for Lance Armstrong to "come clean under oath" and perhaps lessen his ban came and went today. Armstrong, through his attorney Tim Herman, released a statement reiterating his willingness to be "the first man through the door" to help clean up cycling, just so long as it's not to the USADA's building.

"We remain hopeful that an international effort will be mounted, and we will do everything we can to facilitate that result. In the meantime, for several reasons, Lance will not participate in USADA's efforts to selectively conduct American prosecutions that only demonize selected individuals while failing to address the 95% of the sport over which USADA has no jurisdiction."

At least one of those reasons is the dick-wagging contest he is engaged in with the USADA, which last saw Lance telling the anti-doping body's head, Travis Tygart, he would sooner race in unsanctioned races than bow to him. And now he's telling the USADA what it can do with itself because he's not wild about being singled out. You could see Armstrong mapping this out in the Oprah interview. He framed his doping as almost compulsory, a leveling of the playing field—he just happened to be the most famous and successful in the field—while also admitting that something needed to be done to clean up the sport that he was, admittedly, complicit in dirtying.

Problem is, you can't make the changes necessary through the rinky-dink USADA when cycling is a largely international sport with thousands of athletes that are neither Lance Armstrong nor American. So rather than sit by himself before the USADA, he's going to wait for the formation of some international tribunal so more cyclists, as many as possible, can come clean with him. To the benefit of the sport.

Lance Armstrong says no again to USADA [USA Today]