Tufts Rescinds Lance Armstrong's Honorary Doctorate
MEDFORD (CBS) - Tufts University's Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to rescind an honorary degree given to Lance Armstrong, the school confirmed on Wednesday.
"At a regularly scheduled board meeting earlier this month, the Tufts Board of Trustees unanimously voted to rescind the honorary degree awarded to Lance Armstrong at Commencement in 2006," Tufts Director of Public Relations Kimberly Thurler said in a statement. "While continuing to respect the significant work of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the board concluded that, in the wake of the recent report of the United States Anti-Doping Agency and its acceptance by the International Cycling Union, Mr. Armstrong's actions as an athlete are inconsistent with the values of the University."
Armstrong was stripped recently of his seven Tour de France titles after dropping his appeal against those doping charges. He also lost endorsement deals with Nike and Anheuser-Busch, and resigned from the board of the Livestrong Foundation.
The USADA report said Armstrong and his teams used steroids, the blood booster EPO and blood transfusions. A report on those charges included statements from 11 former teammates who testified against Armstrong.
Armstrong has repeatedly denied doping, pointing to hundreds of passed drug tests. But he chose not to fight USADA in one of the agency's arbitration hearings, saying the process was biased against him.
