By Arandeep Dhillon, George Garnham, Amaan Ashfaq, Ashley Ryan Morris-Williams.

How it started? On 24 th August Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong announced that he will no longer be fighting drug charges from the US anti-doping agency (USADA).

Media platform In the public sphere –spotlight on Lance. Legend?

Lance’s Lawyer the Masseur armstrong-lie-detector-usada armstrong-lie-detector-usada "I can tell you that many witnesses had contradictory stories to tell and Lance had incidentally over 600 fellow riders, team members, trainers, that sort of thing, in his career racing in Europe. Of those, I think 11 came forward, but many others would and have refuted [sic] many of the allegations.” Tim Herman

Bradley Wiggins’ View Image courtesy of telegraph.co.uk

Villains “Armstrong a fraud and frauds can't be heroes. Not now, not ever”. “Lance Armstrong is a creep. A liar, cheat and a bully. So awful is Armstrong, you are right to question whether all his work for cancer patients is not just calculated camouflage to protect his abuse of drugs, his competitors, teammates and supporters.” frauds-cant-be-heroes-not-now-not-ever/story-e6frg7uo frauds-cant-be-heroes-not-now-not-ever/story-e6frg7uo “The Lance Armstrong ‘witch hunt’ is over – and he’s a witch” hes-a-witch hes-a-witch-10122

Creating Hero’s Scott Mercier, the 44 year old Californian who quit the sport he loved. 1997, forced by team doctor ‘Pedro Celeya’ to take steroids. Rejected the insistence and consequently lost job contract. Media spin now has turned Mercier into the unlikely hero in the escapade. Stood up for himself against the illegal action and thus paid the highest price.

The “fall from grace” “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.” – USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) Stripped of his 7 hard fought Tour De France titles. "It's a massive strain on a sport which was trying to get a toehold here, against all the big corporate sports. Calling someone a ‘Lance’ is now a term of abuse" - Roddy Taylor of the LA club NightRiddaz. ‘LIESTRONG’

Easing Public Perception Open to lie-detector test “Lance had over 600 fellow riders, team members (and) trainers in his career racing in Europe. Of those, 11 came forward.” – Tim Herman (Armstrong Lawyer) Armstrong Twitter account: Slide show - top 15 things foundation has accomplished since it was founded, 15 years ago this month. Competed in 9th Annual Open-Water Lake Travis Relay in Austin, Texas on October 13th. TEAM SWIMSTRONG.Lake Travis Relay

Too big to fail? Fairytale Story In the fight against cancer, Lance Armstrong is a commodity that cannot be replaced: sold over 84 million yellow Livestrong wristbands Inspiration to 25 million cancer sufferers worldwide Raised more than $500 million to help their cause "He created a mission that will live long past him, and will survive whatever people choose to make of the events surrounding him. He has taken the message of survivorship to the world with a power that no one else possesses." - Dr. Leonard Lichtenfeld (American Cancer Society) Donations to the ‘Lance Armstrong Foundation’ spiked since announced he would no longer fight charges.

Backed by endorsers $15.3m from sponsors in 2011 net worth is estimated at $125m “Lance’s primary sponsors have been incredibly supportive and have remained supportive throughout. Brands are looking for an authentic endorser and at the end of the day they depend on the authenticity of the athlete.” - Bill Stapleton (Lance Armstrong’s agent) Nike Oakley Sunglasses Anheuser-Busch RadioShack