Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
On Monday, former champion cyclist Lance Armstrong apologized to staff of Live Strong, the cancer foundation he founded, the same day Oprah Winfrey is scheduled to interview him.
Although he made no mention of doping, many insiders claim that the Winfrey interview, scheduled to air on Thursday, will be his first admission of doping. Winfrey gave a sneak preview to Charlie Rose on CBS This Morning.
The United States Anti Doping Agency has accused Armstrong of being the enforcer of a organized, professional doping conspiracy, but the extent of Armstrong's confession is not yet known.
Travis Tygart, head of the anti-doping agency, recently told CBS's Scott Pelley that during the course of his investigation, many of the riders they spoke with had been threatened. But Tygart is just one of many people whose lives have been affected by Lance Armstrong's steroid use.
Mike Anderson is another. For years, he worked as Armstrong's personal assistant, taking care of everything from bike repair to assembling christmas presents for Armstrong's kids. The two eventually had a falling out over a number of issues, including Anderson's suspicions about performance enhancing drugs.
Anderson claims that Lance Armstrong had such a devastating effect on his career that he had to leave the U.S. in order to make a living in the cycling industry. He moved to Wellington, New Zealand, which is where we reached him earlier.