Expert Witnesses in the Armstrong Case: Are their Opinions Valid?

It’s been over three years since Lance Armstrong admitted to doping throughout his career, but the lawsuit between the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Armstrong continues. The main question that is still unresolved is whether or not the USPS actually suffered losses due to sponsoring Armstrong with more than $30 million between 1998 and 2004. If the USPS can prove they experienced losses due to sponsoring Armstrong and subsequently learning of Armstrong’s doping, then they will have strong evidence to win the case. On the other hand, if Armstrong can prove that the USPS didn’t experience any loss, he will have a better chance at winning the case. How is the dispute resolved? By hiring expert witnesses at $700 – 900 per hour.

New Detection Method Could Have Caught Lance Armstrong

There are several articles on Fraudbytes discussing doping in professional sports, but is there a way to stop doping? A recent article on road.cc discusses research that claims it could have caught Lance Armstrong. The current methods for detecting drugs in an athlete’s system are extremely sophisticated (i.e., if there was a drop of drugs in an Olympic sized pool, they would detect that drop). However, they are only able to detect the drug if it was used in the last 48 hours. According to Yannis Pitsiladis, a professor of sport and exercise science with a particular interest in genetics, his new method can detect if the athlete has doped in the past several months and, potentially, even years.

Doping and Match Fixing: Has Tennis Crossed the Line?

News of professional tennis player Maria Sharapova failing a drug test at the Australian Open has spread rapidly, especially since tennis is generally considered a more sophisticated sport, and people don’t usually think of tennis players when they think about athletes that are doping (see the video below of the press conference where Sharapova made the announcement). While Sharapova says that the drug she was taking was a medicine given to her for health reasons that was only just recently banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), she still takes responsibility for taking it after it became a banned substance. Additionally, this situation has brought to light other instances of potential fraud in professional tennis, including doping and fixing matches.

Industries that Rely on the Illusion of Causality

I've been intrigued (and somewhat disgusted) by industries that sell worthless products to people who desperately want to find a cure for some condition in their life. These types of products are rampant in the multi-level-marketing industry (see our other posts on MLMs) but also can be found in the nutritional supplement industry. Often, amazing, too-good-to-be-true claims are made because the government doesn't regulate these industries or they make their outrageous claims off the record in private conversations, etc. Well, psychologists have a name for the illusion that these industries rely on. Read on to see what I'm talking about...

Competitive Sports Leads to Academic Fraud at UNC

A report was recently released with findings of an investigation on academic fraud at the University of North Carolina. The report states that an office administrator, Deborah Crowder, established fake classes where students weren’t expected to do anything except submit a paper. The classes became known as “paper classes.” The investigative report revealed that “when Crowder graded the papers, she did so generously – typically with A’s or high B’s – and largely without regard to the quality of the papers.” A majority of the students enrolled in the “class” were student athletes (mainly football and basketball players) who needed a good grade to remain eligible to compete in their respective sport. Just like the frauds we have seen in cycling, competitive sports seems to have yet again created the perfect environment for fraud to occur, and it wasn’t just one person who knew about it.

Lance Armstrong Investigation: Criminal Charges May Be in the Works

According to CBS News, federal investigators are considering criminal charges against Lance Armstrong. The main charges being considered are obstruction of justice, intimidation and witness tampering. I'd say intimidation is his specialty but the others are right up his alley too.

This investigation comes after the original criminal investigation was suddenly dropped a year ago by the now, infamous, Andre Birotte. Birotte had a few words about his investigation saying that he basically stands by his decision to drop it.

Here are some excerpts from CBS News:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: Another Victim

I had no idea about this latest victim, Gary Osgood, who suffered from the Lance Armstrong saga.. Read about him on ONN.

Lance Armstrong Investigation: Words of Wisdom from Betsy Andreu

Photo from Bicycling.com

If you have any interest in fraud, truth and ethics, you have to read this short interview of Betsy Andreu in Bicycling Magazine. If you are a cyclist and have interest in fraud, truth and ethics, this interview is a gem!
Betsy and Frankie Andreu have paid a huge personal price, in terms of the economics of this world, for fearlessly telling the truth. Here are a few of the more profound quotes...

Olympic Cheaters Should Lose Their Medals

Photo of Cameron van der Burgh from Supersport.com

I mean, it seems only logical to me to take away someone's gold medal if they have been caught cheating and even admit to it. Cameron van der Burgh intentionally broke the rules of his swimming competition. He admits to breaking them. Case closed!

However, it looks like Mr. van der Burgh may keep his gold even though it's being reported that he admits that he cheated to get it. Here's what NBC.com has to say:

Lance Armstrong Investigation: More to the Story

Several news outlets (including NPR, VeloNation and CyclingNews) are reporting that the decision to drop the criminal charges against Lance Armstrong came as a big surprise to several federal agencies that were working on the case. The word is that the other agencies believed they had a solid case against Lance. You have to wonder what motivated the individual at the US Attorney's Office who allegedly made this decision on his own, Andre Birotte, to take this action. Was Birotte given a donation like the UCI received a donation?! Here are some quotes to consider: