LIVESTRONG

LIVESTRONG

Final Paper
Jake Linsangan
Strategic Management

LIVESTRONG: Withstanding the Storm
Lance Armstrong was an athlete known in the field of cycling throughout the world. In 1996, Armstrong's professional cycling career was threatened by illness when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had spread to his lungs, abdomen, and brain. He was subjected to life-saving operation to remove the brain tumors, and a testicle. In February 1997, the cyclist was declared cancer free. He bagged his first Tour de France (TdF) win in 1999 and recorded seven consecutive wins until 2005 (Pearce II & Robinson Jr., 2015).
In 1997, the cancer survivor founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation, known today as LIVESTRONG, to assist and support people with cancer. At first, the foundation's focus was on medical resources for cancer patients but shifted its focus in 1999 to the area of survivorship: “programs and services intended to ease the personal as well as practical hardships that come with cancer.” This move was triggered after the leadership realized that people contacting LIVESTRONG were interested to share their stories and get emotional support (Pearce II & Robinson Jr., 2015).

Strategic Issues
The Doping Allegations
Doping accusations started plaguing Armstrong since his first TdF win in 1999. The controversy broke out when a French laboratory test discovered traces of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in his urine. In 2004, a book was released in French language containing reported incidents about the doping activities by Armstrong. The controversy continued the next year when his former personal assistant Mike Anderson stated in public that he had found PEDs in Armstrong's bathroom. In 2006, former teammate Frankie Andree and his spouse claimed in a French newspaper article that Armstrong had confessed to them, a decade ago, that he had used PEDs. In 2010, Floyd Landis, whose 2006 TdF title had been stripped after being tested positive for PEDs, admitted to...