Will Lance Armstrong confess to Oprah?
| Los Angeles
Lance聽Armstrong聽has agreed to a tell-all interview with聽Oprah聽Winfrey where he will address allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career.
According to a release posted on聽Oprah's聽website on Tuesday, it's the first interview with聽Armstrong聽since his athletic career crumbled under the weight of a massive report by USADA detailing allegations of drug use by the famous cyclist and teammates on his U.S. Postal Service teams.
It's unclear if the interview at聽Armstrong's聽home in Austin, Texas, has already been taped. Nicole Nichols, a spokeswoman for聽Oprah聽Winfrey Network & Harpo Studios, declined comment.
The show will air at 9 p.m. EST on Jan. 17 on OWN and Oprah.com.
Armstrong聽has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, but The New York Times reported Friday he has told associates he is considering admitting the use of PEDS.
The newspaper report cited anonymous sources, and聽Armstrong聽attorney Tim Herman told The Associated Press that night that he had no knowledge of聽Armstrong聽considering a confession.
Earlier Tuesday, "60 Minutes Sports" reported the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency told the show a representative for聽Armstrong聽offered the agency a "donation" in excess of $150,000 several years before an investigation by the organization led to the loss of聽Armstrong's聽Tour de France titles.
In an interview for the premiere airing on Showtime on Wednesday night, USADA CEO Travis Tygart said he was "stunned" when he received the offer in 2004.
"It was a clear conflict of interest for USADA," Tygart said. "We had no hesitation in rejecting that offer."
Herman denied such an offer was made.
"No truth to that story," Herman wrote Tuesday in an email to the AP. "First聽Lance聽heard of it was today. He never made any such contribution or suggestion."
Tygart was traveling and did not respond to requests from the AP for comment. USADA spokeswoman Annie Skinner said Tygart's comments from the interview were accurate. In it, he reiterates what he told the AP last fall: That he was surprised when federal investigators abruptly shut down their two-year probe into聽Armstrongand his business dealings, then refused to share any of the evidence they had gathered.
"You'll have to ask the feds why they shut down," Tygart told the AP. "They enforce federal criminal laws. We enforce sports anti-doping violations. They're totally separate. We've done our job."
