‘60 Minutes’ report: Armstrong, US Postal leaders encouraged riders to take part in doping

This is a story that will not go away. It seems like every time it dies down, another person comes out. To his credit Lance Armstrong has not waivered in his convictions. But, can so many people be wrong?

Lance Armstrong’s former teammate, Tyler Hamilton, says Armstrong and other team leaders encouraged, promoted and took part in a doping program in an effort to win the Tour de France in 1999 and beyond, according to a report aired Sunday night on “60 Minutes.”

Hamilton said he saw Armstrong take performance-enhancing drugs, EPO and testosterone and also saw him receive a banned blood transfusion in 2000.

“I feel bad that I had to go here and do this,” Hamilton said in his first public admission of doping throughout his career. “But I think at end of the day, like I said, long-term, the sport’s going to be better for it.”

In the interview, portions of which were aired Thursday and Friday on “CBS Evening News,” Hamilton revealed other observations about the U.S. Postal team operation:

—Team leaders, including doctors and managers, encouraged and supervised doping;

—Doping was going on inside the U.S. Postal team even before Armstrong joined in 1998;

—Performance-enhancing drugs, including EPO and human growth hormone, were handed out to cyclists in white lunch bags;

—Team members were met at the airport, driven to hotels, told to lie down and give blood that could be transfused back into their bodies at a later date.

Armstrong long has denied doping and has never tested positive.

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