Lance Armstrong settles lawsuit for $5 million

Cyclist Lance Armstrong agreed to pay the United States government $5 million to settle a lawsuit filed over his use of performance-enhancing drugs while the U.S. Postal Service sponsored him, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. Armstrong’s former teammate Floyd Landis filed the lawsuit against him before the government joined in 2013. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in 2012 stripped Armstrong of his Tour de France titles after receiving sworn testimony from Landis and other teammates confirming Armstrong used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). The U.S. Postal Service was already sponsoring the team when Armstrong won his first Tour de France in 1999. The team took in $32 million in sponsorship fees from the Postal Service between 2000 and 2004. The government could have collected up to $100 million in “treble” damages under the lawsuit. “A competitor who intentionally uses illegal PEDs not only deceives fellow competitors and fans, but also sponsors, who help make the sporting competition possible,” said Chad Readler, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.