Lance Armstrong Steps Down

Lance Armstrong resigned as chairman of the Livestrong Foundation on Wednesday. In his statement, Armstrong indicates that he is giving up his position as chairman due to the controversy around the doping charges brought on him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Armstrong believes that stepping down is his best decision. His goal is to take the focus of the foundation away from his personal situation, and instead to focus on what benefits the cancer community. People seem to have mixed reactions to Armstrong’s resignation. Some are arguing that Armstrong is not trustworthy; therefore people should no longer give him or his organization any support, even though he has stepped down.

"The whole thing is founded on a lie,” said Michael Birdsong, a Livestrong donor, to CNN.com. “The guy cheated and he forced other people to cheat. I would like my money back. We donated under false pretenses.”

Others are saying that Armstrong made a wise business choice by stepping down, because although the work he has done has benefited many, this scandal is taking away from the organization’s reputation.

"I have little concern with him stepping down,” said Stephen Nathan, 31, of New York. “I've been conditioned to believe the organization does great things and has inspired a lot of people. If that's the case, I see no reason for it to stop based upon a vendetta the media would like the public to have for Lance Armstrong potentially using performance-enhancing drugs. The reality is both the bicycles and the drugs are steeped in technological enhancements for the athletes so I see no difference in either being used."

These people are also saying regardless of whether he doped, that it is still important to support Livestrong and recognize Armstrong’s contributions to the cancer community.

"If Lance doped, that certainly takes away from his athletic wins," said Bob Kile, a 65-year-old throat cancer survivor, to CNN.com. "However, to survive what he did and come back at all is impressive. To come back and create good like he did with Livestrong is even better."

Since it was founded in 1996, the Livestrong Foundation has helped millions of people impacted by cancer by supporting cancer research and providing cancer support. The question is, should the issues of its founder be a reason for people and companies to stop supporting the Livestrong Foundation?