LONDON -- Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has called on the International Olympic Committee to take disciplinary action against Dick Pound, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
In an eight-page letter sent to IOC president Jacques Rogge and published on Armstrong's official supporters' Web site (thepaceline.com), the 34-year-old Texan on Sunday accused Pound of violating IOC rules by his conduct during the independent investigation into allegations last August of doping against
Armstrong by French newspaper L'Equipe.
Armstrong was cleared in May. Lawyer Emile Vrijman, who led the investigation, said WADA and the French national doping laboratory had effectively pronounced Armstrong guilty of a doping violation without sufficient basis.
"If the rules of the Olympic movement are to have any meaning at all, they must be enforced, not just against athletes, but against sports officials and anti-doping officials when they violate the rules," an opening statement to the letter by Armstrong read.
"The facts revealed in the independent investigator's report show a pattern of intentional misconduct by WADA officials designed to attack anyone who challenges them, followed by a cover-up to conceal their wrongdoing.
"This conduct by Pound is just the latest in a long history of ethical transgressions and violations of athletes' rights."
"It is now time for the IOC to enforce the rules, to bring closure, and to take action against all of those who were responsible for this unfortunate incident.
"Athletes and fans of sport should not support a system that does not apply the rules in the same manner to high-ranking officials as those rules are applied to athletes and everyone else involved in the Olympic movement."
Armstrong hopes the IOC will take action against Pound during their Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, scheduled for June 21-23.
"The IOC has received the letter, and it is very likely it will
be discussed during the executive board meetings," IOC spokeswoman
Giselle Davies said Monday.
Pound, reached Monday by The Associated Press in Lausanne, said
he hasn't seen a copy of Armstrong's letter.
"I have no idea what he has in mind, it's somewhat
surprising," Pound said. "The real story is he should be
complaining to what happened in L'Equipe ... not picking on me."
Pound said the issue "doesn't even seem to be an IOC thing. ...
This is a matter to be resolved between the UCI [cycling's
governing body] and WADA."
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.