Judge Throws Out Lance Armstrong Lawsuit To Block Doping Charges

Less than a day after it was filed, a judge has thrown out a lawsuit by Lance Armstrong intended to block the doping charges against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Yahoo News reports that, while the federal judge dismissed the suit filed by the seven-time Tour de France champion, he stated that the cyclist may refile it in 20 days.

The suit was filed against the USADA on Monday, hoping that it would prevent them from moving forward with charges saying that he used performance-enhancing drugs through most of his career.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled to throw out the suit only hours later. Sparks also criticized Armstrong’s attorneys for filing the 80-page complaint that the judge believes was more intended to whip up public opinion for his case rather than focusing on the legal argument.

The Seattle Times reports that Sparks stated that the court had no other choice by to presume that the lengthy list of allegations “were included solely to increase media coverage of this case, and to incite public opinion against” the USADA, as well as Travis Tygart, the agency’s chief executive, who is also a defendant. Sparks went on to say that:

“This Court is not inclined to indulge Armstrong’s desire for publicity, self-aggrandizement or vilification of Defendants, by sifting through eighty mostly unnecessary pages in search of the few kernels of factual material relevant to his claims.”

Yahoo News notes that Lance Armstrong was hoping that Sparks would rule in his favor by Saturday, which is his deadline to either accept sanctions from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, or go to arbitration.

Do you think that Lance Armstrong’s suit was to stir up publicity against the USADA?