The U.S. Postal Service is getting plenty of free media exposure today, but probably not the kind USPS execs were hoping for when they ponied up big bucks years ago to be a primary sponsor of cyclist Lance Armstrong’s team.
Instead, this is how the organization appears in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s statement on the results of its investigation into Armstrong’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs: “The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”
That should sell a lot of stamps.
Of course, there’s no indication that the Postal Service itself had any role in the alleged doping (and please, hold the jokes about speedier delivery), but, as the sponsor, the mail carrier’s name turns up dozens of times in the anti-doping agency’s 202-page report.
USPS spokeswoman Patricia Licata had no comment on the findings. While the Postal Service sponsored the team from 1996 to 2004, officials could not confirm how much was spent “because it was so long ago,” she said in an email. The total was substantial, however, according to contract documents posted online.
A 2003 contract modification, for example, pegged the amount at $31.8 million, but leaves unclear the duration of the agreement.
Postal pooh-bahs may have gotten something out of the deal, too. Another document says that Tailwind Cycling would provide “a complete hospitality package for selected guests of the sponsor at the Tour de France.”
The package would include lodging and meals, as well as transportation in Paris, the document said. Tailwind also agreed to “customize the VIP package for postal officials attending and will bill back those charges to the United States Postal Service for their respective lodging, meals, transportation and other related charges.”
Nice, n’est-ce pas?
[This post has been updated]
3 Comments
Gee I mean what could have gone wrong. The Postal Service, with branches only in the U.S.,sponsors a team which mostly races in Europe, where there are no U.S.post offices. The only reason the sponsorship was open was because no intelligent company would take it. But the two women(both of whom got their jobs on merit to be sure) who suggested it got lots of publicity and major bonuses. And all the officials who went to France will never be accountable for their junket. Guarentee they brought their little postal girlfriends and not their wives. Business as usual.
Why and how did USPS ever sponsor this team in the first place? Why was a government agency allowed to spend money in this way? How is this providing service to US taxpayers? For years, I’ve wondered about the legality of this issue.
Lick’um and stick’um!