Lance Armstrong is considering admitting that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions during his cycling career, The New York Times reports. The Times says Armstrong “has told associates and antidoping officials that he is considering publicly admitting that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions during his cycling career.”

Armstrong’s interest in being able to compete in US Anti-Doping Association-sanctioned sporting events is the motivating factor behind his consideration, the report states.

Armstrong was the most decorated cyclist of all time. He was stripped by USADA in August of his record seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life because of overwhelming evidence that he cheated. The lifetime ban also prevented him from competing in running and triathlon events in which he hoped to participate.

Armstrong vehemently fought all cheating accusations he faced. He notoriously battled with the French press during his career following accusations of PED usage and failed drug tests made against him by two separate French newspapers. A published book and several former teammates have accused Armstrong of not only using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, but also demanding his teammates use them too.

Many considered Armstrong’s decision not to fight the mounting allegations and evidence against him compiled by USADA an admission of guilt. If this report is true, the public may finally get a true admission of guilt from Armstrong.

The Times says there are a few factors that could impede the admission. There is a federal lawsuit Armstrong and several other former members of the US Postal Service-sponsored riding team are facing. Their contract with the USPS forbade them from doping, so an admission from Armstrong would hurt their case. Armstrong also reportedly has been in discussion with a top USADA executive about lessening his punishments from the organization.

Armstrong was forced to distance himself from the famous Livestrong Foundation, a cancer awareness organization he started, after the drug allegations against him mounted. There reportedly is pressure from Livestrong supporters who are urging him to finally come clean.

Remember the days when you could become arm-strong just on natural ability and work ethic? Well, those times are apparently as antiquated as using elbow grease and whipping out the old Thomas Guide to find your way somewhere. (Yes, boys and girls: the iPhone is a relatively new phenomenon.) Lance Armstrong has become the latest athlete to see his legacy crushed by allegations of cheating writ large.

Last week was the culmination of eight years of accusations against the renowned cyclist, after Lance decided to avoid arbitration with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), leading the agency to issue a lifetime ban and stripping the seven-time Tour de France winner of every accolade and title he achieved in the sport. Therefore, if this decision holds up, in the annals of official cycling history — must be a pretty short read these days — many of Armstrong’s accomplishments never happened.

Technically, Lance’s decision does not constitute an admission to the doping charges but it does yield a public indictment. Consider the fact that, if the USADA sentence holds up — to wipe out all the records in his career from the chosen date of August 1, 1998 on — pretty much the only thing that would be of note on the books is the world championship he won in 1993: a date that is significant now only to him and various members of the Funky Bunch.

While Armstrong remains steadfast that he is innocent and refuses to fight the charges, likening the ongoing investigation to the accusations of a witch trial against cycling’s most preeminent figures, sports is left with yet another figure who has been accused and suspended for running afoul of illicit supplement policy.

The Armstrong news comes on the heels of baseball’s latest doping revelations, a shock to no one except those who use the Mitchell Report to balance a rickety Lucite poker table. Melky Cabrera, who was having a career year which included All-Star Game MVP honors for the Giants, and Bartolo Colón, yet another in a long line of 0s from the ‘Big O’, were both busted for violating baseball’s policy on banned substances, an infraction as common these days as a parking ticket.

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Lance Armstrong fought to beat testicular cancer, fought to win seven straight Tour de France titles, and fought to keep defending himself against continuous allegations of PED use, but on August 23, 2012, the cyclist surrendered in his fight with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. USADA took Armstrong’s decision not to enter arbitration regarding the doping charges he faced as an admission of guilt, and the agency stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him from cycling for life.

Had Armstrong entered arbitration, he likely would have been forced to defend himself against overwhelming evidence of cheating.

According to The Associated Press, USADA had blood tests from 2009 and 2010 that showed Armstrong was blood doping. They also reportedly had 10 former Armstrong teammates ready to testify against him, including ones who said Armstrong encouraged them to cheat. They believe he has been doping and using various PEDs since 1996.

Armstrong sued USADA in hopes that a federal court would block the case from proceeding, but the case was thrown out on Monday. That must have been Armstrong’s last line of defense because he made the decision to stop fighting only three days later. My guess is he and his PR team knew that too much damaging information would be presented in arbitration, so they decided to stop the fight now in order to prevent the negativity.

Armstrong got to release a statement that accuses USADA of being a “bully” and makes the agency look like the bad guy. His statement declares he won the Tour de Frances on a level playing field.

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